Even If You’re Not a Seahawks Fan…

I am and will always be a Seahawks fan.  And it has nothing to do with the fact that the Seahawks won their very first Super Bowl yesterday.  And even if you’re not a football fan, please keep reading. 

In late 1985, my family and I arrived at Fairchild AFB for my first duty assignment as a new B-52 pilot.  At that time the tails of the aircraft of the 325th Bombardment Wing sported the Hallmark crown logo and the motto, “When you care to send the very best”.  I thought at the time that it was an exceptionally lame logo to display on a combat aircraft as magnificent as the B-52.  However, that was the logo we had, and I was as proud as an eagle among chickens to be flying that awesome aircraft in the defense of liberty at the height of the Cold War.  

Within a few months of my arrival, however, the Hallmark Corporation decided it was no longer cool to support the military.  They sued the Air Force and demanded that we remove their beloved, girly logo and motto from our aircraft.  You see, they no longer wanted the free advertising and good will that comes with the display of their precious crown, especially if it meant that someone might think of them as patriotic or somehow associated with the brave men and women who risk their lives daily to defend our freedoms.  (Shortly before I arrived, Fairchild AFB lost a B-52 and two members of her crew in a crash during a low-level—meaning “low altitude”—training mission in mountainous terrain at night.)  So the tails of our aircraft were all painted over so we would no longer sully the good name of Hallmark. 

At the time, I remember thinking, “Good riddance.  Don’t let the door hit you in the tail fins on the way out.” 

Then someone at the Nordstrom family—the owners of the Seattle Seahawks at the time—said (and although I wasn’t a witness to the actual conversation, I’m absolutely certain I’ve got the EXACT WORDING), “Well, gee, would you like to use the SEAHAWKS logo?  You can have it for free and we’ll put it writing so you can use it in perpetuity.”  (Sidebar, your honor?  I get it: enlightened self-interest, free advertising, yada, yada, yada.  It was still a cool thing to do.)  And officials at FAFB said (and once again, I’m sure that this was the EXACT WORDING), “Um… we don’t know.  Let us do a focus group and commission a multi-million dollar study…  I mean, we used to have a tiara and… Are you kidding?  HECK, YEAH!!!!” 

And you have to admit, it is an awesome logo.  And it looked great on the tails of our B-52s!

So even if Salt Lake City were to get its own NFL team—unless, of course, it’s the Seahawks—the Seahawks will ALWAYS be my team.  And it has NOTHING to do with football. 

And yes, it was a GLORIOUS day in the Belt household yesterday.  BEST SUPER BOWL OF ALL TIME!!!