Not to put undue pressure on the Seattle Seahawks or anything, but there’s a lot riding on Sunday. For the team, it’s merely the first-ever appearance in a Super Bowl. For one Everett couple, it’s a high-stakes name game.
The Hawks win, and Scott and Cindy Holmgren will be all set with a baby name. Dan Bates / The Herald
The Hawks lose, the couple will be back to friendly sparring over what to call their new son, whose due date is Feb. 15.
Scott Holmgren likes Angus. Cindy Holmgren has been thinking about Isaac. Their 2-year-old boy, Leif, wants a little brother named Sven. But only if the Seahawks have a bad day in Detroit.
Otherwise, it’s … well, you know … Michael.
“Mike, absolutely, we’d call him Mike,” Scott Holmgren said Tuesday. He had stopped by his wife’s workplace, Washington Mutual Home Loan Center in Everett, where co-workers were holding a lunchtime baby shower for Cindy and other expectant moms in the office.
With their last name, how could they not consider acknowledging Seahawks NFC Championship Coach Mike Holmgren?
“The planets are all lined up. It’s almost like you have to,” Cindy Holmgren said. She added that “to our knowledge, we are not related” to the Seahawks head coach.
“What are the odds we’d share a name with the home team coach, we’d be having a boy, and the team would be going to the Super Bowl?” she asked.
Who knows those odds? Whatever they are, a Hawks victory would spare Scott and Cindy Holmgren from reliving the indecision that followed Leif’s birth.
“My husband and I have a difficult time choosing – agreeing on – a name,” Cindy Holmgren said. “Our first son didn’t have a name for two days.”
Leif Thomas Holmgren, she said, “was our compromise.” With Holmgren being Scandinavian, “Leif came out with an adventurer viking spirit. It’s a good Scandinavian viking name.”
As the due date of their second son drew closer, she said, “we were having the same difficulty. The Seahawks kept winning and winning, and I threw it out there on the table,” she said of the NFL coach’s given name.
“We’re not season-ticket-holder, paint-your-face people,” Scott Holmgren said. They do watch the games.
“I would call us moderate fans,” Cindy said. “Since coach Holmgren took over, we’re more interested. His presence has been great for us. I don’t have to spell my name for people anymore.”
Seahawk hot dog bidding levels falls
As we wrote on page A1 Jan. 25, Stacey Houtary of Arlington and a few friends are selling a Qwest Field Super Dog on eBay. Well keep you posted about the value of the wienie. As of 9:45 p.m. Tuesday, the high bid was $7,569.70 after the seller eliminated fake bids that had driven the price to $10,069.69 Monday night. Bidding ends Thursday evening. Check out eBay.com and do a search for Seahawks hot dog. |
Scott Holmgren, his wife said, prefers unusual names. “He likes Bjorn or Sven. I’m looking for something that won’t get our son beaten up on the playground,” she quipped.
I hate to bring it up, but what will they do about a Seahawks loss?
“We’d probably end up with at least Mike for a middle name,” Cindy Holmgren said.
Already, there’s a coach in the family. Scott Holmgren coaches crew with the Lake Stevens Rowing Club. He has a “Coach Holmgren” shirt that occasionally brings double takes from strangers.
In the near future, their boy’s name may get similar reactions. For now, they just want to make it through the weekend.
Young Leif arrived two weeks before his due date. Scott Holmgren isn’t wild about the possibility of a Sunday afternoon visit to the delivery room.
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He and his wife have a game to watch. The Seahawks have a game to win.
Angus or Sven? Isaac or Bjorn Michael? All cute, but I’m putting my money on little Mike Holmgren, baby.
Columnist Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460 or muhlsteinjulie@heraldnet.com.
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