OLYMPIA – A package from Pittsburgh arrived at Lt. Gov. Brad Owen’s office Monday.
Opening it, he found cheese and cookies nestled among a pile of black-and-yellow raffia, a gift from Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll of Pennsylvania.
Several pieces of cheese were stamped with the names of Pittsburgh Steelers, and the cookies – well, nobody was sure if it was safe to eat them.
Black and yellow is officially taboo in the lieutenant governor’s office, which is looking more and more like a shrine to the Seahawks these days.
Full-page newspaper clippings are taped to walls. Employees walk around sporting blue Seahawks shirts. A giant “12th Man” flag hangs above a desk.
And no one can stop talking about that Arlington woman selling a Seahawks Super Dog on eBay.
While Seahawks mania hasn’t quite reached a fever pitch in the state Capitol, the temperature is definitely rising.
Seahawks jerseys and “12th Man” buttons are becoming the most popular clothing and accessory items in both houses. And lawmakers’ offices are being decked out for the Super Bowl, said Sen. Luke Esser, R-Bellevue.
“The stuffed shirts of the Senate are letting down their hair a little,” Esser said.
Gov. Chris Gregoire, aided by her husband, Mike, raised a “12th Man” flag outside the legislative building Monday afternoon.
Her dog, Franz, posed for photographers, sporting a blue and green Seahawks fleece tied around his neck.
Owen revoked the dress code on the Senate floor, issuing an order that “blue and green fan attire, worn in the true spirit of the 12th Man, will be perfectly acceptable attire (through) next week and the Monday after the Seahawk victory.”
The decree added: “Recent tests have determined that the wearing of any combination of the colors yellow, white or black, particularly in conjunction with the words Pittsburgh or Steelers, may cause the wearer to become invisible.”
Rep. Hans Dunshee, D-Snohomish, said he won’t be wearing a Seahawks jersey on the House floor this week, but will be watching the game Sunday.
“I think (wearing a jersey on the House floor) is a bit over the top,” Dunshee said. “I think everybody’s religious affiliations should be their own and not the business of the government.”
Dunshee did add that he would consider wearing a jersey if it would get a rise out of his seatmate from Snohomish County, House speaker John Lovick, D-Mill Creek.
“I would wear anything that would disrupt Mr. Lovick’s decorum,” Dunshee said. “But I ain’t painting my face.”
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