Seahawks’ Ryan still flying high
Jon Ryan was virtually sleepless in Seattle.
And he doesn’t expect to get a whole lot of rest during a whirlwind visit to Regina, either.
“It has been crazy,’’ the Super Bowl-winning Seattle Seahawks punter said Friday after being greeted by family members and media types at Regina International Airport. “I’ve barely even slept, because I just want to take it all in.
“From the parade to coming back here and being able to spend some time with family and friends, I’m just trying to take it all in. Maybe in a month or so, I’ll be able to sit back and evaluate it a little bit more than I can right now.’’
Even without the aid of an aircraft, the 32-year-old Ryan has been in the clouds since Sunday, when the Seahawks annihilated the Denver Broncos 43-8 in the 48th Super Bowl, played at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
After the victory, the Seahawks returned to Seattle, where a massive victory parade was held Wednesday. Ryan flew to Regina on Friday for a weekend stay in his hometown. He is to be honoured at the Brandt Centre during tonight’s WHL game between the Regina Pats and Saskatoon Blades.
“I just wanted to come home,’’ the former SheldonWilliams Spartans, University of Regina Rams and Winnipeg Blue Bombers standout said. “This will always be home.
“I won’t be able to spend a lot of time here, but that was kind of the first thing on the agenda — to get back to Regina and to be able to share this victory and this celebration with the people here.’’
Sharing the victory with the people of Seattle was also something to savour.
“The parade on Wednesday, no one could have imagined that in their wildest dreams, in my opinion,’’ said Ryan, an eighth-year NFLer who has spent the past six seasons with the Seahawks after debuting south of the border with the Green Bay Packers.
“It was absolute chaos for two straight hours. There were people from wall to wall. There was barely enough room for our vehicles to drive down the middle. It was just incredible. There’s no way, unless you experience something like that, that you could even dream that up.
“People were lined up 10, 15 deep. Then when we got to the intersections, you’d see people almost as far as you could. There were no gaps between the people. They were shoulder to shoulder, back to chest. They were absolutely crammed in that city, and it was like that for 2 1/2 to three miles.’’
Another highlight was being able to hold the Vince Lombardi Trophy, which is awarded to the NFL champion.
“It was incredible,’’ Ryan marvelled. “You’ve worked your whole life for that moment, just to be able to touch that trophy. You see it on TV and you see all your heroes growing up, all the people you looked up to, holding that trophy and hoisting it over their head. To be able to do that yourself is pretty cool.’’
Ryan had previously held a pro football championship trophy after the Saskatchewan Roughriders won the 1989 Grey Cup — on his eighth birthday. Not long after that game, Ryan and his siblings Steve, Jill and Erica posed for a photo with the Grey Cup.
“At that age, it was my dream to some day have that Grey Cup trophy,’’ Ryan reflected. “It might still be a dream some day to have that Grey Cup trophy, but that dream kind of shifted to the Lombardi Trophy.
“I still can’t believe it’s real, to be honest.’’