Sea Hawkers,

Well, the replacement referees have now been replaced with the regular referees. After the call on Monday night the NFL sure worked quickly to get the deal done. I guess we’re supposed to be happy about it, but I kind of liked the favorable treatment the Seahawks were seeming to get.

I’m still riding high from that Monday night game. I don’t think it was louder than the “BeastQuake” game against the Saints, but the 12th Man was very loud! I think that played a contributing factor in the referees decision. They’ve shown they can be intimidated by coaches and players, so I’m sure the fans may have added a bit of an intimidation factor to the situation. The regular refs may not get as caught up with the home crowd, but I hope we can continue with that noise level. What a huge home field advantage we have.

GO SEAHAWKS!!!

No Seahawks games overseas this weekend

It was a good streak while it lasted. Unfortunately the Seahawks and Rams won’t be on the television on either AFN or DTS. But Seahawks fans overseas will have the opportunity to root against the 49ers in the early game and either for or against the Packers, depending on how you feel about the Monday Night Football game.

My guess is that most Seahawks fans will now be rooting for a win by the 0-3 Saints after the outcry (emphasis on the word “cry”) by Packers players after the game. Apparently they don’t know what it’s like to lose a Super Bowl too poor officiating, so I suppose the alternative is to pretend as if it were the Super Bowl.

Also remember that you can vote for the AFN Game of the Week on Facebook starting Sunday night through Wednesday.

The Grunge City Miracle

“Upon third, fourth, and infinite further review….”Touchdown Seattle!” I will leave all the details and high-drama of that and other calls and along with the gaudy Seattle Defensive stats to Brandan.

As a man who has a plethora of Wisconsin In-laws (three of which I took to the game) all I could say was “better luck next time guys.” Why don’t I feel ashamed, embarrassed, or outraged like the rest of the country says I should? Well, the Vinnie Testaverde “Phantom Touchdown” and Super Bowl XL, come immediately to mind. The majority of the controversy also seems to be coming from the fact that it resulted in a Green Bay and not a Seattle loss. Funny how that works eh?

It has become so epic an outcome that even national politics has come into play. As many fans would agree, the Packers are “America’s (other) Team” behind the Cowboys who were humiliated just the week before at the same crime scene. Throw in the fact that one Mr. Golden Tate had a hand (pardon the pun) in both of those Seahawk victories, he may be at this moment the most hated football player in the NFL Fan world! (Certainly within Fantasy League & Sports-Book worlds anyway.) I hear there are even warrants currently out for his capture in Wisconsin (a political battleground state) and Texas for GBL (Grand Bandwagon Larceny). Even a civil court has ruled for the Texas plaintiff (Mr. J Jones) damages in the amount of $21,000! He is the evil “Goldenmember” if you will and Pistol-Pete Carroll is his “farzier.” That leaves us (The 12th Man) as the “Henchmen” I suppose.

I tried to be somewhat candid towards my Cheesehead companions regarding my pleasure in the outcome, but as usual, my smart-ass got the better of me in the end. As the continued confusion on the field ensued following the touchdown review, the stadium had mostly emptied before they got the PAT teams back out and the ball ready for play. Most all of the Green & Yellow remained in the stands hoping that some divine intervention was occurring and they were still alive. The majority of the 12th Man was already popping tops in the North parking lot and an eerie silence had fallen upon the stadium as those of us remaining were not 100% sure just what the heck was going on. Then, I spotted our kicker #8 Hauschka running out and breathed a sigh of relief. It was at that moment of realization I shouted… “GO FOR TWO!” That’s when my wife hit me. It was not a clean hit either, a cheap shot to the ribs that had I still been holding a cup of $9 beer, would have resulted in a hefty fine!

As someone accustomed to the silent treatment by his wife, I did what any respectful man would do under this odd circumstance as I aimed the car south back towards Oregon. I turned on AM Sports Talk Radio and chuckled to myself all the way home. It was like listening to the wailing and gnashing of teeth. There was however one interesting caller, a Green Bay fan, that made a very good point about Jennings’s actions (or lack of situational awareness) during that infamous last play. Why in hell did he try to catch the ball as opposed to doing what everyone knows he should have done which is to bat it down or backwards so nobody can posses or catch it? Game over. I’m quite sure he asked himself the same thing at least once on the flight back home too. Maybe next time, but as for this time, “to the victor go the spoils” and the spoils are pretty good despite my sore ribs.

Rich Manning (a.k.a. Rangerhawk), Military Sea Hawkers

Brandan Schulze
Military Sea Hawkers
VP of Communications and Membership