Is everyone obsessing about the Seahawks or is that just me?
A GRIP ON SPORTS • So what’s on everyone’s minds? The beginning of autumn? The Cougars? High school sports? The end of the M’s season? Oh, I know. The Chase. Wait, that’s not it. How about the Hawks? Read on.
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• Funny, but you win a Super Bowl and come within a yard or two of winning another, and you’re suddenly BMOC. (Does anyone under the age of 40 use BMOC anymore? Does anyone “on campus” even know what it means?) The Hawks are big around here even if they aren’t winning and they haven’t won yet this season. Neither have the Colts or the Ravens or the Texans or the Giants or the Saints or the Eagles. A few of those teams were expected to be pretty good this season. Maybe that’s why Pete Carroll was so positive yesterday. I kid. We all know Pete is Mr. Positive, the modern-day version of Harold Hill (the BMOC of his day). And sometimes it seems Carroll is a lot like Mr. Hill, willing the Seahawks to new heights without ever teaching them to play football, but that’s a discussion for another day. Today we’re interested in how the Hawks have hijacked the Northwest’s consciousness. Is our area so desperate for a winner we will all become fans of anyone who promises, and then delivers, success? Yes, yes we are. I guess after nearly 40 years of Mariners ups and downs – mainly the latter – and the gut-searing cup of Starbucks that used to be the Sonics, major league sports around here have been mainly disappointing. And college sports haven’t been much better. Sure, the Huskies won a national football championship back in the day, though they had to share it with some school in Florida. But since then no one has reached the ultimate heights, not Gonzaga hoop or Oregon football or anyone else. (Ya, I know Eastern Washington won an FCS title a few years back but that’s not the type of championship that makes the entire nation jealous. Now the Eagles’ turf, that’s different.) So we have a bit of inferiority complex, don’t we? So when the Seahawks swept to the title in 2013, we rejoiced like only long-suffering groups can. And when they rallied late in last year’s Super Bowl – after blowing a double-digit lead – we were ready to do some more crowing. Then “it” happened. You know what I mean. “It” has colored our Seahawk thinking ever since. Through the offseason negotiations with Russell Wilson. Through the training camp holdout of Kam Chancellor. Through the first two games. Through everything, the end of the Super Bowl has loomed like a sword of Damocles, hanging there in the air waiting to fall. Carroll figures a wire with the tensile strength of carbon fiber is holding the sword. The rest of us see it as being suspended by magic. We are all just waiting for it to fall. No worries, says Carroll, even if it does, the Hawks will dodge it and live to fight another day. Maybe he’s right. Maybe it’s already fallen and the Hawks are standing next to the throne, laughing. Soon their enemies will be crushed, driven before them, hear the lamentations of their women (if I may mix a “Conan” metaphor in with true mythology). Whatever, those of us in the Northwest who consider themselves sports fans are pretty invested in the Hawks. (Even those of you who hate them, you hate them with a Jimmy Cagney-like white heat.) So no matter how they are doing these days, we are interested. Overly interested even. Which is a good thing. After all, what else would be focusing upon? Sprinkler blowouts? Work politics? Leaf raking? Trust me, over-obsessing about your local NFL team is better.
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• WSU: You could always obsess about your local college football team. Wait, the Cougars have a bye this week, so that’s out. Sort of. Jacob Thorpe feeds your obsession with a morning post that includes news. The game at California in about 10 days will start at 1 p.m. Yes. No late-night missed field goals this season. ... A WSU freshman volleyball player was honored by the Pac-12. ... Larry Scott talked about DirecTV and the Pac-12 Networks this weekend. ... Oregon looks to have Vernon Adams back against Utah.
• EWU: Quarterback Jordan West took home national and conference honors this week. ... Eastern is ranked 11th this week. The Big Sky has five teams in the Top 25, but no one higher than the 1-2 Eagles.
• Preps: Chris Derrick delves into the world of high school volleyball with this preview of the season and a look at Gonzaga Prep’s defense. ... The WIAA is dealing with a state tournament problem once again.
• Seahawks: Yes, Carroll made the rounds yesterday, buttressing public opinion and spreading his own type of animal byproduct. And I don’t mean that in a negative way. He’s so relentlessly positive it’s just funny. And it’s worked. So there’s that. ... It’s hard for Jimmy Graham to stay positive after not seeing the ball much the first two games. ... Before we look toward the next opponent, the Chicago Bears, we look back to Green Bay for a moment. ... Believe it or not, the Hawks are 40.
• Mariners: The most potent bat the M’s have in their lineup? It’s Franklin Gutierrez, though he’s not in the lineup all that often. ... Like the M’s, Danny Farquhar is having a nice finish to the season.
• Sounders: The New York Red Bulls made Portland look pedestrian last weekend.
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• I am really surprised no one asked why the summer of 1982 was included in my list of things comparable to the Hawks’ bad start. Though you didn’t ask, I’m not going to tell you. It’s personal. Until later ...
