KIRKLAND – It’s a question that’s even older than the 43-year-old Apple Cup.
Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald
If one team continues to dominate the other, can a rivalry really be called a rivalry?
When it comes to the twice-annual, one-sided series between the Seattle Seahawks and St. Louis Rams, the rivals haven’t been on equal footing as of late.
The Seahawks hope to end a four-game losing streak against their NFC West rivals this Sunday in the latest installment of the grudge match.
“I would call it a rivalry,” Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander said, “but since we’ve been getting our teeth kicked in …
“It’s not really a rivalry until somebody throws another punch. We’ve just been whipping toys.”
Maybe so. But it’s the best rivalry between professional teams that the city of Seattle has to offer right now.
Because the Mariners have become nothing more than a bug on the New York Yankees’ windshield, and because the Sonics’ first official battle with Nate McMillan’s Portland Trail Blazers is still more than two months away, the Seahawks-Rams rivalry is as good as it gets in these parts.
“It’s a division opponent, so you know it’s a rivalry,” Seahawks offensive lineman Chris Gray said. “They’ve given us fits here. They got us three times last year, so what else can you say?”
The series has had high stakes in each of the past two seasons, when the Rams and Seahawks finished first and second, then second and first, in the NFC West. They are currently tied atop the division despite unremarkable 2-2 records.
While most players and coaches have been careful this week not to add any more fuel to the burning rivalry, St. Louis receiver Torry Holt raised a few eyebrows in April with some comments that questioned the Seahawks’ mental toughness.
“What we do best is, we feel like we can out-mentally-tough Seattle,” Holt told a national television audience during ESPN’s coverage of the NFL draft. “They have a lot of physical talent that can run with us, but we feel like we can mentally out-tough them.”
A version of that quote was displayed on the video screen in the Seahawks’ locker room Wednesday. Call it the 21st Century version of a bulletin board.
“It’s not really a big deal,” Seahawks cornerback Marcus Trufant said as the quote flickered on and off the screen a few feet in front of him. “We do that with every team, with things that are written in the paper or said on TV that might get you fired up. It just comes down to playing football, and that’s what we’ve got to do.”
Holt didn’t think his comments would have much effect this Sunday.
“I don’t think they need any stuff to put on a bulletin (board) to get them charged up to play against the St. Louis Rams,” he said in a conference call with the Seattle media on Wednesday. “To be honest with you, I don’t think any of them are probably even concerned with what I said last year regarding that football team.”
Holt was quick to point out that the comments were made about the 2004 Seahawks, not the 2005 version.
“It’s a different year,” he said. “That was last year, and it’s over and done with. This is a different year. I have a tremendous amount of respect for the Seattle Seahawks.”
Not that the Seahawks have earned it in recent meetings.
All three meetings last year were close, but all of them ended with Seattle losses. Throw in the Rams’ 27-22 victory in Dec. 2003, and the Seahawks have lost four in a row to their NFC West rival.
“For the last couple years, we’ve had some tough games against the Rams,” Trufant said. “We’ve been on the losing end of those. Any time you lose against a team, you want to change that result.”
Because of that losing streak, many Seahawks are still unwilling to acknowledge the rivalry.
“There’s the Yankees-Red Sox, and then there’s four years of the NFC West,” said Hasselbeck, a lifelong Red Sox fan. “I don’t know that it really compares. But we’re working on it.”
And what can the Seahawks do to make more people start talking about the Seahawks-Rams rivalry?
“Just win some more games,” Hasselbeck said. “If they’re always winning, we’re not going to be their rival. They’ll go make somebody else their rival.
“When I was at (Boston College), Notre Dame was always our rival. But we weren’t their rival. That’s how it was.”
The Seahawks might not be ready to acknowledge the rivalry, but the Rams definitely know they’re there.
“There is a definite rivalry,” Rams coach Mike Martz said Wednesday morning. “The competitive nature of this thing is why you coach and why you play.
“When you are playing games like this, where it is that intense and that meaningful for both teams, it’s fun. That’s why you play and coach.”
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