After her son became a Seattle Seahawk in 2010, Delisa “Momma” Lynch let fans in on the secret to his Skittles habit.
The running back whose playing style earned him the nickname “Beast Mode” has apparently been hooked on the tangy, colorful candies since his Bay Area youth football days.
“The real is story is, I would give him Skittles before the game when he was playing Pop Warner,” Delisa Lynch said in a 2012 interview published on the Seahawks website. “When Marshawn was 12 or 13, we’d go to his games and I’d always have little candies in my purse.”
Hawks fans in Snohomish County will soon get a chance to talk Skittles and football in person with No. 24’s mom. Delisa Lynch, who lives in Tracy, California, south of Sacramento, is scheduled to be in Everett Saturday for a Snohomish County Sea Hawkers rally to benefit Toys for Tots.
The rally will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday in the parking lot of the Toys R Us store at 1325 SE Everett Mall Way.
“We’re going to have Marshawn’s mom, a stage with a band, and pony rides for kids,” said Sharon Therres, vice president of the Snohomish County Sea Hawkers Booster Club.
And Tuesday, event organizers said Beverly “Mama” Sherman, the mother of Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman, is scheduled to make an appearance at the Everett rally.
Therres said Toys R Us is a partner in the benefit, and that the store will offer discounts for people donating to the toy drive.
“The spirit of the 12s is not just showing up for a game,” Therres said. “Everyone is so enthusiastic about the Seahawks. Now, together, we can do something for our community.”
Terry Johnson, a Sea Hawkers member from Marysville, is organizing Saturday’s rally. He took part in fan rallies last year, one at an Alfy’s restaurant in Monroe and several at Mondo’s Pub in Lynnwood, and said crowds during the Hawks’ Super Bowl season at times topped 1,000 people.
“The Sea Hawkers are 100 percent loyal to the team. And the team, they do a lot for the community, Pete Carroll and all those guys,” he said.
Mary Butler, coordinator of the local Toys for Tots chapter, said Saturday’s rally will be “our big push” for this holiday season. The chapter, South Snohomish County Toys for Tots, gives toys to families in need from the Smokey Point area to the King County line.
Toys for Tots is a program of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. Butler said the U.S. Marine Corps cadet color guard will present the flag at the rally.
It should be fun for kids and grownup fans. Along with “Momma” Lynch, Butler promised an appearance by Santa. It’s a chance, too, for fans here to voice their 12th Man spirit, whether or not they ever get to CenturyLink Field. “What a wonderful way to soak up some of that Seahawks hoopla, and feel like we’re a part of it up here in Snohomish County,” Butler said.
For Butler, the rally will spur a lot more than team spirit. It’s all about helping kids at Christmas.
Last year, she said, Toys for Tots provided gifts for 27,000 families in Snohomish County. Already this year, 1,300 families have applied online for support this holiday season. The local Toys for Tots will set up shop, and will be helping families, by Dec. 1 at its location in the lower level of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Hall in downtown Everett. The agency can only serve families that have applied online and been accepted for help. Butler said collection sites are still needed around the county for donated toys.
At Saturday’s rally, a truck will be in the parking lot to load all the donated toys. “It’s important to hold this at a venue where people can just go in and easily grab a toy,” Butler said.
“We’re just so excited,” she said. “It’s all about the kids.”
Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460; jmuhlstein@heraldnet.com.
Sea Hawkers rally for Toys for Tots
The Snohomish County Sea Hawkers Booster Club and Toys for Tots will hold a rally 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday in the parking lot of Toys R Us, 1325 SE Everett Mall Way, Everett. Donated toys will help local families at Christmas. There will be live music and kids’ activities. Delisa “Momma” Lynch, the mother of Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch, and Beverly “Mama” Sherman, mother of Seahawk Richard Sherman, are scheduled to appear.
Sea Hawkers: www.seahawkers.org/sea-hawker-chapters/snohomish-county-everett/
Toys for Tots: http://everett-wa.toysfortots.org/local-coordinator-sites/lco-sites/default.aspx
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