12th Man Rising
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My Confession: Still Dealing With Seattle Seahawks Super Bowl Hangover

By Dan Viens

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It’s was late April, draft time, my FAVORITE time.  I’m digging in deep, learning all I can about the new Seahawk prospects, writing about them….. writing a LOT.  LOVING writing for 12th Man Rising, and counting the days to training camp.

And then…. it all went dark.

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I stopped watching NFL Network, ESPN (maybe forever), and stopped listening to local sports radio.  I would start and stop writing posts every few days.  I started listening to music during my long commute, avoiding sports all together.

As the kids say these days….. WTF?

I’ve always been a sports addict, and specifically a local sports addict.  I’m not one of those “sports fans” who can turn it on and off based on when a team wins or loses.  I didn’t start rooting for the Miami Heat when they got LeBron (like so many of you), I never jumped off the WSU bandwagon during their (mostly) lean years, and I never lost my passion for the Mariners or Seahawks even when they stunk, or in the Mariners case….. stink.

So why did I suddenly lose interest?

At first I thought it was simple “burnout.”  It happens sometimes when you write, and for me it’s happened before right after the draft.  You’re going 100 miles an hour every day and then there’s the inevitable letdown after it’s all over, coupled with the transition into what’s naturally the slowest time of the year for covering the NFL.

This week it hit me.  Eureka!!!  The light went on.

The Super Bowl was harder on me than I thought.

I tried to stand up tall after that fateful final play, to rationalize it, to see the bright side… the silver lining.  I saw a roster that was still one of the youngest in the league, full of still-hungry players still on the rise.  I saw a favorable schedule ahead, and a strong draft, and a big-time acquisition (Jimmy Graham).  I went through all the stages of the Grief Cycle, but I went through it in 3 days, and by the Wednesday after the game I was feeling GOOD and trying to console my fellow Seahawk fans.

But apparently it was all a lie.  Apparently, I was sideswiped by it harder than I thought.  Like that fender bender that you think is minor, only to wake up a few days later with a sore neck.  To be SO close, so FREAKING close, to winning back to back Super Bowls, only to have it ripped out of your hands (or, specifically, out of Ricardo Lockette’s hands) was crushing.  Listening to sports radio, or even writing about it here, only stirred up the muck.

But you know what they say, Step One of solving a problem is admitting you have one.  So this is me, taking that first step.  It actually started last week.  I reacquainted myself with AM radio, watched the Russell Wilson interview on ESPN, and started compiling a list of story ideas to post here.

But first I had to do this, to bare my Seahawk soul, to take that first step.

I’m not saying it’s all over, that I’m 100% back in Hopeful Mode.  I had a dream last night that we made it to Super Bowl 50, only to lose in the final minute again.  More heartbreak! I woke up wiping my eyes and asking if that really just happened.

So maybe I’m not quite there yet.  But at least I’m on my way…….

Next: Marshawn Kills It On Conan, Again

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