Dejected in Detroit

Published 9:00 pm Sunday, February 5, 2006

DETROIT – There were two Hollywood scripts sitting on the table Sunday night at Super Bowl XL.

One had the local kid, Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jerome Bettis, returning home to close out his illustrious career by winning the grandest championship in the land, just seven miles from where he grew up.

Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald Disappointed Seahawk fans watch the waning moments of the game at Ford Field in Detroit.

The other was the classic underdog tale.

The team no one believed in headed into hostile territory, much like Rocky Balboa in “Rocky IV.” That’s the one that took the southpaw to the heart of the Soviet Union to get in the ring with the pumped-up, juiced-up national hero as the entire arena rooted against him.

The producer picked up the wrong script in Seattle fans’ minds, and Super Bowl XL was etched in history as a 21-10 victory for the Pittsburgh Steelers over the Seattle Seahawks.

The Steelers got their “one for the thumb,” the fifth Super Bowl title in franchise history.

The Seahawks still wave an empty hand.

“I’m disappointed we didn’t win,” said Judy Vigoren, 63, of Snohomish. “But we are just so happy that we’re here and proud of our team, and to be here to represent them.”

The Seattle Seahawks made their first journey to the biggest sports stage in North America and that’s where they ran into the busloads of fans from relatively nearby Pittsburgh who took over the “neutral” Ford Field in Detroit.

Vendors inside the stadium were selling official yellow “Terrible Towels” for fans to wave for $10. A Seahawks fan asked for a green one, but the vendor didn’t have any of those.

“I don’t make the rules,” he told the disappointed and somewhat annoyed fan.

The 12th Man, this time, wasn’t enough. To beat this crowd, the Seahawks would have needed the 13th through 100th men, as well, although there were times when the comparatively small Seahawks contingent was louder than their counterparts.

“I think we were outnumbered about 100-to-1,” said George Janecke, 79, of Lynnwood, who made the trip. “But, gee, we had a good game going and there was a lot of happy people (in the main Seahawks rooting sections). Then it just sort of began to slip away.”

It slipped and slipped and slipped, before falling completely out of reach.

But Seahawks fans who made the journey and weathered the cold and snow to get to the big game took it in stride, practically already making plans for Super Bowl XLI in Miami.

“I’m just looking forward to Miami and Phoenix and every other warm city,” said Walt Baker, 46, of Snohomish. “It’s hard to get fired up right now, but we’ve got Miami coming up next year.”

If it’s any consolation, only seven teams in the history of the Super Bowl – not counting the Green Bay Packers, who won the first two – won the big game in their first try. Of those, only two beat a Super Bowl champion to claim the title.

“I think the point that we made it is the real bottom line,” Janecke said. “Because there are teams that never have and, of course, we hadn’t for 30 years. The history of the team has expanded now, and now we have a goal to do it again. Because, before we didn’t ever even think about the Super Bowl, we thought about other things; you know, winning a playoff game, or something like that.”

And maybe that is enough, for now.

No one will want to hear this today, and the sour taste of defeat will stick in our mouths for months throughout the off-season. But this team did more than any other Seahawks roster in history, and while the ultimate victory wasn’t accomplished, it was a fantastic ride.

“To think that we were at the Super Bowl, then, of course, that our team was there,” said Janecke, who turned down $20 for his ticket stub after the game, and $1,500 for his vintage Seahawks jersey before it. “You know, hundreds of thousands of football fans that have never experienced this.”

“It would be like a fantastic dream to do it again. And, boy, we sure will. But, shucks, everything about this is like a dream. Of course, it would have been more of a dream to win it.”

Reporter Victor Balta: 425-339-3455 or vbalta@heraldnet.com.