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sj-roc wrote:

SammyGreene wrote:Congrats the Seahawks on an epic finish and win. But screw you CTV Vancouver with your upcoming story "Is Vancouver a 4 Down Football City Now?" and constant previews throughout today's game.

Didn't know the CFL and the Lions were playing at this time of year. News to me. How about a story on is "Seahawks taking the spotlight away from the Canucks in the middle of the NHL season?"

It's a bandwagon city. Hardly anybody here gave a *poop* about them five years ago and things will revert to that norm in due course. It's happened with the Mariners; now it's their turn.

Seattle seems to be doing pretty well all by itself with the bandwagon mentality — from Deadspin:

Let's Laugh At These Poor Seahawks Fans Who Left The Game Early

Packer fans must be second guessing the decisions not to gamble on the 1 yard line.

TheLionKing wrote:Packer fans must be second guessing the decisions not to gamble on the 1 yard line.

Yeah...that and safety Morgan Burnett inexplicably flopping down after his interception in the 4th quarter and not picking up another 20+ yards that were open to him...and Brandon Bostick inexplicably going for the ball when he was supposed to be blocking for Jordy Nelson who was right behind him and who was out there because of his good hands...and Mike McCarthy's decision to take the ball out of Aaron Rodgers' hands late in the 4th quarter and instead running Eddie Lacy for no gain on three successive runs, forcing a punt that the Seahawks took and marched down for their 2nd TD of the quarter...the list goes on....

sj-roc wrote:Seattle seems to be doing pretty well all by itself with the bandwagon mentality — from Deadspin

Don't think Seattle Seahawks fans can be considered bandwagon fans. They've had 100%+ attendance at Century Link for many years, and that includes some pretty lean years in terms of wins, for example between 2008 and 2011: 4 wins, 4, 5, and 7, yet close to 100% attendance at the CLink. When the 'Hawks started winning in 2012, there was almost no difference in attendance, but that's understandable, I guess, since they were close to 100% in the losing years. Our BC Lions could only dream of this level of support.

Sammy Greene wrote:Congrats the Seahawks on an epic finish and win. But screw you CTV Vancouver with your upcoming story "Is Vancouver a 4 Down Football City Now?" and constant previews throughout today's game.

Didn't know the CFL and the Lions were playing at this time of year. News to me. How about a story on is "Seahawks taking the spotlight away from the Canucks in the middle of the NHL season?"

CTV News at 6:00 of course ran their stupid story on how Seahawk fever (gag!) is gripping the Lower Mainland with requisite shots of wannabe Americans cheering on the Hawks in a downtown bar with the obligatory "which team do you prefer" angle.

Why are we always faced with this choice and trite question. I mean, does the Seahawks' success in Seattle compel their roving reporter to ask its denizens, "does this mean you favor NFL football to Huskie football?" No. Why? Because 1) they have respect for the sport, and 2) recognize and appreciate the differences of both. In fact, in 2013 U of W averaged 68,769 fans which is actually slightly higher than the Seahawks attendance.

Incidentally the Seahawks having a slightly higher lead over the Lions in their current poll "Are You A Bigger Fan Of...":

(scroll down about a 1/3 of the way on the right)
http://bc.ctvnews.ca/



DH

David wrote:Incidentally the Seahawks having a slightly higher lead over the Lions in their current poll "Are You A Bigger Fan Of...":

(scroll down about a 1/3 of the way on the right)
http://bc.ctvnews.ca/

I voted in the poll for the heck of it but with 389 votes over 24 hours it's hardly a representative sample. I prefer more scientific numbers, such as the Angus Reid poll released in November which showed 21% of British Columbians follow the CFL closely, compared to 18% who follow the NFL closely. (The figures were 31% and 26% among men.) The only demographic where the NFL following was equal to the CFL following in B.C. was among 18 to 34-year-olds, which were ted at 16% for each league.

Yes, and if you look at the numbers for recent CTV polls, this one drew far fewer participants (although it only went up for this evening's newscast. But still....). I am actually not too surprised at the results. First, the story skewed the result. Show a bunch of people going wild in a bar? Who doesn't want to part of that euphoria? Something "in the now" as well vs a team whose season ended in mid-November? Second, everyone loves a winner, especially such an improbable comeback.

I'd be more interested in the results of a poll in April in which both teams came off having roughly a .650 winning percentage.


DH

David wrote:

Sammy Greene wrote:Congrats the Seahawks on an epic finish and win. But screw you CTV Vancouver with your upcoming story "Is Vancouver a 4 Down Football City Now?" and constant previews throughout today's game.

Didn't know the CFL and the Lions were playing at this time of year. News to me. How about a story on is "Seahawks taking the spotlight away from the Canucks in the middle of the NHL season?"

CTV News at 6:00 of course ran their stupid story on how Seahawk fever (gag!) is gripping the Lower Mainland with requisite shots of wannabe Americans cheering on the Hawks in a downtown bar with the obligatory "which team do you prefer" angle.

Why are we always faced with this choice and trite question. I mean, does the Seahawks' success in Seattle compel their roving reporter to ask its denizens, "does this mean you favor NFL football to Huskie football?" No. Why? Because 1) they have respect for the sport, and 2) recognize and appreciate the differences of both. In fact, in 2013 U of W averaged 68,769 fans which is actually slightly higher than the Seahawks attendance.

Incidentally the Seahawks having a slightly higher lead over the Lions in their current poll "Are You A Bigger Fan Of...":

(scroll down about a 1/3 of the way on the right)
http://bc.ctvnews.ca/



DH

I agree with this fully. Amazing how all of a sudden Vancouver has to be a Seahawks town. Gimme a freaking break.

And I fully agree that to like the Seahawks and not the rather full Husky Stadium is not a choice Americans would make but here we are in Vancouver making this a question. Rubbish.

South Pender wrote:

sj-roc wrote:Seattle seems to be doing pretty well all by itself with the bandwagon mentality — from Deadspin

Don't think Seattle Seahawks fans can be considered bandwagon fans. They've had 100%+ attendance at Century Link for many years, and that includes some pretty lean years in terms of wins, for example between 2008 and 2011: 4 wins, 4, 5, and 7, yet close to 100% attendance at the CLink. When the 'Hawks started winning in 2012, there was almost no difference in attendance, but that's understandable, I guess, since they were close to 100% in the losing years. Our BC Lions could only dream of this level of support.

Overall, yes their absolute numbers are to be envied here, but I was just focussing on those people in this article. Ordinarily I don't care too much about fans leaving early — you never know when someone might have to leave for unexpected reasons — but these fans were lingering wherever they could catch the action: from outside a nearby sports bar, through the windows on the monitors in the stadium concourse, whatever. I don't think they were in a rush to go anywhere else but rather they simply gave up on the team. I suppose one could argue they might never have been in the stadium to begin with but if they cared that much about the game I think they would have made better arrangements for watching (at home or settled in at a local watering hole) than just lingering outside of some place that happened to have a TV.

I'm sure there must have been fans in other NFL markets who had a chuckle over this — especially for a team (and fanbase) that from what I can gather so doggedly aligns itself more than any other with this whole "12th man" concept. You can't expect to get cut any slack with that sort of hubris.

There will be countless features on the Seahawks between now till the Super Bowl.

South Pender wrote:

sj-roc wrote:Seattle seems to be doing pretty well all by itself with the bandwagon mentality — from Deadspin

Don't think Seattle Seahawks fans can be considered bandwagon fans. They've had 100%+ attendance at Century Link for many years, and that includes some pretty lean years in terms of wins, for example between 2008 and 2011: 4 wins, 4, 5, and 7, yet close to 100% attendance at the CLink. When the 'Hawks started winning in 2012, there was almost no difference in attendance, but that's understandable, I guess, since they were close to 100% in the losing years. Our BC Lions could only dream of this level of support.

An excellent point. Attendance at Seattle Seahawks home games have always been near sellouts with insignificant differences even in the very bad seasons since 2008:

Season: Regular Season Record - Average Attendance
2008: 4-12 - 67,995
2009: 5-11 - 67,392
2010: 7-9 - 66,992
2011: 7-9 - 66,413
2012: 11-5 - 67,946
2013: 13-3 - 68,197
2014: 12-4 - 68,412

To reinforce how much Seattle loves football, the city led home attendance by far for the other football team:

2014 MLS Average Home Attendancee
1. Seattle Sounders - 43,734
2. Toronto FC - 22,086
3. LA Galaxy - 21,258
4. Portland Timbers - 20,806
5. Vancouver Whitecaps - 20,408
League Average - 19,148

sj-roc wrote:Ordinarily I don't care too much about fans leaving early — you never know when someone might have to leave for unexpected reasons — but these fans were lingering wherever they could catch the action: from outside a nearby sports bar, through the windows on the monitors in the stadium concourse, whatever. I don't think they were in a rush to go anywhere else but rather they simply gave up on the team. I suppose one could argue they might never have been in the stadium to begin with but if they cared that much about the game I think they would have made better arrangements for watching (at home or settled in at a local watering hole) than just lingering outside of some place that happened to have a TV.

And it looks like those who stayed faithful with the Seahawks and believed in them that they will come out in the end instead of giving up on them also stayed for the trophy presentation as I don't see any empty seats in the background - unlike the Lions WDF wins in 2004 and 2006 (2011 would be an exception since it was not presented on the field).

As noted numerous times, I am not a big fan of the NFL these days.

But full credit to the Seahawks. Solid organization. Great coach. Pete Carroll is a tremendous motivator. An extremely skilled and creative judge of talent. Great fans. Otherworldly quarterback. A wild, weird win over the Packers. I would put that win on Russell Wilson's spirit, character and talent, with much help, of course.

The Patriots under the leadership of Bill Belichick and Tom Brady are a treat to watch.

The Packers are very solid. Game day coaching seems suspect. Great QB. Ted Thompson right at the top for GM work.

Other than that, not all that much in the NFL holds my interest. OK, news of legal troubles always gets one's attention.

Should be a very good Super Bowl.

I would agree WCJ. This has the makings of a very interesting Superbowl.

You have the East Coast, West Coast angle.
You have the Empire vs the Rebellion thing happening.
You have two teams that have been very good this year and are equally capable of being up to the task.
You have two teams with success in the big game and recently as well.
You have the Star in Brady with the heir apparent in Wilson

Basically it has all the makings of a game that could go either way. Which probably means it is going to be a dogs breakfast like last year. Isn't that the way the Stupor Bowl usually rolls?

While perhaps the professional media still provides the best video highlights, it's always good and interesting to have a different vantage point when video highlights from an actual fan from the stands. And I'd say here are a pair of excellent vantage points from two fans at different ends of the field with their great camcorders with their good zoom in abilities.

[video][/video]
[video][/video]

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[video][/video]
[video][/video]

Wow! What a game! What an ending! No one can complain about this one being boring. Fate evened things up for the game the Seahawks won--but shouldn't have--against the Packers. And for the games against the Giants that the Patriots lost, when they should have won. So the universe unfolds as it should. The game was there for the taking for the Seahawks, but for a bad call on 2nd and goal from the one--why not run Beast Mode one more time?

Tough loss for the Seahawks, but personally glad it was won by an AFC team I like, rather than the Steelers or Ravens.

This has been a good year for the Seahawks. They lost some key players in the off-season and then had to weather the Percy Harvin mess, but they never lost faith and finished well (except for today!). Even making it back for a 2nd SB after winning their first is a substantial accomplishment. They will be back better than ever next season. Almost all--maybe all--of the defensive starters will be back, and most of their offense too--and getting Zach Miller back will be big for them. And they're young and will learn from this game. Russell Wilson has a brilliant career ahead of him, I think, and with another proven WR or two, the 'Hawks should have a great O to go with their already-great D.

Their needs are clear: (a) one big-time No. 1 receiver and (b) O-line upgrades--particularly at LG, in my opinion. I expect John Schneider and Pete Carroll to look after these deficiencies this off-season.