The Seahawks are going to the Superbowl! And here's why it matters...

I used to be a football hater.

I just didn't get it.  When I watched a football game, all I saw was really big men hurling themselves against each other every minute or so.  And then the clock would stop.  And it would take an hour (like...forever) to get through a 15 minute quarter.  I had no idea what a "down" was.  I couldn't understand why getting one "goal" got you six points and then you got to kick a little bonus point after.  And why did they kick it when the rest of the time they were running with and throwing the ball?  I mean really...make up your minds.

And the whole yelling at the TV thing.  That was beyond me. THEY CAN'T HEAR YOU EVEN IF YOU YELL REALLY LOUD.

Both my high school and college football teams may as well have been nonexistent.  Lack of real skill plus lack of community excitement equals frequent exclamations of "Wait! We have a football team??"

These guys don't make college football news all that often.

I didn't grow up in a sports watching family.  Not to say that we weren't athletic.  We just participated in the sports--we didn't watch them.  The few times I remember my dad watching anything, it was basketball games.  And it quickly got voted off the screen by mom and the 4 children in favor of cartoons or sitcoms.  I remember the "Ugh, basketball?!?" cries of indignation as we walked into the living room and realized there was a game on our TV.

I didn't live in a city that was dedicated to its sports.  Rochester, NY doesn't have any major teams.  Our closest team is the Buffalo Bills.  And seeing as they haven't made it to the playoffs since 1999 (after suffering 4 consecutive Superbowl losses several years before that), there wasn't too much excitement surrounding them in my middle and high school years in Rochester.  Not hating on the Bills here.  I will proudly proclaim to be a downtrodden Bills fan now and keep them on my ScoreCenter update feed.  There just wasn't any excitement surrounding them in my world in the late '90s.

Go Bills!! When the Seahawks aren't playing.

My first experience with any major football game happened in college when I went to visit a friend at University of Michigan.  It happened to be Homecoming weekend and there was a game in "The Big House."  We woke up at 7 am, were playing beer pong by 8, and the rest of the day is a blur.  The stadium fascinated me, the crazed fans confused me, and the excitement of an entire community centered around a sports team baffled me.

Then I went back to NYC and forgot about it.  I made it through 6 years in NYC without ever seeing a game.  I never even made it to Yankee Stadium (I'm well aware that's a baseball stadium, but the fact contributes to my explanation here)--and the original one closed the year that I left.  Football was the furthest thing from my mind in NYC even though there are in fact three teams to choose from in that state (actually, now I believe that part of New York's problem is that there are too many teams to rally around--I mean really, the Giants and the Jets even play in the same stadium...why 2 teams?).

And then, I moved to Seattle.

Side note: There seems to be a "Seattle changed everything" theme in my life.  I apparently didn't care about much besides teaching and school until I moved here.  Which isn't bad, but there are other things in the world too, which I have since learned about.

My first year in Seattle, I fell immediately into a dedicated crowd of football fans.  The 2008 football season wasn't the highlight of the Seahawks career, and I learned the term "fair-weather fan."  But I loved the fair weather fans, because that meant that me and my friends could get cheap tickets to Qwest field.  We could find tickets the day before a game for as little as $35.  Which resulted in me attending six football games that season.

This football hater went to six games.

Before every game, we tailgated (protected from the rain under a viaduct that no longer exists).  I learned what it meant to shotgun a beer.  We didn't show up in the stadium often until well after the end of the 1st quarter.  While initially I was probably way more excited to wake up on a Sunday morning, hang out with friends, and have an excuse to drink all day, I eventually started paying attention to the actual game.

Awesome 12th ladies.  Seahawks vs. Patriots 12/7/08.  I am swimming in my
borrowed jersey.

And then as time passed, I actually started liking the game.  I learned some of the rules.  I began to understand the importance of a first down.  I remembered to call them touchdowns instead of goals.  I learned how to calculate points.

Since that season, I can say that my knowledge of football has grown immensely.  I've learned that the quarterback isn't the only player that matters on the team.  I actually get the point of running plays now.  I know what flags are for and understand the panic of one on a big play.  I understand the importance of having a high point differential.  Especially after this year, I realize that having an amazing defense is just as important as a good offense--those guys aren't just bodies on the field blocking the way.  It takes some real skill to do what they do.

Since that first season, I've never made it to more than one game per year.  I probably won't ever be a season ticket holder or go to nearly that many games in a season again.  So that first year will always be kind of special.

But from 2008 to 2013, my love and loyalty to the Seahawks has only increased.  And while my knowledge of the game itself has played a role in keeping me interested, that is not the reason why I have become a football fan.

What I've learned in my 5 year development as a 12th man is that it has very little to do with the actual game.

I mean, of course the game is important and there are lots of fans out there who love the game for just the game, but for me, what I really love about football isn't the game.

It's kind of like running (isn't everything?).  I love running.  I love everything about running--the way I feel after a good run, the grit of a good fight through a tough run, the amazing friends I've made in the running community, the incredible benefits to my health.  There are a lot of things I love about running, but one of the things I love the least about running is actually running.

This girl does NOT want to be running.

What's great about football, and what I believe is uniquely great about the Seahawks, is the 12th man.

Pause for those who need a 12th man explanation:  Seattle Seahawks fans are notoriously known for being the loudest, most loyal fans in football (we've actually registered small earthquakes due to explosive cheers in the stadium during games--google the term "beastquake").  The Seahawks players and management acknowledge and praise the presence of these fans.  In football, there are 11 players out on the field.  In Seattle, the "12th man" is the fans.  In 1984, the president of the Seahawks acknowledged the importance of the fan presence on the field by retiring the #12 jersey.  Now, you can buy #12 jersey (like any other jersey) but instead of a player name on the back, it says "fan."  To show support of the team, flags with 12 are flown throughout the city and the team raises the 12th man flag before every game in the stadium.  Check out this link for more history on the 12th man.

Even the Space Needle sports its 12th man flag during important games.

The Seattle Seahawks have an amazing relationship with their 12th man.  They acknowledge us in interviews--we were the ones that kept them going.  No one wants to disappoint the 12th man.  And yes, I realize that these guys are paid millions of dollars to play this game, but I believe them when they say that they play their best for us and we are who they're fighting for.  And that feels pretty darn good.

What it really comes down to is this:  when I am watching a game, cheering on my team, reacting to every disappointment and excitement...I am a part of something.

We had a door decorating contest at school, and I cannot even begin to tell
you how excited my little first graders were to put this together.

I am a part of this amazing city where thousands upon thousands screamed in pure undignified glory when Sherman tipped Kaepernick's last pass for an interception.

I am a part of the packed bar where people are standing on chairs and tables, belting "We are the Champions" at the top of their lungs.

I am a part of crowds of strangers high fiving and hugging each other, making contact in a world where interactions like this rarely exist.

I am a part of the endless conversations at work and elsewhere, recapping events, squabbling over opinions, and finding connections with people I previous thought I had nothing in common with.

I am a part of my group of friends who get together every week, win or lose, because this thing is important to us.

Me and the rest of the 12th man are a part of something.

And isn't that what we all really want anyways?  To be a part of something?

As a former football hater, I can't justify hating something that brings people together.  That makes them smile and feel true joy.  

And while it's not always smiles and hugs, when it is, there are SMILES and HUGS.  And even when there aren't smiles and hugs, we're all in it together.  So that makes it okay.

I certainly can't hate that.

More 12th ladies (and one Patriots fan).  All together and smiling.

So...the Seahawks are in the Superbowl and I am not at all ashamed to admit that I am beyond excited.

I am not ashamed to admit that it matters.

GO HAWKS!!!