EVERETT — There are a thousands of great Seattle Seahawks fans around the Pacific Northwest, and it would hard to single out anyone as the best of the bunch.
But here’s one vote for Jerry Martinez.
Maybe you’ve seen him at the wheel of his motor home heading to Seattle’s Qwest Field, home of the Seahawks, or perhaps driving to and from his job at Everett’s Boeing plant. Front and back, and on both sides, the vehicle is decorated with elaborate Seahawks artwork in striking Seahawks colors.
It’s a thing of beauty and, worth mentioning, no small expense. The motor home alone cost Martinez about $150,000, and the artwork — it looks painted, but is actually vinyl wrapping — another $6,000.
That may sound like a lot of money, but it’s only the beginning. Over the years, Martinez has also accumulated a massive and probably priceless collection of Seahawks memorabilia, collectibles, apparel and assorted trinkets.
But wait, there’s more. In one recent five-year stretch, Martinez attended every Seahawks game, home and away, regular season and preseason. Retired at the time, he packed up his motor home and headed off to games on the East Coast, in the Midwest and in the South. Including, of course, a trip to the 2006 Super Bowl in Detroit, where the Seahawks faced the Pittsburgh Steelers.
In each of those years, Martinez figures he put 30,000-40,000 miles on his motor home (he occasionally flew to away games) and doled out roughly $20,000.
As hobbies go, this one “gets very, very spendy,” admitted the 58-year-old Martinez, who has a home in Sequim, but resides mostly in the Everett area.
He has yet to calculate all his Seahawks-related expenses “because I’d probably commit suicide if I did,” he added with a laugh. “And if I hadn’t (spent all that money), I’d probably be a millionaire.”
Martinez grew up in Fall City and graduated from Mount Si High School in 1967. He played football as a boy, even though, he said, “I was never any good at it.”
When the Seahawks made their NFL debut in 1976, Martinez began following the team. He tried to get season tickets early on, but ended up on a long waiting list. Eventually he got his chance and he’s now had tickets for about 20 years — first at the Kingdome, then for two years at Husky Stadium, and now at Qwest Field.
You can call him a sports fan, but really his only interest is the Seahawks. He is mostly indifferent to college football and even other NFL games.
“It’s hard to explain,” he said, “but if I hear the word Seahawks I get chills up and down my spine.”
Although Martinez is not employed by the team, he has ties that go beyond his tickets. After getting acquainted with Mike Flood, the team’s vice-president for community relations — the two have become good friends — Martinez now participates in some of the team’s promotional outings. During the offseason, for example, he used his motor home to transport a few players and Sea Gals cheerleaders to appearances in Spokane and the Tri-Cities.
And sometimes it’s just Martinez alone, spreading goodwill for his beloved team. On his way to Detroit for the Super Bowl, he stopped at the Sioux Reservation near the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument and dropped off Seahawks souvenirs to a host of new fans.
Martinez always tries to make himself available to help out, “and it’s not because I’m looking for money,” he said. “It’s just because I love the Seahawks that much.”
“Jerry is one of the most dedicated guys,” Flood said. “He’s kind of a guy who’s at the heart of so much life around the team. … He’s a great ambassador. And he’s a good friend, not just to me, but to fans all over the place. He’s just terrific as a community connection.
“I think he’d go out and play on special teams if he had to,” Flood added. “That’s how dedicated he is.”
Martinez stopped following the team on the road this season because his wife had health issues and because, for financial reasons, he needed to work again. He had been employed at Boeing’s Everett plant several years ago, and he returned there this year as a quality assurance specialist on the 787 project.
His van draws attention wherever he goes. Many people honk, Martinez said, and passengers in other vehicles will sometimes lean out to take pictures on their camera phones. On the freeway, drivers will sometimes pull in front, change lanes, and then drop behind so they can see all sides of his motor home.
“I have to be twice as alert of any other vehicle because of what I call the gawkers,” he said. “It can be challenging at times, but I’ve learned to be patient and live with it because I have no choice.”
When he traveled, though, fans of rival teams sometimes had other reactions. “I could always tell how an area was going to be by how many one-finger salutes I got,” he said.
Of course, not all receptions were menacing. In New England for a game in 2004, he was driving to the stadium when he was pulled over by a police officer. Martinez was trying to figure out which law he had broken, “but (the officer) said, ‘Follow me, I’ll get you to where you need to go and I’ll get you a good parking spot.’ So I had a police escort.”
His collectibles, meanwhile, include all but six of the team’s annual highlight films, all but 28 of close to 700 programs from team games over the years, and around 370 autographed miniature helmets from almost every player in team history. Also, plenty of pictures and other knick-knacks.
“I collect about anything,” he said. “I have a room probably 20 by 30 (feet) that is nothing but solid Seahawks. My wife has commented that when I pass away she’s going to have to buy two graves. One to put me in and one to put all my Seahawks stuff in.”
Looking back over the many games, many miles and many dollars of his long Seahawks love affair, Martinez has mostly great memories — that Super Bowl loss is still a sore point — and scarcely a regret.
“This is my life,” he said. “It’s what I look forward to. If you think about life, you have to have something to keep you going. And this is what I love.
“And as long as I’m able to, I’ll keep doing it.”
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