SEATTLE – This was how it used to be. Back when the Seattle Seahawks made their home in the Kingdome and sellout crowds would routinely rattle the rafters of that concrete palace.
Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald
Sunday’s game at Qwest Field was a Seahawks throwback, harkening back to the days of Kenny Easley, Jacob Green, Dave Brown and Bill the Beerman revving the fans with ”The Wave.” To a time when the notion of Seattle’s crowd being a 12th man was not just a slogan but a genuine asset, and a trek to the Pacific Northwest was as feared as any road venture in the NFL.
So it was on Sunday afternoon, when Seattle could have lost and perhaps even should have lost a pivotal showdown with the visiting New York Giants.
Instead, backed by a boisterous sellout crowd of 67,102, the Seahawks made the plays they needed to, lucked out because the Giants did not make the plays they needed to, and ended up with a 24-21 overtime win that was as dramatic as any since the team exited the Kingdome for its new abode.
All in a raucous atmosphere that was everything a home-field advantage should be.
”This was as loud as I remember hearing it in the Kingdome days,” said Seattle fullback Mack Strong, one of four Seahawks who were with the team in that era. ”It’s great when our crowd comes out like that. It had a lot to do with us winning the football game, I really believe that.”
”It is very hard to hear,” said Giants running back Tiki Barber, who gained 151 yards on 26 carries. ”I don’t know if it is the design of the stadium or the vigor of the fans, but it gets loud here.”
Make no mistake, fans do make a difference. New York was cited for 16 penalties, their most in 56 years. Fourteen of those were offensive penalties and 11 were for false starts.
Five of the false starts were credited to Giants tackle Luke Petitgout and three to guard David Diehl.
Petitgout, a seven-year NFL veteran, called it the worst game of his pro career.
”We knew it was going to be loud, but we’ve played in loud stadiums before,” he said somberly. ”It was just horse (bleep) on my part. I let the team down. It was an embarrassment to my family, my team, everybody. It was just ridiculous.”
”This is the loudest it’s been (this season),” added Diehl, a three-year veteran. ”A lot of times you couldn’t hear anything. I was right next to Eli (Manning, New York’s quarterback) and I couldn’t hear anything. … You can put up speakers (in practice), but there’s nothing that simulates a game like this.”
In one bizarre series early in the second quarter, the Giants ran nine plays from scrimmage and were flagged for five false starts. Two of the penalties came as New York was trying to punt, leaving Giants coach Tom Coughlin incensed on the sidelines.
”Obviously it was very loud here,” Coughlin said, ”but the number of false starts we had is ridiculous, to be honest with you.”
”Noise was a factor on some of them or I was trying to change the play (at the line of scrimmage),” Manning said. ”But some of our jumps came when we were using a silent cadence. So I don’t know why we were jumping on some of them.”
Needless to say, the Seahawks were thrilled by the partisan crowd. Strong safety Michael Boulware called the noise ”a factor (in the outcome) and the main reason (the Giants) jumped offsides. Any time you have a crowd on your side like that, not only is it a factor to (the opposing team), but it’s also a huge motivation to your defense.”
Seattle coach Mike Holmgren believes Qwest Field has become ”a difficult place to play for a visitor, I really do.” And on Sunday, he went on, ”our crowd was tremendous. There were so many procedure penalties and movement penalties (against New York), and I think that had a lot to do with how noisy it was.
”Now the fans just have to keep it going. I’m glad to see they are excited about football. We packed the place (on Sunday) and it’s sold out for the next couple of games and that’s what you want when you are at home. It’s an exciting atmosphere for the players.”
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