The Russell Wilson saga

I've been meaning to write this blog for weeks, but haven't had the time, so here it goes. I listen to lots of local Seattle sports radio and know that the format is fan friendly, so that the shows have to balance truth telling with optimism, but ultimately "Wyman and Bob" are in the pocket of the franchise, an adjunct of public relations, and that sports are forward looking because there's always next season. But it struck me as no minor coincidence that the same week Russell went public with his dislike for the Seahawks for the first time in his nine (?) years at the helm, that Kam Chancellor - Legion of Boom legend - said that the Seahawks were "haunted" for years after their infamous Super Bowl loss to the Patriots in 2015. This was something that I think a lot of Hawk fans felt after watching Russell throw an interception on the one yard line with twenty seconds left in the Super Bowl, rather than handing the ball off to Marshawn Lynch, the best rusher in the game, the Beast, and becoming winners of back-to-back Super Bowls. Instead, the Seahawks lost and haven't advanced to an NFC championship game since then, though they've won some wild card games.

Now if you listen to sports radio like I do you would've thought for the last six years that the Seahawks were on the cusp of reclaiming their past glory at some point during every season, and at the least were a Super Bowl contender, but they never really were, nor have they been since January, 2015, according to Kam Chancellor. Has the Russell Wilson/Pete Carroll era been a good one for the Seahawks? Yes, of course, this has been a historically miserable team who rose from the ashes to split Super Bowls, and threaten to be a dynasty, but they never made it because of that loss, and this became increasingly clear with every good but not great season. Now if the Seahawks were a one-off Super Bowl winner like many teams are who get hot for a season and all the pieces fall into place, this may not have been so hard to stomach, but given the Legion of Booms stature on defense, and the magical Russell Wilson with the Beast on offense, there really was the making here of a dominant team for the ages, or a dynasty, and at least three or four Super Bowl rings. I'm convinced if they had handed off to Marshawn two or three times at the one yard line, rather than throwing a dangerous pass into the middle of the field, this could've been a distinct reality, but this has been a haunted squad for years, and Russell wants out.

As for the fans, Wyman and Bob have been clear to point out that they've never heard so many angry texts at Russell, that amount to "good riddance." They are right to point out that without Russell the Hawks go from a playoff caliber team to a cellar dweller, but the 12s feel lied to and they are angry; they are angry at Russell Wilson for bottling up his emotions for so many years, and thinking he was someone he wasn't, and they are angry that the press has spun the narrative that the Hawks have been a legitimate Super Bowl contender for six years now, even though they haven't made it to the NFC championship game, a ridiculous rube after the 2015 season. I'm not sure there is a way to measure a fan's frustration at what it feels like to be on the verge of a dynasty, only to have it shattered in a play, and then to feel lied to about the significance of the play for so many years, but that's what Seattle commentators have done. I don't blame them, per se, but they haven't been truthful, and Dave Wyman saying, "It's hard to win in the NFL," doesn't sound like the words of a champion. I'd guess Pete Carroll is next on the chopping block for the 12s, but that will come to pass after a bleak season or two without Russell Wilson, because they are tied together in Hawk lore.

I also don't blame Russell Wilson for wanting to move on. He can go "cook" on an up and coming team who doesn't have any of the memories that plague the Hawks, and maybe make it to a championship game, or beyond. Sure, this is a perennially worthy playoff bound club, mostly because of Russell, but he'd bring that to any team he was traded to. Dave "Woozy" Wyman likes to lament, "What does Russell want?" Well, Dave, it's not a new center or a guard, but a new beginning. Russell is the American dream, a third round pick no one saw panning out, due to his size, and he doesn't want to watch the dream sink in Seattle. This is not a Super Bowl contender no matter how much the local media pumps up the narrative, and it hasn't been for a while. They had a couple of years there after the Super Bowl loss when the Legion of Boom was still intact, but like Chancellor said, "We were haunted." I think the dynamics of this club have been mischaracterized to the max by commentators like "Woozy" Wyman, who paint the Hawks as an oasis in the NFL, a dream for most players, and maybe it is better than playing on the Jets (lol). But Russell never sounded happy here after his first flush of glory, just a guy doing PR, and talking about being haunted isn't good radio.