By John Tveter, Sports Writer
Feb. 5 was a day that Seattleites had been waiting on for nearly 40 years. That was the day the city celebrated the Seattle Seahawks victory in the Super Bowl with a parade through the streets of Seattle. Seattle had not had a parade for a sports team since the Seattle Supersonics won the NBA Championship in the spring of 1979.
In the weeks leading up to the game, people around the Pacific Northwest embraced the Seahawks. Even non-sports fans made time to watch the Seahawks.
As the day of the game finally came, the fans’ enthusiasm for the team was replaced with apprehension and nervous energy. Questions like “what if they lose?” and “this is Seattle, we can’t really win, can we?” rose out of the dark. The answer was yes, the Seahawks could win, and they did.
The question now was just how many fans would show up to the parade after the Seahawks beat the Denver Broncos to a bloody pulp in the Super Bowl. Early estimates said the parade would attract about 300,000 people, the same number of people who celebrated the Seattle Sonics NBA title in 1979. That was a poor guess.
“I wouldn’t miss this for anything. I grew up going to Seahawks games with my dad,” senior Trevor Hamilton said.
Seahawk fans around the area must have shared Hamilton’s sentiment, because when the parade was over, about 700,000 people were in attendance. That means that the amount of people at the parade exceeded the number of people who live in Seattle, which is roughly 600,000.
Consider this: the parade occurred on a weekday when schools were in session, many businesses did not release their employees and it was a frigid 15 degrees out. Those are some loyal fans.
“It may be cold out, but I’m warm inside. Go Hawks,” senior Greg Bishop said.
The fans waited in the bitter cold for a chance to see their team, which had finally brought a championship home to Seattle. After an hour delay, that team finally came down the road. And as the adoring fans cheered the returning victors, Marshawn Lynch threw skittles, Pete Caroll waved and the entire region let loose and celebrated.
When the day was over and the after party had stopped, people returned to their normal lives and began the long wait until next year.
“I can’t wait to go to a game next year and see the Lombardi Trophy in the trophy case,” Hamilton said.
Now that the celebration is over and Seattleites finally know what it feels like to win the Super Bowl, they all must once again face the realities of life. The Mariners will probably be terrible again and the Sounders will be decent, but it is up to the Seahawks to accomplish another first for the city of Seattle: a repeat.
