A day after the Marysville Pilchuck football team traveled to Renton to practice at Seahawks headquarters, Pete Carroll and several players talked about the visit, and it was clear the Tomahawks weren’t the only group to take a lot out of the experience.
“That was an amazing experience,” Carroll said. “A bunch of our guys jumped up to come out and meet them, coaches were all there, and people from the third floor (front office) in the building all were there to greet them. It was an amazing experience to feel their gratitude. They were most grateful for the opportunity to be here. Obviously the Seahawks are a big deal to them, and to see them react to Richard Sherman coming out and they see Earl Thomas and see all the guys, Bobby Wagner, those guys all greet them and shaking hands and taking pictures and having fun with them, it was tremendous.
“As always is the case, both sides receive a lot out of that kind of exchange. Our guys were really moved by their energy and their enthusiasm. They have a lot of responsibility on them in that they’re kind of carrying the spirit for their area. They’re somewhat of a rallying point, I would think, and they’re really up for the challenge. Coach (Brandon) Carson seemed to have those guys disciplined and tuned in, it was really, really exciting to see.
Carroll also made a point to once again credit the Oak Harbor football team, which forfeited last week’s game against Marysville Pilchuck, giving the Tomahawks the top spot in the Wesco 3A north division. Carroll said the Wildcats, who were also invited to practice at Seahawks headquarters, will likely come out next week.
“And just to make the mention again about Oak Harbor making their gesture to recognize that opportunity and then make a great choice to give those guys an opportunity to stay in the playoff hunt and all of that, that was really tremendous,” he said. “I think they’re going to come see us next week, which we’re thrilled to be able to exchange with those guys.
“It does speak to the power of sport and how it is such a unifying element in our culture, and you can just see it in this local community. I know that they’ll be a big factor in how everybody comes back to normal life and all. It was very powerful.”
Here’s what cornerback Richard Sherman had to say:
“It was incredibly unique. You can never picture yourself in that position. You can sympathize with them to a degree, but you’ve never been in their shoes, so at that point, you just want to do anything you can to help them forget about that moment, to help them kind of live in the present, live in this moment and experience a little joy. Whatever you can do to help them feel a little bit of joy and to just zone out for a minute, because when you have a tragedy like that, you want to do anything to get your mind off of it.”
“They were kind of shocked to see us a little bit, but they seemed like excited kids. They seemed like, for a moment in time, they forgot about everything that happened and everything that was going on, and were able to enjoy the moment and take pictures and smile and laugh and have a good time. Obviously the reality of the situation is what it is, and it’s going to be a tough road getting back to normality for them, but I’m glad we could take a little bit of stress off of them.
Asked what he took from it, Sherman said, “I think it brought me joy. It brings you joy to see yourself being able to change someone’s day like that; to bring a smile to somebody’s day who has obviously been frowning and crying and having a lot of sadness; just to be able to change the momentum of their day for a little bit, to make them smile, to make them happy, to bring them a little bit of joy.”
Linebacker Bobby Wagner:
“It was cool to see them smile. They’ve been through a lot these last couple of days, so just giving them an opportunity to not necessarily have to think about that and just kind of take their focus off of that, even if it was just for 30 minutes or an hour, it was a great feeling.
“I’ve had deaths in my life, and if I would have had somebody who could have taken my thoughts off of what I was going through, that would have been great. So I’m just trying to provide what I didn’t have.
“Seeing them smile, man. Seeing them get excited about practice, go out there with a lot of energy, and just helping them take their mind off of something so tragic, for however long it was, was a great feeling.”
Receiver Doug Baldwin:
“It was a unique opportunity to break up the monotony of the day and to take their mind off of what had happened, for them to come here and have some time to enjoy themselves and be distracted from everything that was going on.
“For me, I’ve got a 12-year-old brother, and the thing I think about a lot is that you can’t take for granted the time you can spend with him or the time you can take to talk to him. Just appreciating the people you have around you, loved ones, family members, friends, because anything can happen. Obviously it’s a devastating tragedy, but it just makes you appreciate those you care about more.”
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