My upstairs neighbors are either hammering a dozen nails into the wall or having vigorous sex. Now, I'll try to keep my focus as I write this.
I get the feeling that the 2005 Seattle Seahawks are turning into the 1995 Seattle Mariners. Both franchises have been around for the same number of years practically, both went dozens of years without much impacting their respective sporting leagues, in fact, both have been considered laughing-stocks.
Then, each team went on to have one special season. The Mariners came back from a 13-game deficit to the California Angels, to win a 1-game playoff, to win a gritty 5-game series against the New York Yankees, only to fall short in the ALCS in five or six games to Mike Hargrove and the Cleveland Indians. We didn't quite win the title, but it was exciting while it lasted and yadda yadda yadda.
Ten years later, the Seahawks won 11 games in a row on the way to a 13-win season and the number 1 seed in the NFC. Handled the Washington Redskins in round 2, throttled the Carolina Panthers in the NFC Championship Game, and then lost in pathetic fashion to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Super Bowl. We didn't quite win the title, but it was exciting while it lasted and yadda yadda yadda.
For the Mariners, every year since has been compared to that miracle '95 team. Any time the Mariners approach a playoff-chase - including this year, 12 motherfucking years after the fact - they're compared to Griffey and Edgar and Joey Cora because the Seattle region isn't used to having winners. Yet, we don't even think to consider the 116-win 2001 season, which was roundly considered a disappointment even though we won more games and were closer to the World Series than we were in '95.
And I know it's only two years later, still fresh on all our minds because the core of the team is essentially the same, just two years older, but the Seahawks are always drawing comparisons to their Super Bowl squad and it's starting to look as pathetic as our loss to the Steelers.
I know New Yorkers are pretty self-absorbed, Bostonians are some of the most annoying fuckwads in America, and Chicago and Philly have had their share of disappointment in various sports, but you don't see these teams clinging to their glory years like we do in Seattle. You can't foster a culture of winning sporting teams if you're always looking back to that one moment you were good. It's like you break up with your girlfriend, get a new one, and then continuously compare the new one to the old one right in front of her. Let's move out of the past and start acting like we belong here.