Snohomish boy arrives at school in style — with Seahawks quarterback
Published 11:30 pm Tuesday, December 4, 2007
SNOHOMISH — Jacob Nowlan waited.
He paced.
He anxiously tossed his authentic NFL football in the air — again and again. He pressed his nose against the glass window pane in his living room. His blue eyes focused on the street, searching for movement.
His ride to school was late.
He had been waiting since October, when a FedEx package arrived with a letter informing the 7-year-old he won the “NFL Take a Player to School” contest. His prize: a ride to school in the back of a limousine with Seattle Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, and time with the football giant at home and in the classroom.
Like everyone in his family, Jacob is a huge Seahawks fan. A Hasselbeck poster hangs in his bedroom, and he loves watching No. 8 throw the ball on TV. His 10-year-old brother, Zak, can spout statistics on Hasselbeck and his three other favorite Seahawks. Their sister, Kierstin, was born on Feb. 5, 2006, as the Seahawks unsuccessfully battled the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Super Bowl.
On Tuesday, Jacob woke around 6:30 a.m. — without an alarm — and dressed in a Hasselbeck jersey.
“I want to play football with him,” he said excitedly. “He’s a professional and I get to see him do throws, not on the football shows, but in real life.”
His grandma, Ellen Benestad, came over from Everett to meet Hasselbeck. His dad, Drayson Nowlan, flipped on the video camera and began taping. His mom, Birgitte Nowlan, prepared a plate of muffins and arranged Seahawks footballs, trading cards and photo mats for Hasselbeck to sign on the dining room table. She said that other than the births of their children, the opportunity to meet Hasselbeck was the most exciting thing to happen to the family. Kierstin toddled around in a Seahawks cheerleading uniform and Zak thought of football trivia questions to ask Hasselbeck.
“I’m so excited that I don’t even know how excited I am,” Zak said.
Around 8:30 a.m., — a half-hour after Hasselbeck was scheduled to arrive — the phone rang.
“It’s Matt,” Drayson Nowlan said, passing the phone to his son.
After a few “yeps” and a “got it,” Jacob hung up the phone and yelled, “Matt Hasselbeck has just passed the Evergreen Hospital!”
Forty-five minutes later, a black stretch limousine pulled in front of the Nowlan’s home in rural Snohomish.
Everyone, including Grandma, ran onto the porch.
“All right. How’s it doing?” Hasselbeck shouted up to the Nowlans as he climbed out of the limo. “Do you have any dogs I need to be afraid of? How are you?”
Matt Hasselbeck, 6 feet, 4 inches, 225 pounds, met Jacob Nowlan, 4 feet, 1 inch, 57 pounds.
Jacob showed the Seahawks captain his toy train and then gave him a tour of his bedroom. Hasselbeck signed autographs and discussed Obi-Wan Kenobi from Star Wars, the second-grader’s prized faux pink diamond and the Hasselbeck action figure Jacob made with Bionicle Lego toys.
After posing for family photos — Hasselbeck in the middle — and tossing the football on the driveway, the Nowlan boys, dad included, climbed into the limo to ride to Zion Lutheran School in Everett.
The entire school was waiting along the driveway. Around 180 students cheered, chanted and waved homemade signs as the limo pulled up.
“This is the day we have been waiting for, for a very long time,” Jacob’s teacher, Laurie Yocum said, as Hasselbeck walked into her classroom. “Let’s give Mr. Matt a clap.”
Parents nearly outnumbered students in the classroom. They jostled for positions to snap photos as Hasselbeck read “Christmas in the Barn” and made a construction paper manger scene with Jacob.
“He’s a fine colorer; he obviously did well in second grade,” observed parent Karin Palagyi. Her son, Alex, wore blue gel in his hair in honor of Hasselbeck’s visit.
“It’s really exciting,” said teaching assistant Shelby King, 17. “He’s taller and he’s cuter in real life.”
“Mr. Matt” and Jacob were the line leaders en route to the school-wide assembly held in their honor. There, Hasselbeck fielded kids’ questions: “When did you start going outside?” “How do you feel about being a Christian in the NFL?”
Then, surrounded by second-graders, Hasselbeck conducted a live interview with the NFL Network. When through, he took off his microphone and asked, “OK. Who wants to play some football?”
He led Jacob’s classmates in a series of skips, shuffles and dashes, then tossed passes for them to try to catch.
When he left at 11 a.m., he and Jacob were on a first-name basis, easily trading high-fives and camera-ready smiles.
“I thought he looked different in real life and he did better throws than I saw him do on TV,” Jacob said, summing up the day. “I hope the TV people can come again — and Hasselbeck.”
Reporter Kaitlin Manry: 425-339-3292 or kmanry@heraldnet.com.
