a stranger in the land of the Seahawks

As an aside to his NFL announcer rundown, Bill Simmons perfectly nails Hawks fans and Seattle culture:

Some lingering thoughts on a 33-hour trip to Seattle:

1. Loudest crowd I've ever heard. Seems like it's more due to the way the stadium is built than anything else -- for instance, Monday's crowd was 20 percent Packers fans and even they sounded abnormally loud.

2. We decided that Seattle can't be considered an underrated city because everyone always talks about how underrated it is, so now it's properly rated. But can you think of another city other than New York or Los Angeles that had a bigger cultural impact on this country over the past 16 years? Grunge music, Starbucks, microbrews, Microsoft, Amazon.com and even ESPN.com all started there. What other city can come up with six things to compare to those?

3. Highlight of the trip: Finding out that Seahawks tackle Walter Jones has a daughter named Waleria and a son named Walterius..

4. Seahawks fans really, really, REALLY don't like Jerramy Stevens. It's a palpable dislike. Don't think this won't be rearing its head in January.

5. If you can't get excited to attend a Monday Night Football game when it's snowing out, you need to stop following sports immediately.

Stuck in Olympia because of the snow, my wife and I watched the game at Brewery City. The guys at the bar to our left, chowing down on pizza and a pitcher, could barely hold onto their slices whenever Hasselbeck deigned to throw to Stevens. Even the touchdown grab--a gorgeous fingertip catch--got only reserved admiration.

This week, Simmons calls it for the Broncos. Hmm... Shaun Alexander's return to form, anyone? Hawks 24, Broncos 20.


Update: Holy SAFE. (Sorry. Saw too many Volkswagen commercials during the game.) Did you see it? I was almost right--final score, 23-20, on a late kick by Josh Brown, who uncharacteristically missed a couple earlier. Play of the game: Josh Brown tackles the Bronco returner, hitting him like a DB and forcing a game-changing fumble.

Two weeks, two tough comeback wins in the cold. This time, Alexander took a while to get going, but kept the offense moving despite an off-kilter performance by Matt Hasselbeck.

What a game. Don't bet on sports.