From Where I Sit: Emerald City Blues
9/14/2010 9:18:58 AM | Football
The signs were there for a superstitious fan like me. We drove past 44th street on the way to my hotel. Checked in to Room 344. Ordered a taxi to check out downtown Seattle. What pulls up but a bright orange “Orange Cab” complete with a picture of our innocuous, incongruous fruit on its side panels. Driving in front of the stadium, a small sign read, “$44 Fine - No Parking Zone”. A $44 fine? Tell me that's not a sign. We went out to dinner and the two featured beers on the draft list were “Manny's” and “Big E” Ale. I ordered one and then the other, and felt an upset in the air. And when Ryan Nassib ripped through an arm tackle and scampered into the end zone in the first quarter of the game, the stars began to align. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
When I pick away games to attend, I try to select an opponent that offers a destination worth visiting even without a football game. It makes supporting my team a little more expensive but certainly results in a more enjoyable trip if we happen to lose. So before I talk about the game, I just want to fast forward through my touristy travel log…
Visited Pike Place Market. Watched the fish flying, ate fresh mini-donuts, got my picture taken at the first Starbucks (don't drink coffee so I ordered hot chocolate), got Beechers' mac n' cheese for lunch, oh my that was good (thanks to Troy Nunes, the magician, not the ex-QB for the tip), tried world famous clam chowder, seafood bisque and clear shrimp chowder at Chowders. I did my best to work seafood into every meal for the entire trip.
Took the Underground Tour, walking through a section of the city preserved when Seattle rebuilt itself after the Great Fire of 1889 in which the entire city was destroyed. Sounds boring, doesn't it? The tour was humorous, entertaining and educational. Loved it.
Took the Duck Tour. What could be better than touring a city surrounded by water in a WWII era, 10-ton, amphibious assault vehicle?
Spent Friday at Mount Ranier. I kept hearing about this mountain that looms over Seattle. I spent five days there, and never saw this “mountain” once. I hiked the thing and never caught even a glimpse of a snow-capped peak. I'm convinced the thing is CGI and invented by some well-paid marketing firm. Took the Mt. Ranier Scenic Railroad. A more honest name would have been “Two Porta-Johns, a Carport and a Gravel Field Scenic Railroad”. Again, those darn marketing guys at work. They say the term “Shanghaied” originated in Seattle. I believe it. The drive to Paradise more than made up any shortcomings of the Railroad. Ranier is… well, at least its foothills are absolutely beautiful. Giant trees and evergreens blanket the mountainsides which are edged by glacier-and-lava-scarred gorges. It's everything you think of when you think of the Pacific Northwest.
Sunday morning, woke up early and went to the Fremont Farmer's market (another suggestion from the Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician blog). Had some amazing brick-fired pizza and a plate of three tacos – chicken, pork, and beef for $5. Mmmm-mmm. Took the ferry to Bainbridge, had more Mexican (King Crab Enchiladas, keeping with the seafood theme). Took tons of pictures on the ferry ride.
Seattle is a wonderful city surrounded by wilderness and water. For a big city, it's just so green (I know, hence, Emerald City) and laid back. I loved it.
Now the game. This is going to be short. I hate losing. I especially hate losing when we simply do not play well. U-Dubb's stadium is one of only two in the nation that allow people to be dropped off by boat (Tennessee is the other). So we took a Charter Boat from a local seafood restaurant. It was a great way to travel to the game.
The stadium, much like the city, is surrounded by beauty, sitting on the shores of Lake Washington. But as far as actually watching the game, it certainly is not ideal. There is a full, outdoor track around the field. The end zone seats that the visitors sit in are about 40 yards from the end-line. I found myself watching the big screen more than the actual live-action game. U-Dubb fans were generally polite and welcoming, as were the west coast Syracuse fans who couldn't believe anyone came all the way out for the game. The most impressive thing about the UW fans was their dedication to the color purple. It seemed like every man, woman and child were decked out in purple. Our Orange Nation could learn something from the Husky faithful.
The game itself started out great. Too bad football is a 60-minute affair. There's no reason to re-hash it here. I'm confident the team and staff knows what they did right so they can build on it and more importantly, what they did wrong, so they can improve on it. I'm just happy to be home and looking forward to a home-opening win this Saturday.
Thursday, July 16
Thursday, July 16
Thursday, July 16
Sunday, April 12
