"Oh, man. We played those guys tough two years ago and they beat us - barely. We have a much better team now and we'll give those guys a good go at it."

-- Darrell Jackson, March 29, 2002







Seattle Seahawks 20 - St. Louis Rams 37

* exasperated sigh *

When we went in to half time with the lead, I thought we were going to do it. We had the momentum, we'd overcome a deficit, and I thought we'd fight to win. It didn't happen.

I'm angry that we quit. Just under the 6 minute mark we got the ball back, 4 touchdowns down. Granted, it's hard to make 4 touchdowns in 6 minutes but if ever there was a time to try, it's when you're inside 6 minutes in the fourth quarter. Did we have a hurry-up offense? No. We took our time getting to the huddle, we dinked around, we exhibited no sense of urgency; in other words, we threw the game away. Nothing else mattered after that possession. Why we even attempted to score after that possession is beyond me. Once again, it's too little too late. We'd already thrown in the towel and called it quits for the day.

Grrrrrrrrrrr, that angers me!!! I hadn't quit! I paid $65 for my ticket in the nosebleed seats expecting to get a FULL game from my beloved Seahawks. They didn't give me that. Every Seahawks fan who attended the game, and believe me, there were many, deserves a prorated refund of their admission price.

OK, OK, I'll calm down a little bit. It's just so frustrating when you love a team the way I love the Seahawks and they don't put forth the effort. If they tried their best and lost I'd understand, but they aren't trying.

Well, the fans tried! The 1st Annual Meeting of the MidWest Sea Hawkers Club was held in St. Louis over the weekend! Under the direction of President Marty Black and Vice-President of Entertainment Peter Flores we had one heck of a party!! If you will indulge me, I'll share the story from my point of view!

I arrived in St. Louis around 7:00 p.m. on Saturday night after spending a couple of days in Kansas City. (Click here for pictures of Australia Rules Football and here for pictures of Kansas City.) I walked into the hotel, still wearing my Aussie Rules Tigers shirt, and saw a group of Seahawks fans in the lobby. I asked if they were MidWest Sea Hawkers; someone said yes. I asked if any of them happened to be Marty; Marty said yes. I introduced myself and the party began!! They were waiting for a shuttle to Union Station for the annual meeting so I checked into the hotel, changed into Seahawks clothing and dashed back to the lobby to join Marty, his wife Erica, and Vaughn on the next shuttle!

Once we'd arrived at Union Station, the introductions began. I couldn't believe how easy it was to visit with everyone there! All of us ... Seahawks fans! How cool is that? There were stories flying, pictures being passed around, prizes handed out, and some of the coolest apparel I've ever seen! (And no, I'm not talking about the stuff the Hooters girls were wearing!) We ate dinner, held a business meeting in which we voted to adopt the by-laws, chanted a lot -- SEA-HAWKS!!!, visited, laughed, told tales, chanted some more...well, you get the idea!

The next morning I wandered over to the parking lot where the tailgate party was held around 7:30. Peter, Jerry and some of the gang were already hard at it, getting things set up for the event! Jerry had the corner reserved with his Seahawks motorhome! Peter had the next couple of spaces reserved with a U-haul trailer. They were getting the grills out, putting the meat on to cook, setting up chairs, mounting flags on poles...we had a presence!!!

Little by little Seahawks fans began to show up. We recruited members from the street as they passed by. We welcomed fans whom we'd met the night before at Union Station. The spread was incredible, thanks to Peter and Jerry! We had hot dogs, hamburgers, brats, deep fried chicken wings, roast beef and California salmon!! We had chili and hot cheese dip and chips! And we had free beer and soda!

Around 10:00 a.m. the raffle began! Everyone who came received at least one prize from donated items, and then we did drawings for the big ticket items such as gift baskets, jerseys, and Seattle brewery items. THANKS to everyone who donated prizes! What a party we were able to have due to your generosity!!

Everyone pitched in to clean up and then we headed to the game. It was SO great to be able to sit together in a sea of Seahawks fans! Brian started a chant for us in which we'd all shout 1-2-3 FIRST DOWN when the Hawks would get a first down. Unfortunately, the Rams fans stole our cheer and used it to badger us as the game went on. Before long, at least three sections of Rams fans had picked up on our chant. That wasn't so fun. After the game, we headed back to the tailgate and filled up on cold burgers and dogs!

Despite the outcome of the game, I have very good memories of the meeting and the tailgate party. The fans I met are all awesome people and I can't wait to meet up with them again! We rehashed the game and debated the qualities of Mike Holmgren, said our good-byes and headed our separate ways, vowing to do it again next year!!!

For pictures of the meeting and tailgate party, Click here and for photos of St. Louis, Click here!