Seattle set to go seismic for 49ers showdown
SEATTLE — The NFC showdown is so big it might overshadow Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning in the AFC title game.
Both the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers have young, strongarmed, light- footed quarterbacks, punishing running games, relentless defences and two coaches who don’t exactly exchange Christmas cards.
Sunday’s game at CenturyLink Field is one that National Football League fans who affix Seahawks and 49ers magnets to their fridges have clamoured for.
“One thing about people here, they love their coffee. And they love their Seahawks,” explained Courtney Taylor, the B. C. Lions receiver who lives in the Seattle suburb of Covington.
“I would describe Seattle as just fanatical. Their fans, the environment, the stadium ... they’re one of the best NFL cities. Bar none, hands down.”
Tomorrow, designated ‘ Blue Friday’ in Western Washington, residents of the state are being encouraged to wear blue attire at work or school in support of their NFL team. Many businesses also have jumped on board. Starbucks, for instance, is offering a tall brewed coffee for 12 cents at the chain’s 400 outlets in Washington for any customer wearing Seahawks colours ( blue and green). The 12th Man flag, a tradition begun in 2003, is raised before every one of Seattle’s home games to recognize the full- throated Seahawks fans who are considered the loudest in the NFL.
The din — which has the same rumbling effect as a seismic tremor and causes the stadium to quake — can unhinge the visiting team and results in an average of 2.36 false starts a game, the NFL’s highest instance of disruption.
Taylor, a former Seahawk who played two seasons in Seattle, can also speak to the effect the 12th Man has on a player emerging from the tunnel during player introductions.
“Oh, man, I had the opportunity and privilege to start games in front of that crowd,” Taylor said. “It was electric. You get that goose bump feeling, all over your body. That’s the advantage. You’re never alone. Everybody in the seats, and on the sidelines, will do anything to help their team win.
“You like to play at home. It’s your team and 68,000- plus against their 11 on the field. Still, at the end of the day, it gets down to which team makes the fewest mistakes and makes the most of its opportunities. A home crowd can’t help you with that.”
Taylor was drafted by the Seahawks in the sixth round of the 2007 NFL draft from Auburn University, went to the playoffs in his first year and was released on the eve of the 2009 season.
In his time there he was unique among NFL players, the only one who received intravenous injections at the University of Washington Medical Center to combat multiple sclerosis. He was diagnosed with MS, a disease of the central nervous system, in the summer of 2008. Among its many manifestations, Taylor developed an eye twitch that made it difficult for him to track the ball, a decided occupational handicap for an NFL receiver.
He was out of football for two seasons before landing on the Lions’ practice roster in 2011, graduating to full- time starter last season and effectively demonstrating that MS side effects are no longer an issue.
Still, Taylor has continued to make the Seattle area his home and he remains friends with defensive end Red Bryant and defensive tackle Brandon Mebane, two stalwarts with the Seahawks. Their wives engage on a social level and Taylor works out occasionally with Bryant and Mebane, when they’re not at the Seahawks’ designated training facility in Renton, Wash.
“Courtney and I came here in the same draft class,” Mebane explained. “I ran into him recently at the birthday party of Red’s two- year- old son. It was good to see him. Red and I were his best friends on the team. A lot of receivers tend to hang with defensive linemen, for some reason. I don’t know why. That’s just the nature of the game.”
Mebane, Bryant, centre Max Unger and punter Jon Ryan, a native of Regina, are the only players remaining on the Seahawks from the roster churn that began with the arrival of Pete Carroll and GM John Schneider in 2010.
“The guys ( Mebane and Bryant) have kind of been the foundation blocks of the defence here and have been throughout,” Carroll told reporters this week. “They’ve been so consistent.”
Mebane, perhaps the most under- publicized Seahawk, considering his effect on the NFL’s No. 1- ranked defence, typically doesn’t get a lot of press or air time but that’s changing as the Super Bowl field narrows to the final four. The media is starting to catch up to what his teammates already know.
“He is an All- Pro,” Bryant said. “He might not have the title. But, on our football team, he’s one of the best. Around the league, he’s one of the best. It’s just unfortunate, for whatever reason, he doesn’t get the national respect in terms of accolades. But name another D tackle who’s played seven years at such a high level, day in and day out, who takes on doubles ( two blockers) and does everything for his team? We respect him a lot. He’s one of the biggest reasons we’re in the position to play for the NFC title.”
Fear, intimidation, fervent fans — Taylor believes the recent Seahawk- 49er rivalry has elements of the annual Auburn- Alabama Iron Bowl game, though it lacks the same mystique, memory and pageantry of a confrontation which has been played out for decades. In the South, a mixed marriage is considered one between a Tide and a Tiger supporter.
“I was raised in the state of Alabama, so I can’t say it’s the equivalent, of course,” Taylor explained. “But for a big city football game, where there are so many other things going on, it’s definitely up there. I love the atmosphere around here ( Seattle). The fans are head over heels in love with their Seahawks. I still have friends with that organization and the Seahawks do have my heart. They were the first one to give me a shot. I embrace the city. That’s why I call it home now.”
Home to a Super Bowl? Maybe.