There just might be a cure for the summertime blues, sports fans.
Would you believe the Seattle Seahawks?
The long-suffering Seahawks are actually heading into training camp with some lofty expectations, while providing medication for nauseated Mariners fans in the process. Camp begins Monday at Eastern Washington University in Cheney.
“Hopefully, we can cheer people up and excite them a little bit,” said Seahawks cornerback Marcus Trufant, a native of Tacoma. “The Mariners didn’t do so well, but they can still turn it around. We just hope we can start off on the right foot, so more fans can get excited.”
There has been excitement heading into past Seahawks training camps, but it hasn’t been this widespread in years.
Of the five major pro football preview magazines that have already come out, four picked the Seahawks to win the NFC West, while a fifth – Lindy’s – has Seattle as a wild-card playoff team. The Sporting News predicts the Seahawks will face Denver in the Super Bowl.
“There are a lot of high expectations, for the team and the players,” Trufant said. “And that’s a good thing. We’re excited and ready to go.”
Following a summer in which the Seahawks saw better than 90 percent attendance at minicamps – including a voluntary one – the team hopes to hit the ground running Monday. The offense returns pretty much in tact, while the defense looks to have improved itself with the additions of defensive end Grant Wistrom, cornerback Bobby Taylor and first-round pick Marcus Tubbs.
Of course, there are some familiar problems as well, most notably a questionable defense, an unproven starter at middle linebacker and, of course, the absence of Walter Jones. It’s likely that the four-time Pro Bowler will again join the team after it wraps up in Cheney later this month, just like he has done the past two seasons.
But unlike past training camps, the Seahawks have something tangible to create optimism this year. A 10-6 record and trip to the postseason left Seattle hungry for more in 2004.
“We’ve got a good feeling,” Trufant said. “It’s nice to come in and feel that excitement from going to the playoffs.”
The players aren’t the only ones excited. Last year’s success has translated to ticket sales as well. According to John Rizzardini, the team’s vice president of marketing and customer sales, the Seahawks have already sold 8,000 more season tickets than last year’s total of 34,000.
“Usually, about the time training camp starts is when the sales really pick up,” Rizzardini said. “For us to have 8,000 already is a pretty good indicator.”
The Seahawks also have a renewal rate of better than 90 percent from last season, a mark that hasn’t been nearly that high since coach Mike Holmgren was first hired in 1999. Single-game tickets go on sale this Saturday.
“There’s a nice buzz,” Rizzardini said. “It’s fun to pick up the phone and have people really enthusiastic about the team.”
The veteran players were slated to arrive in Cheney today. Jones is the only expected no-show.
Seattle’s first practice begins at 8:45 a.m. Monday. Two-a-day practices generally begin at 8:45 a.m. and 2:45 p.m. and are open to the public.
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