Referendum 48 - WE WON!!!!
If you read my comments written the morning of the vote, you already know it was an emotional night for me as well as for many other great Seahawk fans who care so much about OUR team. It's often hard to put into words...mere words *sigh*...our passion for the Seahawks but you know what? I just may have found a way!!!
The following snips were taken from e-mail letters that I received in the heat of the moment. 'Just words'...spoken by fans who felt, like I, that it was crucial to keep the Seahawks where they belong...in Seattle. 'Just words'...filled with the hopes and dreams of the future of OUR team. 'Just words'...coming straight from the heart.
I know it's old stuff now, but I still like to read this every so often to feel the passion for the team we love so much! Enjoy!
Ooga booga booga!
The night before the vote, I asked my friends to keep their *fingers crossed* for good luck! I'm still laughing at this reply!!!
"Fingers are crossed....I poked the left ear of my voodoo doll representing all of those that oppose it...I rubbed the tummy of my lucky Buddha......and I said a prayer over my smoking incense......it WILL happen Beck...KEEP THE
FAITH.
Oh...ooga booga booga <-- the equivalent of 'amen!'"
[Note: And that isn't even from a Seahawks fan!!]
"I have learned that there is little sense worrying about things we have little ability
to do anything about. It is all in other people's hands right now. All we can do is count on #12... Relax.... everything is done for a reason, and #12 hasn't let us down yet!"
"I have a feeling the measure will pass. My gut-wrenched feeling is 51.5 to 48.5..."
June 17th finally arrived, and as we got off work, we waited anxiously for the polls to close.....
"Well, here I am in my "Save The Seahawks" t shirt and a Seahawk hat...wishing I was 2 hours BEHIND the West coast instead of AHEAD....all I can do now is just wait....GO #12!!!!!"
"I'm going to be scanning the wires continually today to see if there's any news."
"I just got home and no word yet. I know I will keep checking through the night....If you hear before me drop a line!!"
"I'll try to get you a message every half hour. Only about 15 minutes till
poll closing time...I should have some news shortly after 8 PM."
"Polls just closed, I have the radio and two TV stations on......."
"Make that TWO radio stations, two tv's and still nothing!"
And then this article by Steve Kelley: Cost of keeping the Dome is not worth Behring, sent to me "for inspiration." [Just a few snips are shown here....]
Paul Allen has been coaxed into rescuing this state from Ken Behring.
With one vote, the Seahawks can have one of the best owners in pro football,
instead of the absolute worst.
With one vote, Washington can have a billionaire football owner who won't be afraid to spend money.
Allen even has agreed to pay for any construction overruns.
With one vote, you can have a spectacular football stadium.
You can have the debt retired on the Kingdome roof repairs.
You can have Major League Soccer played on grass.
A little after 8:15 pacific time, the first results were posted.....
"...the first tally is in! Did you see it?
Approve: 51.73%
Reject: 48.27%
So far...so good..."
"And............WE'RE OFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I AM GETTING ALL TINGLY!!!!!!"
[Note: *laughing*]
"I'm awaiting....(anxiety to the max!!!)...sitting here feeling 'helpless'...we will do it."
"Just listening to the radio- conflicting results coming in from various places, yes in King, no in Pierce (Tacoma), seems to be losing narrowly in small counties, winning in bigger ones; radio calling it a dead heat."
"WE HAVE COME ALL THIS WAY.........
I mean, do you realize that we are at crossroads? Either the Seahawks go forward to what honestly looks like the most promising future they have EVER had...
OR......"
"More conflicted returns, Patrick says 51% no, 49 yes on TV. But the radio station directly covering this says that with one third of votes in, it's passing. Big news is that Eastern WA early votes show it going down big."
"HANG IN THERE, BABY!!! GONNA BE A BUMPY RIDE TONIGHT!!!!"
"The balloon has burst. The e-mails are starting to get ugly. We're behind. At the chat, most everyone has gone to bed to say their prayers. I'm very frustrated, because I can't find any updated numbers on-line."
"I couldn't get any updates on the computer either, but the radio and TV are in conflict. The non-Seattle area counties that voted by mail have been turning it down big, but there are SO many votes in the Seattle area counties, where it seems to be doing OK."
"Just got a report in from the No camp, they don't feel they've won this thing. GOOD."
"Approve - 112,565 - 52.02
Reject - 103,809 - 47.98
GETTIN' TINGLY AGAIN!!!"
[Note: Humor, at this point, was greatly appreciated!]
"Approve - 151,474 - 53.58 (FOR)
Reject - 131,230 - 46.42 (AGAINST)"
"The vast bulk of the vote is concentrated around Seattle, and its going our way. Truth is, this'll be a nail biter till the end, I'm afraid. But miracles happen."
"News flash, the King county vote has cut the gap! The no's are only about 15,000 ahead, down from 30,000 ahead only about twenty minutes ago!"
"ONCE AGAIN......HANG ON!!!! IT'S GOING TO BE A BUMPY RIDE!!!!!!!!!!!
(TIME OF YOUR LIFE, EH KID?)"
"Approve - 194,545 -55.14
Reject - 158,305 - 44.86
THAT'S RIGHT!!! 3/4 DONE, AND WE HAVE AN 11 POINT LEAD!!!!!!! [Note: In King Co.]
OOHHHH..... CAN YOU FEEL IT?..........."
"Just heard an analyst (pretty knowledgable guy) predict 54-46 yes when all is said and done King County returns from today's poll as opposed to absentee mail-in are strong for, about 57-43 yes. The mail in skewed the early statewide results."
"This will go into the wee hours, figuratively speaking. But I still have faith........"
"11 o'clock news just said its 50/50, the no's only lead by 1,100 votes out of over 1.2 million cast. Radio says 51-49 no, but more Seattle area counties votes are coming in. I expect the last results at the end of the news at 11:35 will have us ever so slightly ahead. Everything else that comes in after that in terms of mail-in vote will likely favor us too. Will email you at 11:35."
"HANG ON BECKY!!!!! HANG ON!!!!!!!!"
"Yes has just taken the lead! Paul Allen just gave a speech to the supporters a minute ago where he expressed his thanks and his optimism. We're going to win this, believe me!!"
POP THE CHAMPAGNE....WE WON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AN INDIANA SALUTE FOR #12 ( as soon as I figure out what that is!!)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
VICTORY IS OURS!!!!!!!!!!!!
"Nearly 20,000 votes ahead, and still counting! I'm going to bed, you get some sleep and dream about your first football game in the new stadium. We'll get seats together and cheer our hearts out!"
"Results as of 11:25pm
Total Yes Votes - 694,021 or 51%
Total No Votes - 677,896 or 49%
Total Precincts Reporting: 92%
And just before calling it a night.....
"You are the only person I know besides me that would be up at 2 am over a football team!!! Thank you, Becky...."
[Note: Don't thank me!! Thank the people in Washington who voted YES, thank the volunteers who worked so hard to get the word out, thank the NFL commissioners for allowing multi-sports ownership, and most of all, thank Paul Allen!!!]
"Okay, here's the latest...
Results as of 11:54pm
Total Yes Votes - 699,239 or 51%
Total No Votes - 681,389 or 49%
Total Precincts Reporting: 93%
I don't think we can OFFICIALLY celebrate yet, but I think it is LOOKING GOOD!!!"
From KOMO:
Election Notes: The stadium issue appears to have passed, primarily because of the vote count in Western Washington.
"WOW!! They don't sound too enthusiastic about it, BUT I AM!!!!!!!!
YIPEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
My thoughts......(posted on my web page that night)
As I write, it's 2:30 am in Kansas and I am spent. It was an emotional roller coaster ride all night as we awaited the fate of our beloved SEATTLE SEAHAWKS!!! At the moment, 93% of the precincts have reported, with a tally of 51% YES, 49% no. Eastern Washington hurt us...really bad. King County saved us. Hooray! We're winning and it feels oh so.....tingly?!!!!!? (heheh! Just a joke - you had to be there!!) Okay, so I'm delirious!! It is, after all, the wee hours of the morning - on a work night, no less!
Anyway, what a terrific evening spent amongst the BEST company, my Seahawk friends! Thank you for all the e-mail letters (nearly 100!) expressing first our joy at being ahead, then our sense of loss at falling behind or standing at a dead heat, and then finally, the incredible joy of making it back to the top! The emotions were exhausting, but once again we have a new experience that serves to solidify our already strong bond with the team we so dearly love!!
Thank you, my friends, for sharing this evening with me! For celebrating with me; for sharing our hopes, dreams, and fears; for caring enough to be happy and sad and angry and disappointed and gleeful!! (Yeah! GLEEFUL!!! Why not?!?!?) I couldn't have made it without you! Seahawk fans are undeniably THE best!!
Pop the cork, BABY! This is the first of many victories to come!!! It's time to do some well-deserved celebrating!!!!!!!!!! GoooOOOOO Seahawks!!!! And thank you, Mr. Allen!!
The aftermath......
"Back on Feb. 2, 1996, it looked like it was all going to come crashing down. 12 years of intense fanhood, 12 years of thrills and disappointments, 12 years of heroes and role models. 12 years of sticking with something that
genuinely meant something to me. I was hurt, angry and frustrated.
That's all over.
This long, nine-year old Behring nightmare is finally over, and a golden age is about to dawn on our team. Let's enjoy the ride.
Thank you, Paul Allen, THANK YOU."
"It has been a long night for many of us. I was up until 12:30 last night watching the numbers come in. As it stands now we are about 18,000 votes ahead. 93% of the votes are in. 51% Yes and 49% No. They say it will be a few days before they get all the absentee votes counted...Paul Allen spoke to the volunteers last night at campaign headquarters. He thanked all of them. And told them he is positive that we will win this!!"
"I sure was sick to my stomach last night! They started showing the results at 8:15 and we were behind until 11:00 p.m. That's when we started to jump ahead. There was only one eastern washington county that helped us out with the yes votes. The other ones voted majority No...The counties from around here have saved us!! It's not over yet. But I do feel it will be OK...SEAHAWKS FOREVER!!!
"IT PASSED!! IT PASSED!! I can't wait for the season to start. My team is staying put!"
"Well, ESPNews today reported that Paul Allen has signed a letter of intent to buy the SEATTLE Seahawks....
The bad news is that they also report that we may not know the FINAL final vote results until.....NEXT WEEK!!!
But, I think that is just a technicality...
WE WIN, BABY!!!!!"
"The only anxiety we will feel now, is that which comes with the anticipation of winning football games. That is how it's supposed to be!!
What a great feeling!!!
No more distractions, now we can focus only on our sole objective....NFL CHAMPIONS!!!!!"
Weeee Heeeeeeee !!!!!!!!!! It appears the good citizens of Washington want OUR Seahawks to stay! I
am going in for my fingernail transplants on Friday!
"Thank you for being a fellow crazy FANatic who understands me about this thing!
[Note: My pleasure!!!]
"The first news this morning was that Paul Allen has signed a letter of intent to buy the Seahawks! Hurray."
"I can't begin to relay my JOY & EXCITEMENT to you!!!!... I WAS SO PUMPED!!!! & to add to my excitement, DID YOU SEE WHAT JON KITNA, THE FUTURE OF THE SEAHAWKS DID IN THE WORLD BOWL!!!!!! 23 of 32 - 401 Yards & 2 TD's. He won World league MVP!!!! & set many world bowl & World league Records!!!! We are on are way!!!! YES, YES, YES!!!!!...
HAWKS!!! HAWKS!!! HAWKS!!!!!
GGGGGOOOOOOO SSSSSEEEEAAAAHHHAAAAWWWWKKKKSSSSS!!!"
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