We’re Witnessing the Greatest Era in Seattle Seahawks History
By Jeremy Damen
The realization that we are witnessing the greatest era in Seattle Seahawks history hits me everyday of my life and it’s a beautiful thought. Two straight Super Bowl’s and we have a real shot (no, let me fix that) We have the best shot of any team in the entire NFL to make it to Super Bowl 50 and win it, which would put us at three straight Super Bowl appearances.
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Through all the ups and downs, through all the struggles in life and during the NFL season, I just sit back think how awesome that is that it’s true. Then I go back to instantly getting in-depth with everything in regards to Football and the Seahawks, but I make sure to have those moments where I take in those thoughts. Think of like a way to reset to zero mentally. You should let yourself have these moments too, you’ve earned them for some of the terrible decades you may (or may not) have witnessed as a Seattle Seahawks fan.
This is a team that features Russell Wilson, Marshawn Lynch, Doug Baldwin, Jermaine Kearse, Jimmy Graham, Michael Bennett, Cliff Avril, KJ Wright, Bruce Irvin, Bobby Wagner, Brandon Mebane, Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor, Earl Thomas, Jon Ryan, Steven Hauschka, and more. You get the point, there are names I left out too that feature a lot of fan favorite players. The list goes on. Have you ever had the stress of thinking about what Seahawks jersey you should buy next?
I almost feel guilty for not having a Marshawn Lynch jersey considering how long he’s been here and everything he has done for our team and region. There are so many good players and good people on the Seahawks that picking your next jersey isn’t easy. I’m not a fan of knockoffs either, so anyone who wants to lend me $2000 to buy a bunch of jerseys, let me know.
Sometimes I feel like all Seattle Seahawk fans need to acknowledge and appreciate this special Seahawks era. It’s something that happens to all teams fanbases whose team has become highly successful. Naturally we get a thirst to win a Super Bowl every year. Every bad play gets magnified, every good play gets shrugged off because people believe great plays should happen all the time, par for the course. I remember people panicking when we lost to the Oakland Raiders in the preseason last year. Yes, actual legitimate concerns over how the trajectory of our season will go based purely off a preseason result, as if beating the Raiders confirms the prophecy that we will win the upcoming Super Bowl.
Jan 19, 2014; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll (right) and general manager John Schneider embrace after the 2013 NFC Championship football game against the San Francisco 49ers at CenturyLink Field. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
We’re witnessing a Seahawks era where making it to three Super Bowl’s is not only a possibility, but one with a good chance of happening. If the Seahawks make it back to Super Bowl 50, we’ll have the Super Bowl schedule on lock. We’ll know exactly when all the festivities and events and press conferences happen because it’s just become a part of our yearly schedule by that point. You shouldn’t treat it like it’s something that will certainly happen every year though. As much as I would love for it to happen, it is not realistic to assume the Seattle Seahawks will be representing the NFC in the Super Bowl for the next 20 consecutive years.
The reason I want to let fans everywhere know this is the greatest era of Seattle Seahawks history is because I want to make sure everyone will appreciate the opportunity the Seahawks have to its maximum. When I was 15 years old, the Seahawks made it to Super Bowl 40. I was a cocky teenager and after we lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl 40, I told myself and had convinced myself that the Seahawks were just going to get revenge next year anyways without a shred of doubt in my mind. Then the overtime loss to the Chicago Bears happened. Followed by a humiliating loss in a blizzard in Green Bay in the postseason where despite having a 14-0 lead, the Seahawks got blown out of that game. Reality set in pretty quickly that nothing is in-fact guaranteed in the NFL as optimistic as I always am.
Acknowledging this situation and respecting it does not mean to lower your expectations in the slightest. You should go into every single game this group plays believing they should be fully capable of winning. You should NEVER go into a Seahawks game thinking they will 100% lose. The Seahawks going into Green Bay next year? Likely our toughest game, but even that is winnable and I wouldn’t write that off of a guaranteed loss. Will we lose games? Most likely (Unless 19-0..) But you should never go into a game thinking the Seahawks can’t win.
That is what is special about this group. Even when they lose, they give it everything they have and it reflects in the score. The only loss by more than 7 points in the Russell Wilson era is 9 points vs the San Diego Chargers, and that was still a one possession game late in the 4th quarter that turned into 9 points once we turned the ball over on downs deep in our own territory.
I will with 100% confidence tell you I believe the Seattle Seahawks will make it back to Super Bowl 50. That doesn’t mean it will happen though. This team should make it back, but none of us can promise with legitimate proof (unless you’re from the future, but no NFL spoilers please) that the Seahawks will make it back.
The last thing you want to do is spend the duration of the greatest Seahawks era ever stressing over every single little thing as much as you’re humanly capable of stressing about it. As passionate fans, that is our nature. It’s to the point where people are discussing what Russell Wilson’s tweets truly mean. Just let loose a little. That doesn’t mean to care less, it means that you should spend time when you’re not stressing to appreciate what a truly special team you are being so fortunate to be able to watch every Sunday.
You don’t want to look back and go “I didn’t appreciate the moments enough, I was always too uptight and didn’t let myself soak in the moments and opportunities.” Just let it all out like Russell Wilson after the NFC Championship Game vs the Green Bay Packers. Let yourself be vulnerable to the moment, don’t be locking yourself out from special moments just to look forward to the next one.
Young Jeremy can tell you, if you always look forward to the next moment, you won’t appreciate the one happening right in front of your eyes. Appreciate this Seahawks team and acknowledge how special they are while at the same same time expecting and anticipating greatness.
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