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PART FIVE - WASHINGTON |
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SUNDAY
(2/11/03) |
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But the snow clears north of Tacoma and soon we're racing towards the Emerald City. It's taken us 1550 miles up the coast but the journey is complete! One major change in Seattle since Preston was last here - new stadiums! In the mid 90's both the Seahawks and baseball's Mariners were on the verge of leaving town, due to unhappiness with their old shared stadium - the Kingdome. But thanks to major redevelopment on site of the Kingdome the city now has both a state of the art football and baseball stadium. Safeco Field has been a major hit for the baseball and is regularly sold out. Its main feature is a retractable roof, hoisted above on two wheeled tracks, that slide across when the inevitable Seattle rain falls. Seahawks Stadium has a striking design too, with a large open concourse at one end, where the distinctive Seahawks Nest rises over the North Endzone. |
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Perhaps the best thing about the revamped Gameday experience in Seattle is the use of the new Convention Center, which is next door to the stadium, as the pre-game site for the Seahawks Tailgate Party. Because lot space is limited for proper tailgating, and because of the rain no doubt - this is an excellent idea. Kind of like an indoor Power Party! You've got lots of food and drink options, live music, tons of stuff for the kids, the cheerleaders doing their rounds, and also crucially - multiple TV screens showing all the East Coast kickoffs!
And of course you've got a pipe band as well! |
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Also on hand was The Commissioner of Tailgating! We were supposed to run into Joe in San Diego - but he managed to turn back to Tempe once he heard the game was shifted. Seattle is his "fly-in" game every year because it's the only NFL city not within 1-day driving distance of another. As always check out tailgating.com |
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The Seahawks were playing the Steelers on this day, and there must really be some cheap Pittsburgh to Seattle flights to be had because our side of the stadium was almost 50% Steeler fans! Shame on the Seahawks fans for scalping so many of their own tickets ... |
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This is surprising because the 5-2 Seahawks are off to the best start in franchise history led by improving QB Matt Hasselbeck. But this team hasn't won a playoff game since 1984 so many of the locals are still very skeptical ... |
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Things started well for the Hawks - a 43 yard run by RB Maurice Morris helped set up Josh Brown's 36 yard FG to open the scoring. SEAHAWKS 3-0 |
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The 2-5 Steelers on the other hand are off to the worst start under Bill Cowher's tenure and their running game has all but evaporated. Here QB Tommy Maddox fakes an end around to WR Hines Ward, but RB Jerome Bettis has the ball up the middle - but the gain is minimal and the drive will end in a punt. |
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Both D's dominate early - and you can keep track of this, or the offensive ineptitude with this handy Defensive scoreboard. |
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If the game gets a little dull you can always make do with the great views across to the Puget Sound over the North Endzone. The Washington State ferries run out to various places on the the Olympic Peninsula and are well worth the trip! |
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The Steelers managed to get untracked in the 2nd Q and got on the board with a 49 yard FG from Jeff Reed. ALL TIED 3-3 |
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A recent complaint from a Mr B. Saunders of Tooting said we "didn't have enough Bonnie Bernstein on the website". We hope this suffices! |
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The Seahawks should have had a TD on this play but WR Darrell Jackson dropped an easy TD. The pattern would continue. They did get a 46 yard Josh Brown FG however. SEAHAWKS 6-3 (HT) |
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The quiet home crowd, that had so far been out shouted by the noisy Steeler fans, suddenly came alive at half-time ... All the stadium announcer had to say was "Please welcome the University of Oregon Marching Band" and the sound of booing cascades around the stadium and all over the Puget Sound! The Ducks are a big rival to U of Washington's Huskies - but were no match the night before getting clobbered 42-10 in Seattle. |
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Big play in the 3rd Q as Seahawks LB D.D. Lewis blocks a Josh Miller punt giving the Seahawks great field position ... But once again Jackson (#82) drops an easy TD and they have to settle for a 34 yard Brown FG! The Steeler fans are taunting him by now - "Throw it to Jackson!" Careful what you wish for ... SEAHAWKS 9-3 |
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The Steelers have a great pair of wideouts in Hines Ward (#86) and Plaxico Burress (#80). But while Ward plays hard and makes plays, Plaxico seems to spend half his time moaning to the officials and not catching the ball! He was unable to corral this Maddox pass in the end zone and Jeff Reed was called on for a 33 yard FG. SEAHAWKS 9-6 |
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"Throw it to Jackson!" A simple little 4 yard pass was finally caught by Jackson, and as he pumped his fists the crowd went wild as if he'd broken all of Jerry Rice's receiving records! But this surge of good vibes was all he needed to put the dropsies away for the rest of the day. On 3rd and goal from the Steelers 14 Hasselbeck went back to pass and spotted Jackson breaking free over the middle ... However the throw was low forcing the WR to dive forward for the ball. He makes the grab and just breaks the plane of the end zone. TOUCHDOWN SEATTLE!!! SEAHAWKS 16-6 |
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Not to be outdone, Plaxico finally makes a play on the Steelers next drive reeling in a 37 yard pass from Maddox. But if you're going to stretch for the end zone - it's a good idea to take the ball with you! It was marked out of bounds at the Seattle 2 yard line. |
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On the next play Maddox steps back and hits Ward for a 2 yard TD ... but Hines gets a little over excited and spikes the ball at the Seattle defender and is flagged 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct. SEAHAWKS 16-13 |
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"Throw it to Jackson!" With good field position, Hasselbeck again found Jackson (#82), who broke away from this tackle for a 43 yard gain to the Steelers 2 yard line! |
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Suddenly the battle of field goals was threatening to break out into a shoot-out! Hasselbeck hands off to RB Shaun Alexander (#37) who rumbles through the centre of the Steelers D for an easy 1 yard TD. SEAHAWKS 23-13 |
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In the fading light the Steelers marched back down the field, and had a 1st and Goal on the Hawks 7 - but had to settle for another Jeff Reed FG from 21 yards. They then forced a Seahawks punt and got the ball back with 65 seconds. But they were unable to lateral their way out of a 4th and 15 and the Hawks D had held for the win. |
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FINAL SEAHAWKS
23 The Seahawks win put them back in 1st place finishing the 1st half of the season at 6-2. Only 4 games attended this year (unlike the 8 last year) but this year an unprecedented 4-0 home record. The 2-6 record in 2002, had some wondering whether we were jinxing the home team! |
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Lets give game MVP to ex-Steeler LB Chad Brown who set the tone for the day by dropping The Bus for a 3 yard loss. He finished with 6 tackles and 2 sacks and was a constant menace on defense. |
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As the sun set over the Puget Sound it was time to explore Seattle! First stop is Pioneer Square, the historic district between the stadiums and downtown. It contains bars, restaurants and bizarrely lots of rug stores. Watch the Pack win in Minnesota. |
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MONDAY
(3/11/03) The Space Needle is Seattle's best known landmark. Built in 1962 for that year's World Fair it's futuristic look hasn't dated too bad. |
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TUESDAY
(4/11/03) |
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WEDNESDAY
(5/11/03) |
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Smaller than Rainer, but more famous is Mount St Helens. On May 1980, she erupted causing mass devastation to the surrounding area and showering ash all over the state. Slowly but surely vegetation and animal life has returned to the region, but inside her crater, she is slowly rebuilding her peak, and may yet re-erupt one day... |
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THURSDAY
(6/11/03) |
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Earlier in the day we visited the Olympic Peninsula, which contains a rain forest in its National Park. It's mountain range towers over the Puget Sound, as the sun falls behind the sky burns orange in contrast to the dark silhouette of the mountains. |
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FRIDAY (7/11/03) Its the end of the road for another year. By the end of the 2 weeks over 2,500 road miles have been clocked up in the name of football! |
