DETROIT – Terry Pfeufer stood looking out over the crowd of football fans, sporting a vintage Seattle Seahawks jersey with the number “80” on the back and “Largent” across the top.
Happy that I’d finally found a local, you can imagine my surprise when I asked him, “Where you from?”
“Pittsburgh,” he said.
Not every fan from Pittsburgh is draped in gold and black.
Pfeufer doesn’t have a ticket to Super Bowl XL on Sunday at Ford Field, and he’s not trying to get one. He’s soaking up the atmosphere just the same and not planning to head home until Monday.
After all, it’s probably safer to be a Seahawks fan in Detroit this week than in Pittsburgh.
“Let’s put it this way,” Pfeufer said. “On my deck, I run a Seahawks flag every Sunday. This is the only week out of 20 that it’s not going to be running. I might have to put the house on the market next week.”
It was a 50-50 shot that Pfeufer would become a Seahawks fan. The year was 1976, the Steelers were already building their legend, and he wanted to support a team from its inception. The choices were the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Seahawks, who entered the league at the same time.
“I saw (Jim) Zorn and (Steve) Largent and how hard they played and their enthusiasm,” Pfeufer said. “I’ve been following them ever since.”
He had mixed emotions when it was decided a couple of weeks ago that his hometown team would face his favorite team in the Super Bowl.
“I was happy for the city” of Pittsburgh, Pfeufer said. “However, I knew that eliminated my chance for tickets.”
Catching up
They won’t pull even, but if sales on Stubhub.com are any indication, Seattle Seahawks fans are starting to develop more of a presence at Super Bowl XL.
According to the most recent statistics from Stubhub, 8 percent of tickets bought through the Web site were purchased by people from Washington state. By comparison, 21 percent of buyers are from Pittsburgh.
Other interesting tidbits:
* Ticket prices are being offered in the range of $2,750 to $7,144.
* Tickets have sold in the range of $1,795 to $6,858, an average of $3,055 per ticket.
* The most expensive ticket has been $6,858, first row on the 40-yard line.
A first for everything
If there is anything the Rolling Stones haven’t already done, it’s play before an estimated audience of 1 billion people.
If you needed any proof of how big the Super Bowl halftime show is, notice the fact that the Stones are interrupting their North American tour for a full week just to take part in what will ultimately be a 10-minute medley of their hits during the intermission.
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