Hawks, fans look to next year

SEATTLE -It was a new day.

The sun was out. People rocked to music, cheered, ate hot dogs, waved flags.

Their heroes were returning home.

It was hard to tell at times that the Seattle Seahawks had lost the Super Bowl to the Pittsburgh Steelers the day before in Detroit, 21-10.

“Welcome home to our Seattle Seahawks; we are the NFL champions of the world,” Gov. Chris Gregoire said.

Coach Mike Holmgren greets everyone he can as he and the Seahawks thank fans during their homecoming at Qwest Field on Monday.

“Seahawks, Seahawks, Seahawks!” came the chant, several times over the course of the afternoon, to the flutter of thousands of blue and white “12” flags at Qwest Field. Cheerleaders danced to the tune of Queen’s “We Will Rock You.”

The “12th Man,” the team’s fans, showed up perhaps 10,000 strong to process their grief, relive the team’s earlier successes and welcome the players home. To commiserate and to celebrate.

“It was really tough; it was hard to watch,” Tennille Hansen of Mukilteo said of Sunday’s game. “It just kind of took your breath away.”

Hansen, 29, and her friend Nichoal Arguigo, 24, of Lake Stevens said the defeat was all the more reason to come and support their team.

“Absolutely,” they said in unison, nodding. “They’re still our Hawks,” Hansen said, wearing a jersey bearing the No. 87 of receiver Joe Jurevicius.

Much of the crowd arrived early for the 2 p.m. event and sat in the seats along the field as they waited for the team. Fans watched replays and listened to play-by-play of the Seahawks’ victories over the New York Giants in November and the Carolina Panthers in the NFC Championship Game two weeks ago.

Big cheers went up as the final score of the Carolina game was announced, as if it had happened all over again. The same occurred when the screen showed the players holding aloft the National Conference championship trophy.

Old medicine for new wounds.

“Wooooooooooo!” cheered one woman, tailing off toward the end, as if to force out every last bit of air from her lungs.

The team’s plane flew directly over the stadium as it arrived from Detroit, the Seahawks logo easily visible on the jet’s tail, drawing more whoops and hollers.

The biggest cheers, of course, were reserved for the players’ arrival. The loudest, most cathartic of those came when coach Mike Holmgren tapped into the undercurrent of anger over the way Sunday’s game was officiated. Several questionable calls went against Seattle.

The coach said he knew the Steelers would be tough, “but I didn’t know we were going to have to play the guys with the striped shirts as well.”

Several signs in the crowd made reference to the officiating, including “Steelers’ 12th Man: The Refs.”

“Pittsburgh bought themselves a Super Bowl,” said Karen Solbeck, 32, of Bothell.

“It was obvious favoritism,” said Jenni Hunter, also 32, of Everett.

The prevailing sentiment, though, was appreciation for the Seahawks’ winning season and looking forward to next year. The players who spoke, running back Shaun Alexander, linebacker Lofa Tatupu and quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, pledged to get the team to next year’s Super Bowl in Miami and to win it.

The sun hinted of summer training camp and bright autumn Sundays at the stadium.

“I can’t wait,” said Diego Moreno, 22, of Mukilteo. “I just want to fast-forward to it.”

Reporter Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439 or sheets@heraldnet.com.

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