Review: Seahawks 20, 49ers 3

Photo Credit: Seahawks.com

What a way to set the foundation for an incredible vacation to the Bay Area. Without question the Seahawks played their most complete game of the season on Thursday night, dominating the San Francisco 49ers all night long. The result was a 20-3 victory where in all honesty the 49ers never were competitive. The Seahawks improve to 3-4 on the season and the 49ers now hold a record of 2-5. Here are my thoughts on Thursday’s game.

Running Game Gets Going and Russell’s Good Throws: The very first Seahawks offensive drive of the game set the tone for the rest of the evening and they did not look back. Running back Marshawn Lynch ran for 32 yards on the opening drive culminating in a 1-yard touchdown run. The offensive line protection allowed quarterback Russell Wilson to convert two first downs through the air on passes to Tyler Lockett and Fred Jackson. Offensively, Russell put the game away on his beautiful 43-yard touchdown pass to Lockett in the second quarter. Late in the game we were able to chew clock thanks in large part to the wonderfully basic play calling of offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell. After roasting Bevell almost every week thus far this season, I must say he called a great game on Thursday. We now have a good blueprint to run with for future games. Another day like this in Dallas next week and we will be very hard to beat.

Have A Day, Michael Bennett: After recording just 13 sacks in our first 6 games, the Seahawks came out and had a sack party in Santa Clara. Leading the way was defensive end Michael Bennett who singlehandedly recorded 3.5 sacks of 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. To make matters even better, Bennett made no mental mistakes that he has become known for so far this season. The production of our defensive pass rushers leaves me very optimistic about our upcoming games. Even though we did not force any 49ers turnovers it feels like our entire defense has turned a corner. I understand that the San Francisco offense is not very good but hopefully our ability to successfully close out a game in the fourth quarter will give us momentum heading into next week.

The Bad: There were two things I did not like on Thursday night. The first thing was the Russell Wilson’s decision making on the two interceptions he threw. The first one was a ball thrown at the very end of the first half. He saw Doug Baldwin in the back of the endzone but did not see Tramaine Brock. Brock stepped in front of the pass and made the interception in the endzone. A score of any kind would have given the Seahawks at least a 20 point lead heading into halftime. Wilson’s second interception was thrown into double coverage intended for Jermaine Kearse. From my view in the corner at Levi’s Stadium I saw Wilson had Doug Baldwin wide open and could have hit him in stride if he threw the ball a second or two sooner. Luckily that second turnover only resulted in the only 3 points the 49ers scored all night. The second thing I did not like was the continuing shaky play of the Seahawks offensive line. Their performance was buried among the big plays and the way the game played out overall. It was until after the game I realized the offensive line played a subpar game when I saw that the unit allowed another 5 sacks of Russell Wilson. Next week in Dallas may be a greater challenge. A similar offensive approach however may work well against the Cowboys.

Thoughts on San Francisco: This 49ers team is a disaster and the saddest part may be that their fans definitely know it. They have a banner hanging the length of the press box that says “home of the faithful” but the fans were anything but faithful on Thursday night. This team has talent but they are in need of a partial rebuild to get back to where they were a mere two years ago. With the future of Colin Kaepernick uncertain and the defense lacking experience it may take another couple of seasons for the 49ers to contend for even a division title. Let’s see if ownership is willing to give head coach Jim Tomsula that long of a leash.

Random Thoughts: The Seahawks wore wolf grey and improved their all-time record wearing wolf grey to 6-0… Levi’s Stadium is an absolutely gorgeous facility. The fans of the two teams who make it to Super Bowl 50 will certainly enjoy the gameday experience in that building. The tailgating in Blue Lot #1 was a lot of fun, even though the lot was gravel and we got there so early that the tailgates around us were not fully raging until shortly before we made the walk over to the stadium. Next time I head to Levi’s I’ll probably try to get a parking pass in the green lot since it is closer… The 12’s really traveled well this week and we were certainly heard. 49ers fans didn’t even seem to care that their stadium had been taken over by the enemy. It was kind of bizarre and nothing like what I had experienced at Candlestick Park in years prior… Beer and food prices were a little steep but the variety was hard to beat. I bought a couple of hot dogs but two of my friends enjoyed curry, which they generously let me taste test. It was delicious… The view was great but the sun beat down on us for about the first quarter which was both hot and annoying. I consider it lucky that this game was in primetime. We would have been baking and extremely uncomfortable if it was a Sunday afternoon game… After the game we tried to go down to the NFL Network postgame show but the seating hosts would not let the large contingent of Seahawks fans down to the lower level seating, most likely because they did not want to show just how many Seahawks fans took over Levi’s Stadium. Take my word, if they had let all of us down there it would have challenged the number of fans who were waiting around after the Seahawks beat Arizona on Thursday Night Football in 2013… As we waited for traffic to die down after the game we decided to continue our tailgate. A group of 7 of us enjoyed a few celebratory beers before heading back to downtown San Francisco where we were staying… I will definitely want to go back to Levi’s Stadium with friends in future years. I had a great time and I know the other two guys I stayed with did also… Fight on.

What’s Next: Look for my preview of next week’s game against the Dallas Cowboys on Friday evening, a day earlier than normal.

Seahawks/49ers Preview

Photo Credit: Seahawks.com

Matchup: Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers

Site: Levi’s Stadium (Santa Clara, California)

Kickoff: 5:25pm

For the second time in as many years the Seahawks head to Silicon Valley for primetime football. The Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers face off under the Thursday Night spotlight at Levi’s Stadium. After another heartbreaking loss last week the Seahawks sit at a very underwhelming 2-4. After one of the worst offseasons in NFL history, the 49ers have also jumped out of the gate slowly as they too sit at 2-4. San Francisco however enters this week’s game coming off a win over the Baltimore Ravens last week. The Seahawks lead the all-time series against the 49ers 18-15 including a 17-7 victory in their last meeting last season. This is must-win for the Seahawks since they cannot afford to lose any more ground in the division race. Here is what I’ll be watching for.

While I was busy putting offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell on blast in my game review, I completely failed to mention that there has been a change along the Seahawks offensive line. Patrick Lewis got the start at center in place of Drew Nowak and although I saw improvement in interior blocking and pass protection last week, the play of the unit as a whole continues to be an issue. Lewis got hurt in last week’s game so Nowak will likely be back in the starting lineup this week with the newly re-signed Lemuel Jeanpierre as his back up. Quarterback Russell Wilson was sacked four more times against Carolina. Although the San Francisco defense has lost a lot of talent from last year’s team, they have managed to record 9 sacks so far this season, over half of them coming from their linebackers. This week it will be necessary for Jimmy Graham, Will Tukuafu, and Marshawn Lynch to block in order to help give Wilson time to make throws. The primary keys to a successful day on offense mirror what I said about Carolina’s offense a week ago. If Marshawn Lynch can run effectively he will take immense pressure off the passing game. Also, if Wilson uses misdirection regularly it will create space to make big plays. Although Seattle has not used read option much at all so far this season, do not be surprised to see it make an appearance in this game, especially if we are trailing in the second half.

With the shaky play in the third level of our defense in recent weeks, the best way to attack the 49ers offense on Thursday is to force quarterback Colin Kaepernick into short and intermediate throws only. If the Seahawks cannot put consistent pressure on Kaepernick that may actually be a good thing, as he has thrown the ball well deep down the field when forced to scramble outside the pocket, including a long touchdown pass to wide receiver Torrey Smith last week. Smith will line up across from Cary Williams, the matchup that will garner the most attention from me outside the numbers. I think the presence of middle linebacker Bobby Wagner will be the most important aspect of our defensive game plan. Although we played a solid game with Kevin Pierre-Louis in place of Wagner against Carolina, it will help greatly to have Wagner back to lock down the middle of the field.

No team may have lost more over one offseason than the San Francisco 49ers did over this past offseason, especially on the defensive side of the football. It is hard to believe that only two defensive starters from the 49ers 2012 NFC Championship team, linebackers Ahmad Brooks and NaVorro Bowman, remain on the roster. Over the course of the last 10 months the 49ers released outside linebacker Aldon Smith after a series of run-ins with the law. They also lost nose tackle Justin Smith and middle linebacker Patrick Willis to retirement. To make matters even worse the man they drafted last season to be the heir apparent to Willis, Chris Borland, also retired due to future health concerns. The loss of Borland was particularly unfortunate because he was a tackling machine in place of the injured Willis a season ago.

This season San Francisco has allowed an average of just about 27 points per game, a number that greatly correlates to the 49ers record thus far. The 49ers linebacker corps will have my full attention as they sport the two leading tacklers on the team in Bowman and Michael Wilhoite. However given the below-average pass protection Russell Wilson has received this season my 49ers X-Factor spotlight goes to the man most effective at getting to the quarterback. My X-Factor Player to Watch this week is outside linebacker Aaron Lynch. Lynch has recorded 3 sacks this season; a third of San Francisco’s total and all three coming at Levi’s Stadium. Lynch is also coming off his most productive day in coverage, recording a season high 5 tackles and one pass defensed this past Sunday. Keep an eye on how left tackle Russell Okung handles Lynch on the outside.

Random Thoughts: No word yet on the Seahawks uniform combination but do we have 5 road games remaining. We will don college navy for one of those games (Dallas). With two opportunities to wear wolf grey still available to us, that means there is a 50/50 chance we wear wolf grey in San Francisco. It’s basic math, people. The 49ers have elected not to wear their new all-black alternate uniform for this game. Instead they will wear their traditional look of red jerseys and gold pants… Jim Nantz and Phil Simms have the call on the NFL Network/CBS simulcast with Tracy Wolfson covering the sidelines… The referee this week is Walt Anderson… Thursday will be an incredibly hectic and exciting day. I’m looking at a 4am wakeup call followed by a 7am flight to San Francisco which gets me into the Bay Area around 9 or 9:30am. Then comes a 4-hour window before the parking lots open at Levi’s Stadium. Tailgate will begin shortly after 1:30 then the game at 5:30. Then back to San Francisco after the game for the rest of the weekend… Should have waited to pull the trigger on tickets on Stubhub. I can’t believe prices have dropped as much as they have since the season started… I’ll be satisfied with at least two visits to In-N-Out Burger over the next 4 days… I love flying into SFO. The airport runway setup right off of the bay is unlike any other city I have flown into… Here is my history of being heckled at 49ers home games. In 2011 one drunken 49ers fan tried to sit on my lap and as he walked away he screamed “SEATTLE SEAHAWKS GINGER FRO” in reference to my incredibly long red hair. In 2012 I posed for a picture during a timeout and someone sitting above me in my section screamed “ginger on three! One, two, three!” In 2013 after posing for a picture a 49ers fan sitting a few rows above me threw a sandwich in my direction. It hit a 49ers fan sitting about 4 rows below me and he looked back and made eye contact with me. Because I was wearing Seahawks paraphernalia, he assumed I was the one responsible for the sandwich being thrown. He probably wanted to get security involved but the people around me seemingly convinced him I was not to blame. Granted all these incidents happened at Candlestick Park, but I have heard (and seen on Deadspin) that the Candlestick crowds make the drive down to Santa Clara every week. Hopefully the people around us are nice. I hope my friends and I are not the subjects of harassment. As long as we stay in our own lane and root for the Seahawks only, we should be fine.

Prediction: Due to the incredible sense of urgency after back-to-back devastating losses, I believe the Seahawks will come out with a vengeance. Marshawn Lynch will run for a touchdown and Russell Wilson will both throw a touchdown and run one in from inside the redzone. The Seahawks defense will play an air-tight game, allowing only one 49ers touchdown. The Seahawks will come home 3-4 and will have an extra couple days off before we get started on the Dallas Cowboys.

Seahawks 27, 49ers 13

Programming Note: I will be leaving my computer in Seattle so I will not be able to post my game review until I get home. Look for my 49ers review either late Sunday night or early Monday morning.

Review: Seahawks 19, 49ers 3

Photo Credit: The Seattle Times

Perhaps I need to have a little more faith in this team. After a morning and afternoon full of worry and anxiety the Seahawks made sure they turned Thanksgiving into Hawksgiving, thumping the San Francisco 49ers 19-3. In my mind this is the most complete game the Seahawks have played all season long and it is extremely encouraging to see this team start to click at the most important point in the season. The Seahawks improve to 8-4, strengthening their chances at a playoff berth while also keeping their chances at the NFC West title intact. The 49ers fall to 7-5 and are in serious jeopardy of missing out on the playoffs altogether. There is so much good to talk about so let me get right into it.

Seahawks Find a Way to Move the Ball: Tonight the Seahawks found several different ways to move the ball thanks in large part to the pass protection of quarterback Russell Wilson by our offensive line. Screen passes and runs off-tackle made up a lot of our offensive yards and it seemed like the 49ers defense did not have an answer for making tackles in the open field. The running game got off to a slow start but the Seahawks were able to adjust throughout the game and Marshawn Lynch had more success later on in the game. The only knock I have on our offense was that it seemed as though we were allergic to the redzone, whether it was due to penalties or because of plays accruing negative yards. It seemed like whenever the Seahawks got into field goal range they stayed in field goal range. It would have been nice to see the Seahawks turn a couple of their 4 field goals into touchdowns.

Unsung Hero: Marshawn Lynch found a way to run for 104 yards on 20 carries but the play of Robert Turbin really impressed me in this game. While Lynch took care of business on the ground the presence of Turbin in the passing game made a significant difference. Turbin scored the only touchdown of the game, a 13-yard pass from Russell Wilson which gave the Seahawks a 7-0 lead in the first quarter. He also added a 34-yard catch later on in the first half. When the dust settled Turbin was the Seahawks second leading receiver on the night. I would like to see Turbin in an expanded role as we move forward. The threat of him catching passes out of the backfield could be a good decoy to use in the coming weeks.

General Thoughts on Seahawks Defense: The Seahawks defense simply played their best game of the season. All aspects of the unit played quality football this week. The front seven contained San Francisco running back Frank Gore to only 28 yards on 10 carries. The linebackers helped hold the 49ers to only a 36 percent third down conversion rate. Kam Chancellor made several punishing hits on 49ers receivers and Richard Sherman and Byron Maxwell combined only allowed one pass to be completed on them. All this is fantastic but above all else I am mostly satisfied with the pass rush that FINALLY put continuous pressure on the opposing quarterback. The Seahawks defense totaled 4 sacks this week and defensive end Cliff Avril added a pair of quarterback hits. Seattle’s defense accomplished everything it wanted to in this game and I am convinced that the complete unit which was missing for the majority of the season is finally back.

How Fitting: It had been 10 months since the Seahawks beat the 49ers in the NFC Championship. It had been 10 months since Richard Sherman called out San Francisco receiver Michael Crabtree during the postgame celebration. In the months that followed Sherman solidified his place as arguably the most hated player in the National Football League. How fitting is it that in the first game between these two teams since January that Sherman has his best game of the season. Sherman made his presence known on the field on Thursday and he made the most of his opportunities, as he played a near-perfect game. Sherman did not allow a catch and he also intercepted 2 Colin Kaepernick passes. Given the history between Sherman and the 49ers, I could not help but love his post-play antics which included blowing kisses to the crowd and partaking in eating turkey postgame on the 49ers logo alongside fellow co-player of the game Russell Wilson. Sherman finishes the month of November with 3 picks. Let’s see if he can keep that momentum going into December.

Penalties Still Problematic: After Sunday’s win over Arizona head coach Pete Carroll called out the team by saying he “has had it up to here” with the number of penalties we commit and the amount of penalty yardage we continue to give up on a week to week basis. This week our penalty problems continued. On Thursday night the Seahawks committed 14 penalties totaling 105 yards while the 49ers only committed 3 penalties for 20 yards. Many of Seattle’s penalties were procedure penalties that should be easily corrected yet continue to give us trouble. Fortunately those kinds of penalties did not result in a fresh set of downs for the 49ers offense but we could have been worse off if they had resulted in San Francisco first downs. The Seahawks have 10 days to make the necessary changes to make sure we are not as penalized when we play Philadelphia.

Thoughts on San Francisco: This San Francisco 49ers team has completely lost its identity. The defense looked average at best while the offense looked terrible. Following their win last week head coach Jim Harbaugh called Colin Kaepernick a “great quarterback with a capital G.” Tonight however he looked more like “garbage with a capital G.” The 49ers essentially need to win the rest of their games to even have a chance at making the playoffs and the way they played this week leads me to believe that will not happen. To make things worse, people are already talking about Harbaugh not even lasting through the end of this season. This team has talent but they are a mess on both sides of the ball. We have 18 days until we play them again in Seattle but from where I am sitting right now I believe that this team is in definite need of a culture change.

Random Thoughts: The Seahawks did in fact go with wolf grey for this game. That means we will white for our remaining road games in Philadelphia and Arizona. With the win the Seahawks are now 5-0 all-time in wolf grey… I thought the “Beat the Seahawks” banner that the 49ers fans held up at the opening kickoff was funny… The 49ers have failed to establish any kind of home field advantage at Levi’s Stadium. That is pretty sad. I have heard that Levi’s is nothing like Candlestick Park. What I mean by that is that their new stadium is very corporate and more fit for the affluent residents of the south bay. The 49ers lost their swagger as soon as they left Candlestick. Hopefully I get to give Santa Clara a visit for next year’s game… Here’s a fun drinking game idea. Every time Cris Collinsworth says something like “this is going to be a physical game” or “these teams like to brawl,” take a shot. Collinsworth’s commentary was annoying me pretty bad as the game wore on… Seeing Wilson and Sherman stuff their faces with turkey after the game is one of the greatest images I’ve seen in a long time. What made it better was that Sherman complained that NBC provided no spices for the turkey and Wilson complained that there was no macaroni and cheese on the table… If we win next week do you think we run the table? I am starting to think it is a definite possibility… These Sunday games are going to be so much sweeter knowing we have already won our game for the week.

Check back next week as I preview the Seahawks week 14 game against the Philadelphia Eagles. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I want to thank you for the continuous support of this blog. It means a lot. Go Seahawks!

My Week in D.C.

Me at the Lincoln Memorial, looking out to the Washington Monument

*Note: To try to avoid any confusion, here is a warning. I will be using various 1^st person pronouns as well as using specific people’s names throughout this piece*

Thursday: My flight out of Seattle was supposed to take off at 8:20am pacific time. It was the following sequence of frustrating events that really made me think back to the recent luck I’ve had while flying. Once all of the passengers were seated and strapped in, the cabin doors were about to close when it was announced that there was a water leak in one of the lavatories in the back of the plane. 5 minutes later the captain got back on the intercom to announce that we had to change planes. We all got off the first plane at Sea-Tac’s C20 gate and had to make the trek all the way to N2 in the north satellite. After standing in line again we re-boarded with no organized order so basically we boarded in the order that we had arrived to the new gate, which easily pissed off those in first class and those who had priority boarding the first time. We pulled back from the gate and after almost a two-hour delay we were in the air and on our way to Baltimore.

Due to thunderstorms in the Midwest our plane was forced to do a “V” around the country. Instead of flying directly to Baltimore we flew south all the way to Dallas before turning back north into Baltimore. Of course I was seated next to an elderly couple. Just my luck. Luckily I was able to listen to music without interruption for most of the flight. There was also a family of four sitting in the row in front of me. The mom and dad were sitting in the aisle seats and every once in a while they would lean into the aisle to either seductively rub each other arms or briefly kiss. Kind of weird but whatever I guess. Total flight time was roughly 6 hours, almost one full hour longer than scheduled. After landing we headed to a shuttle that took us to an offsite Amtrak station where we would take a “MARC” train into downtown Washington D.C. After nearly an hour long wait on the train platform, we got on the train and rode it about 45 minutes into Washington D.C.’s Union Station. Upon arriving at Union Station we needed to ride the red subway line three stops to get to our hotel. After struggling for almost 15 minutes trying to figure out how to buy a subway pass, we rode the subway to Metro Center, and did about a 5-block loop to get to our hotel. After almost 11 hours after leaving Seattle, we were finally able to settle in at the hotel.

After unpacking my Dad and I went down the street to eat at a restaurant called “City Tap House” and although the food was pretty good (I had a pepperoni pizza with sliced Chile peppers), the menu was somewhat sophisticated and I had a hard time landing on something I thought I would enjoy. After dinner we headed back to catch the end of Thursday Night Football between the Vikings and Packers and after the game I headed for bed in preparation for a hectic, busy, and fun touristy day on Friday.

Friday: I woke up relatively early and headed down to the first floor for a full breakfast buffet that included classic options such as hash browns, eggs, bacon, sausage, and French toast. After breakfast my dad and I headed out and hit many of the sites most people go to Washington D.C. to see. In order we saw the White House, the World War II memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam War Memorial, the Washington Monument, the Museum of American History Smithsonian, the Museum of Natural History Smithsonian, and the Capitol building. It was a long day on my feet but it was very fun. If you were only able to see a couple of these things I would recommend the Lincoln Memorial and the American History Smithsonian. My favorite exhibits at the Smithsonian included “Food: Transforming the American Table” which showed the evolution of food in the United States, “American Stories” which was a timeline of important faces, artifacts, and inventions in American history, and “The Star-Spangled Banner” which included the original American flag from the Battle of Baltimore, which inspired Francis Scott Key to write the song which became our National Anthem.

Upon arriving back at the hotel my Dad and I awaited the arrival of my uncle and my two cousins who were also coming into town for the Seahawks game. Once they arrived we went out to dinner at the Capitol City Brewing Company which was just a couple blocks away from the hotel. Capitol City’s beer selection reminded me of the Ram, as they only had four house brews and they also cycled in seasonal beers. I enjoyed the baby back ribs with a pint of their “Amber Waves Ale” and a pint of their Oktoberfest. Following dinner my friend James arrived into town and since he had not eaten since leaving Seattle we trekked to the only quality restaurant still open past midnight, a “Five Guys” about 15 minutes away from the hotel. We randomly ran into my cousin Chris who was coming back from a night out with his friends and convinced him to join us on our burger adventure. After we ate we walked back through the pouring rain to the hotel.

Saturday: I woke up early on Saturday morning to work out before heading down to breakfast. Following breakfast James and I did many of the things I had done with my Dad the day before. The only new thing I saw on Saturday was the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial which was very spacious and beautiful. After walking around the Mall a little bit more we decided to stop for lunch at Shake Shack. We had Shake Shack for the very first time back in New York in February at the Super Bowl so when we learned that Washington D.C. housed a “Shack” it was clear we had to make a stop. After devouring a double smoke shack (my personal favorite menu item), fries, and a s’mores concrete (blended custard dessert) we headed back to the hotel to rest up for what would become a very eventful night.

Late Friday night James and I had bought tickets to game 2 of the National League Division Series between the San Francisco Giants and the Washington Nationals so in the late afternoon Saturday James and I hopped onto the green subway line to head to Nationals Park. I had not been to a playoff baseball game since the Mariners played the New York Yankees in the 2001 American League Championship Series so I was really excited to be a part of postseason baseball again. We then got swagged out in red at the Nationals team store before taking a lap around the inside of the stadium. Nationals Park is a relatively young ballpark and I was very impressed with the amenities it provided, the quality view from every angle, as well as the food selection. I highly recommend the pulled pork/brisket combo from Blue Smoke BBQ in right-center field. We sat in the very last row of the upper deck down the left field line and we only stayed at our seats for 4 innings because I was drastically underdressed and an intense cross breeze made it uncomfortably cold to stay in my seat as the game wore on. The game ended in 18 innings with the Giants winning 2-1 but due to plans we had made later on that night we only stayed for the first 10 innings. Even though it was disappointing we couldn’t stay, this experience was the best part of the trip other than the Seahawks game.

Upon arriving back at the hotel we met up with our other friend from high school Brent and the three of us walked up 14^th Street to meet our friend Amy for a night out at a bar called Café Saint-Ex. Let me say first that 14^th Street in D.C. gives off a feel similar to Capitol Hill in Seattle. There are several bars and other nightlife options in the area, bringing a varied range of groups of people into the area. Café Saint-Ex reminded me of two different places in Seattle. The main bar reminded me of the front room at Finn MacCool on the Ave. The entire room was filled to capacity and it was difficult to find an open place to stand. The downstairs room was much more fun as it was a dance floor reminiscent of the top floor of Grim’s on Capitol Hill. After a long, wild dance party that included a few shots of Fireball and a few Miller Lite’s, James and I headed back to the hotel.

Sunday: Thanks in large part to my late Saturday night out, I slept through breakfast on Sunday morning. Oh well, at least I was able to get a cup of coffee and a scone at Starbucks across the street once I finally got going. The bulk of our Sunday was spent at the Newseum, a museum dedicated to the history and evolution of news across all media platforms. As a sports blogger with a passion for learning about news and media I found the Newseum to be the most interesting and most fun museum I went to on this trip. Among the exhibits on display were these three that I found to be the most interesting and noteworthy. The “Berlin Wall Gallery” which included a portion of the Berlin Wall along with a timeline which told the story of how television among other media covered the events surrounding the take down of the Berlin Wall. The “FBI Exhibit” had artifacts of some of the most famous cases the FBI has ever worked on stretching from the manhunt for John Dillinger to the manhunt for Osama Bin Laden. The last exhibit that really got my emotions going was the “9/11 Gallery” which presented the September 11^th terrorist attacks through the eyes of the journalists that covered them around the world. The gallery included a picture timeline of the day’s events, a theater that played a documentary of interviews from some of the media that covered the attacks up close, a wall of newspapers featuring the front page of every major newspaper published on September 12^th, 2001, and a tribute to photojournalist William Biggart who was the only journalist who lost his life covering the 9/11 attacks. The tribute included never-before-seen pictures from his cameras as well as some of Biggart’s personal effects that were found in the World Trade Center rubble.

We spent three hours in the Newseum which was more time than I spent in both Smithsonian’s on Friday combined. Upon leaving the Newseum and grabbing a quick lunch we headed on the subway to see the Pentagon and Arlington Cemetery. Although we did not get to the cemetery until after it closed, we were able to walk around the Pentagon and see the 9/11 Pentagon Memorial. The memorial consists of a wide gravel space along with trees and includes 125 benches in honor of the 125 people who lost their lives at this site. I found the benches to be interesting, as those that were pointing towards the building represent those who were on the plane that crashed. The benches facing the opposite direction represent those who were inside the Pentagon at the time of the crash. I am always intrigued to learn more about 9/11 as it is American history that I remember, unlike other memorials recognizing events that I have no personal memory of.

Afterwards we headed back to the hotel to catch the last quarter-plus of the late afternoon NFL games. The three of us then went out to dinner and following the completion of my fish and chips at Gordon Biersch we decided to head back and call it a night. We had a busy day ahead of us on Monday and we needed to get as much rest as possible.

Monday: When it comes to Seahawks gameday, I am the kind of fan that treats the day like a holiday; there is nothing that I want stopping me from having a football-filled day. When the group of 6 of us decided to take a short day trip out to the Air and Space Smithsonian close to Washington-Dulles airport, I was worried that the time spent at the museum would interfere with any other Seahawks-related activities I was hoping to do prior to heading out to the game that night. If we had gone to see this museum on any other day I would have loved it even more. Although I found the Space Shuttle Discovery exhibit, the Concorde, and the various military planes to be very interesting, the fact that I was worried about being late to the game on Monday night made me kind of a pain to be around as I felt my body language made it seem like I did not want to be there. What added to this behavior was that it took two hours to get there, as we had to take the silver subway out to the end of the line with a 30 minute bus ride on top of it. Talk about frustrating. After spending only about an hour at the museum we headed back to the hotel to get ready for Monday Night Football.

After grabbing a quick bite to eat at the Capitol City Brewing Company one more time, the entire group of 7 of us headed to the subway station to take the ride out to FedExField. Upon arriving out in Landover it was about a mile walk through a new residential complex to get into the stadium parking lot. We decided to head immediately into the stadium.

FedExField reminded me a lot of MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. The stadium is a simple three-deck bowl that had interior decorations that were the colors of the FedEx logo (purple, orange, and green). The seats were all orange but I stood for the entire game so I have no gage to determine if they were comfortable or not. The concourses are wide but they show signs of aging. It is all concrete that gave off a vibe of older stadiums I have visited such as the Oakland Coliseum or Candlestick Park. The 12^th Man showed up in full force this week. While walking around I heard several moans and groans from Redskins fans about how their stadium was being invaded by opposing fans once again.

There are also a few points that need to be made about Redskins fans in general. First, Redskins fans seem to fully understand that their team is struggling and any banter between them and fans of the defending Super Bowl champions, they knew they did not stand a chance. Therefore there was almost no smack talk hurled my way throughout the game. Secondly, Redskins fans are very quick to give up on their team. After the Seahawks took a 24-10 lead with 6 minutes left in the game the majority of the crowd started to head for the exits. The game was not over by any means and the Redskins were able to quickly drive down the field to cut the Seahawks lead down to 7. A few loyal fans stuck around while showing clear anger that other fans were choosing to leave. That is something that you almost never see happen in Seattle. Lastly, it is amazing how few people I saw wearing Redskins gear around the city from the time I got in on Thursday night. I do not know if it has something to do with the fact that the Washington Nationals were in the playoffs and most fans had their full attention on baseball. I do not know if the Redskins name controversy has scared fans away of wearing Redskins gear in public. What I do know is that I walked close to 100 miles in my first 4 days in D.C. and I could count the number of people wearing Redskins gear on one hand. I found that number to be absolutely stunning.

After the Seahawks sealed the win we decided to head back to the hotel. We got back around 1am and I decided to crash. Monday night had been one of the more memorable Seahawks road experiences I have had.

Packers/Seahawks Preview (NFL Kickoff 2014)

Photo Credit: seahawks.com

Matchup: Green Bay Packers at Seattle Seahawks

Site: CenturyLink Field (Seattle, Washington)

Kickoff: 5:30pm

There are a lot of perks to winning the Super Bowl. You get expanded coverage on all the major sports television networks, you get to meet the President, and you get to host the football circus that is NFL Kickoff; the first regular season game of the year. That is what is on deck for the defending world champion Seattle Seahawks as they host the Green Bay Packers in NFL Kickoff 2014. The Packers lead the all-time series with the Seahawks 10-6 but the last matchup between these teams was by far the most memorable. Seahawks wide receiver Golden Tate “caught” a 24-yard Hail Mary pass from Russell Wilson and the Seahawks defeated the Packers 14-12. The controversial ending ended the referee holdout and the difference that one game made in the final 2012 standings had a potential impact in the playoffs as the Packers eventually lost to the San Francisco 49ers at Candlestick Park in a game that could have instead been played at Lambeau Field had the Packers defeated the Seahawks. With the entire city of Seattle watching, emotions will be high as the 2013 Super Bowl championship team will be honored before the game. After that it is all business. Here is what I will be focusing on this week.

The Green Bay offense versus the Seahawks defense will be the primary intriguing matchup this week but I am very interested in how the Seahawks offense plays against a talented Packers defense that to me has question marks. I believe the Seahawks will give the Packers a heavy dose of running back Marshawn Lynch early in the game in order to establish the running game, the tempo of the game, and to chew some time off the clock while trying to come up with points. Lynch will have a big impact in this ballgame and he will no doubt get the grand majority of the total carries. The passing game intrigues me with this matchup against the Packers for two big reasons. First, this is the first time since the Super Bowl that we go into a game with Percy Harvin in the offensive game plan. Harvin will not be used as just a wide receiver but as an “offensive weapon.” Do not be surprised to see Harvin lined up all over the field including out wide, in the slot, and even in the backfield. Secondly, I want to see Russell Wilson challenge the Packers secondary, specifically rookie safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix. Clinton-Dix may not start but he will see playing time whether he starts or not. In games against New Orleans and San Francisco last season, Wilson aired the ball out to challenge rookie safeties Kenny Vaccaro of the Saints and Eric Reid of the 49ers. This week could be no different. If he likes the matchup, do not be surprised to see Wilson go to vertical threats Doug Baldwin and Jermaine Kearse to challenge Clinton-Dix.

In their last meeting the Seahawks defense sacked Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers 8 times in the first half. This week it will be just as crucial to pressure Rodgers and force him into sacks and mistakes. The Seahawks will use a pass rush rotation including Cliff Avril, Michael Bennett, Bruce Irvin, and O’Brien Schofield. These four players will need to play a significant role but keep an eye specifically on Bennett. Although he will start at defensive end, I expect Bennett to be lined up as a pass rushing defensive tackle due to the uncertainty of the Green Bay offensive line. The Packers offensive line includes two players who have never played at CenturyLink Field. Left tackle David Bakhtiari has earned the starting job after being an injury fill-in in 2013. Green Bay will also start rookie Corey Linsley at center. Linsley will be my main focus among the Packers offensive line as he will have the difficult challenge of attempting to handle the 12^th Man in his first career NFL game as well as handling a fierce interior pass rush. If the Packers cannot show they can protect Rodgers early it may be a long night for the Packers offense.

Despite the uncertainty on the line, the Green Bay Packers offense is one of the most talented and dangerous units in the league. The offense plays a very large part in why many experts believe the Packers can make a deep playoff run in 2014 and are serious contenders to win Super Bowl XLIX. By now you know the Packers are led by All-Pro quarterback Aaron Rodgers and this year he sports a more balanced attack. In addition to his dangerous downfield weapons Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb, Rodgers also one of the best up-and-coming running backs in second-year man Eddie Lacy who can be used to run the ball as well as catch passes out of the backfield. All three should see their share of targets but the Packers still have a big mystery to solve on offense. With the departure of tight end Jermichael Finley the Packers seem to have a void at the position. According to the Packers official depth chart, the starting tight end is listed as rookie Richard Rodgers but my X-Factor player to watch this week is veteran tight end Andrew Quarless. Quarless led all Packers tight ends in receiving with 6 catches, 70 yards, and a touchdown during the preseason. I believe he will be a more relied on target than Rodgers, especially deep in Seattle territory. If Green Bay can move the ball into scoring range, look for the Packers to potentially use a two tight end package with Quarless and Rodgers as well as Nelson and Cobb on the outside.

In the 9 NFL Kickoff games hosted by the defending Super Bowl champion, only the 2012 New York Giants have lost in front of their hometown fans. Hosting the first game of the NFL season provides an interesting emotional challenge. During pregame, the team is introduced in front of the entire country watching on television and shortly afterwards, the world championship banner is unveiled to a stirring emotional roar from the crowd. Almost immediately following these special festivities however, it is time to shift the mind to play a football game. Against a quality opponent such as the Green Bay Packers and with no prior experience playing in this game, I wonder if the Seahawks will be able to handle all of the pregame distractions adequately in order to win the football game. It would not surprise me to see the Seahawks get off to a slow start but then pick up the pace later in the game; I mean it is week 1 after all. If the Seahawks can show they can put the pregame emotions behind them and score quickly we will be in very good shape for the rest of the game.

Random Thoughts: The Seahawks will wear blue jerseys and blue pants this week with the Packers wearing white jerseys and yellow pants… Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth have the call for NBC this week with Michele Tafoya patrolling the sidelines. In addition, the entire “Football Night in America” crew will be in Seattle this week for pregame and halftime coverage. That will be neat… This may have deserved its own little paragraph because I feel it is of great importance but here it goes. If you are attending the game PLEASE skip the Pharrell Williams/Soundgarden concert. The concert takes place at 4:30pm and immediately following the concert at 5:30pm CenturyLink Field goes live to the nation on NBC to start pregame festivities. I want to see everybody with a ticket in their seats by 5pm to be a part of a truly special series of ceremonies. That and we need everyone ready for the start of the game… If you are attending the game the Seahawks are strongly advising fans to enter the stadium through the southwest gate and touchdown city. All areas north of the stadium are going to be a nightmare due to concert traffic and people who do not have tickets to the game. It may be best just to stay and tailgate south of the stadium to avoid any congestion… Hawks Nest Bar at 12pm on gameday. Be there… I think it would be really cool if instead of unveiling a world championship banner in the rafters, the Seahawks raise a special championship “banner flag” instead of the normal 12^th Man flag. That probably won’t happen though as there are now 3 covered banners already hanging in the rafters at CenturyLink… I wonder if the Seahawks will mix alumni day with the Kickoff festivities. Traditionally the Seahawks honor past players at the home opener… The question must be asked: who will raise the 12^th Man flag this week? It is confirmed that former head coach Mike Holmgren will be in attendance this week and he is more than a viable option to raise the flag but his potential participation in the tradition has not been confirmed. Traditionally because the home opener is alumni day the Seahawks let a prominent member of the franchise’s past raise the flag. If I got to choose who gets to raise the flag, my vote would go to the two retired members of the 2013 world championship team, wide receiver Sidney Rice and fullback Michael Robinson. How cool would it be to see those guys wearing their Super Bowl rings raise the flag with the presence of the Vince Lombardi trophy? That would be very special.

Prediction: I am going to be bold. This game will NOT end in a Hail Mary touchdown. Yep, I went there. Instead I believe this will not be the offensive shootout people may think will happen. The Seahawks defense will do a decent job putting pressure on Aaron Rodgers but Rodgers will still manage to throw for a pair of touchdowns. Russell Wilson will throw a touchdown to Doug Baldwin and Marshawn Lynch will add a touchdown on the ground. The Seahawks will take advantage of Green Bay turnovers and turn them into additional points. The game will be close for the majority of the night, but a couple of late Seattle field goals will doom the Packers. The Seahawks will go to 1-0 and take a couple of days off before preparing for their week 2 game against the San Diego Chargers.

Seahawks 23, Packers 14

Check back late Thursday night/early Friday morning for me Packers/Seahawks review. To everyone attending have a great time. For everyone watching on television, enjoy the game! Go Seahawks!

49ers/Seahawks Preview (NFC Championship Game)

Photo Credit: seahawks.com

Matchup: (5) San Francisco 49ers at (1) Seattle Seahawks

Site: CenturyLink Field (Seattle, Washington)

Kickoff: 3:30pm

Not very often do you get an opportunity like this, even less often at home. It has been 8 years since the Seahawks played the Carolina Panthers in the 2005 NFC Championship Game and personally I have been waiting for the Seahawks to get back on this national stage ever since. I became a season-ticket holder in 2006 and for all the games I have been to over the past 8 seasons, opportunities like the one presenting itself on Sunday makes having tickets and going to games during the bad years absolutely worth it. In front of a nationally televised audience on FOX, the Seahawks will take on the San Francisco 49ers in the 2013 NFC Championship Game. If the Seahawks lose the season is over, but if the Seahawks win they punch their ticket to New York for Super Bowl XLVIII on February 2^nd. The all-time series between the Seahawks and 49ers is tied 15-15. Their last meeting came on December 8^th when San Francisco defeated Seattle 19-17 in the final seconds at Candlestick Park. This is the first meeting between the two teams in the playoffs. There are many storylines that have gained momentum from both a local and a national perspective in the days leading up to this game. Here are my thoughts as we head into the biggest home game in franchise history.

The absolute number one key for the Seahawks this week comes on defense. In the last two 49ers/Seahawks games played in Seattle, the Seahawks have held 49ers running back Frank Gore to a total of 44 rushing yards. What I’ve noticed when you dig into all of Colin Kaepernick’s career starts is that he has been successful because of a dynamic rushing attack helping him. When opposing defenses are able to shut the San Francisco running game (especially Gore) down, Kaepernick becomes extremely vulnerable. Once again the number one key for the Seahawks is to stop Gore. Unlike last week where I wanted to see the Seahawks force the New Orleans Saints to run, forcing Colin Kaepernick to throw will help the Seahawks mightily. In Kaepernick’s 28 career starts he has thrown only 11 interceptions. 4 of those interceptions have come in his two starts in Seattle. The Legion of Boom will be Kaepernick’s worst nightmare if the Seahawks run defense allows it to. My target rushing total for Frank Gore this week is between 50-60 yards. If the Seahawks can hold Gore to under 60 yards on the ground, we will be in fantastic shape.

The Seattle offense is a unit that has not lit up the stat sheet recently but they have been efficient enough to win football games. There are three things I need to see out of the Seahawks offense this week. The first thing is for Marshawn Lynch to have a productive day at the office. Unlike Frank Gore, Lynch has been very efficient running the ball against the 49ers in Seattle. In the same two game span that Gore has rushed for 44 total yards, Lynch has rushed for 209 total yards and has also added 3 touchdowns. I fully expect the majority of fans to panic if the Seahawks cannot get the running game going early but it will be necessary to be patient through the first half to try to get Lynch large chunks of yards. The second necessity for the Seahawks offense this week is to protect Russell Wilson. Wilson was sacked 3 times last week and he has been sacked 18 times in his last 6 games. The last time the Seahawks and 49ers played in Seattle, the Seahawks were without two starting offensive lineman and lost Russell Okung to a foot injury early in the game. This week the entire starting offensive line is healthy and I expect significant improvement in pass protection. Keep an eye on the left guard position this week as Michael Bowie is expected to start again after playing a great game last week in his first career start at that position. The third thing I need to see out of the offense this week is an extension of my second offensive key, only the weight of this key falls more on the shoulders of Russell Wilson. There have been instances throughout the past few games where when Wilson drops back to pass, at times he seems to bail from the pocket and move around to try to make throws while at other times he seems a bit too overconfident being patient in the pocket. In those instances he will wait for a receiver to get open and by the time he decides on his read he is either on the ground sacked or throwing the ball away. Wilson needs to be more aware of what is going on around him to know how much time he has to throw. Confidence in the pocket and connecting on throws down the field will help the Seahawks greatly this week.

The San Francisco 49ers come into the NFC Championship Game red-hot and firing on all cylinders. My 49ers preview is rather broad this week as there are only three things that I believe will help the 49ers be more effective this week. The first key is to ride the wave of momentum that comes with an 8-game winning streak. San Francisco comes into the NFC Championship Game as perhaps the more confident team, which comes naturally riding a long winning streak. My other two 49ers keys will be the most important to keep that momentum going.

The 49ers need to handle the crowd noise much better than they have in their last two visits to CenturyLink Field. Shorter verbiage and hand signals will be necessary this week and I would not be surprised to see the 49ers use a no-huddle package, especially early in the game. San Francisco will want to take the 12^th Man out of the game as early as possible so it will be very important to score early. On offense for San Francisco this week there is only one player that I believe is deserving of my X-Factor player to watch, and that is the most important player that was not on the field the last time the 49ers played in Seattle. Wide receiver Michael Crabtree has elevated the 49ers passing game to extraordinary levels since returning from a torn Achilles on December 1^st. Crabtree has averaged 62 receiving yards in 7 games this season and he has also been targeted an average of 8 times per game. It is hard to believe how big of a difference Crabtree has made since returning; the 49ers have not lost since his return. Taking Crabtree away will limit Colin Kaepernick’s weapons to tight end Vernon Davis and wide receiver Anquan Boldin.

In my “Making Memories” post earlier this week, I recall the 2005 NFC Championship Game in great detail. One of the things I mentioned is how I never sat down throughout the duration of the game and the 12^th Man did not let up on the Carolina offense all game long. I cannot stress the importance of duplicating that stadium environment again this week. At last week’s Divisional playoff game many fans left following Marshawn Lynch’s final touchdown assuming the game was all but over. For a playoff game I find that behavior utterly pathetic. This week cannot and hopefully will not be the same as last week. I hope to spend the majority of the game on my feet regardless of who has the ball. I expect every single fan to scream when San Francisco has the ball. I expect no fan to leave before the fourth quarter clock hits zero. If everything goes right this should be the biggest party in the city. I hope you will not want to leave as the game gets closer to the finish. In addition, I want this game to be the loudest Seahawks game I have attended up to this point in my life. We the 12^th Man WILL have a voice in deciding the outcome of this game. Do not doubt that. We also owe it to the guys on the field to give it our all. If we stay consistently ear-drum-bursting loud this week, the 49ers will have no chance communicating and coming into our house and stealing a victory.

Random Thoughts: The Seahawks will likely wear blue jerseys and blue pants for the final time this season. I say “likely” because should the Seahawks win, they will be designated as the road team in Super Bowl XLVIII. The 49ers will wear their classic white jersey/gold pants look… Gene Steratore is this week’s referee. He called the Seahawks week 8 game against the Rams in St. Louis and Steratore’s crew loosely called that game. He let the players play. Hopefully the same goes this way because if the game is called tight the Seahawks may be in trouble… Joe Buck and Troy Aikman have the call for FOX this week with Pam Oliver and Erin Andrews covering the sidelines. In addition, the entire “FOX NFL Sunday” pregame crew will be attendance this week and they will do their pregame show from inside the stadium, an annual tradition, starting at 3pm… The giveaway this week is white rally towels. All I can say is hallelujah. I’ve been waiting to get the chance to wave a rally towel all season and it is entirely fitting that chance comes in the biggest home game of the season… Ann Wilson from “Heart” will sing the national anthem before the game which actually surprises me because I thought FOX would bring in the most recent American Idol or X-Factor winner to sing it like they have done in the past… The halftime show is one that I am very much looking forward to. Grammy nominated and Seattle recording artists Macklemore and Ryan Lewis will perform at halftime, which turns the NFC Championship Game into a mini Super Bowl in my opinion. Hopefully the Seahawks take control of the game in the first half so I can actually enjoy Mack’s halftime performance… In my opinion there is only one group that I think should have the honor to raise the 12^th Man flag this week. Back when we played Tampa Bay in November, the Seahawks honored the 30^th anniversary of the first playoff team in franchise history. Members of the 1983 Seahawks stood at the flagpole while Steve Largent did the honors of raising the flag. This week should hold the exact same concept. The only group that I see fit to raise the 12^th Man flag this week is members of the 2005 Seahawks led by head coach Mike Holmgren, the first Seahawks team to play in the Super Bowl. I will be extremely disappointed if this does not happen. Even if they do not celebrate the entire team, Coach Holmgren deserves the chance to raise the flag this week… Goal for Sunday: Try to meet up with all of my friends that I know are going to the game… Streamers are a must once again this week. Gotta go all out… If we win, the Halas Trophy presentation will be really awesome to be a part of again… Let this sink in: We are 60 minutes away from playing in the biggest game in Seahawks franchise history.

Prediction: There is no doubt that this will be a physical game and it may be close until the final few minutes of the fourth quarter. Zach Miller will catch a first quarter touchdown to make it 7-0 Seahawks. A Steven Hauschka field goal will extend the lead to 10-0 before the 49ers score on a Michael Crabtree touchdown pass in the final two minutes of the half. Halftime score: Seahawks 10, 49ers 7.

In the second half the Seahawks will take full control in the running game. Marshawn Lynch will run for a pair of touchdowns, the second of which coming in the final 5 minutes of the game. That will be the dagger. Vernon Davis will catch a garbage time touchdown under the two-minute warning but by then it will be far too late. The Seahawks will win, hoist the Halas Trophy, and will head to Super Bowl XLVIII as the 2013 NFC Champions.

Seahawks 24, 49ers 14

Whether we win or lose check back late Sunday night for my review of the NFC Championship Game. Whether you are watching on television or at the game, enjoy this one everybody because hopefully this will be a game we all look back on as one of the best in team history. Go Seahawks!

My Weekend in San Francisco 2013

From left to right: Eric, Grant, Jeff, James

Saturday: My friends James and Grant and I arrived at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport shortly before 8am. As I passed through security I encountered the most interesting set of TSA officers I have ever had the pleasure to deal with.  First, the officer who checked my boarding pass and driver’s license noticed my Seahawks hat and Seahawks coat and when she saw that my destination was San Francisco she knew I was heading to the game. Upon highlighting my boarding pass and sending me over to the security checkpoint she said to me “make sure the Seahawks kick their ass” to which I smiled and assured her I’d let them know where I was from. Second, after going through the screener, the officer who waved me through was probably the most attractive TSA official I have ever encountered. Lastly as I was scrambling to get all of my personal effects off of the conveyer belt, a third TSA agent jokingly gave me a hard time about how flustered I seemed based on how fast I was trying to get my things and get out of the way. It was certainly the coolest airport security experience I have ever been through.

After passing through security I grabbed breakfast and we headed towards the gate at the north satellite. Our Alaska Airlines flight was probably the most fun I have ever had on an airplane. Over half of our flight was Seahawks fans heading down for the game and the mood on the flight was excitement with lots of humor and stories being shared around the cabin. About halfway through the flight the flight crew requested at that everybody take out any Seahawks gear they had in the overhead compartments because they wanted to take some pictures of everybody on the plane in their Seahawks gear to post online. This got everybody excited and the flight got really loud. Even the passengers who were not Seahawks fans going to the game seemed to have a fun time or at least I assume so because nobody complained.

Our first stop upon arrival In San Francisco was lunch at In-N-Out burger which was conveniently about a half a mile south of the airport and was directly across the highway from our hotel. We definitely hit the lunch time rush because the entire parking lot was full along with a drive thru line about 20-25 cars long, almost stretching all the way across the parking lot and into the street. In-N-Out is customary to be a tradition upon all of my visits to California and this burger really hit the spot, keeping all of us full and satisfied until dinner time. After lunch we headed across the highway to our hotel, the Crowne Plaza in Burlingame, and checked in but not before being confused by the roads surrounding the hotel, making numerous wrong turns and detours. I dropped my luggage off at my room overlooking the southeast and relaxed for a couple of hours, allowing me to charge my phone and tour the hotel along with the amenities it offered. After this brief rest it was time to head downtown to the ultra-touristy part of San Francisco, the Embarcadero and Pier 39.

We got downtown with about an hour of sunlight left in the day. This allowed us to take pictures of the surrounding views from the back of Pier 39 such as the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, the Bay Bridge, and various buildings in downtown San Francisco. I definitely came downtown underdressed as the cool breeze from the water added with the chilly air temperature made it feel absolutely freezing. A knit hat would have done a much better job keeping me warm than a visor. Oh well. Let me say this about pier 39, it can be fun to peruse but you run out of things to do and see very quickly. After looking through a few shops and grabbing an utterly terrible cup of coffee from a Mrs. Fields cookie stand, we decided to stand at the front of the pier where a large contingent of Seahawks fans were meeting for a “takeover of San Francisco.” This event was hyped on Facebook but did not really live up to my expectations because there was simply no space inside the Hard Rock Café (the primary meeting place) for all the Seahawks fans to fit. We wound up killing about another 45 minutes of time around Pier 39 before walking north to meet our friend Lauren for dinner at Boudin Bakery.

I was first introduced to Boudin by my friends Josh and Amanda on my trip to San Francisco last October and although I was not a fan of sourdough bread I decided to give Boudin’s sourdough chili bowl the ol’ college try. I was blown away. The chili was amazing and the bread was so fresh and warm that you couldn’t even taste the sourdough flavor that I disliked so much. It was one of my favorite meals on my trip last year so I felt that another visit was in order this year to expose James and Grant to this great restaurant that they too had never visited. After dinner James, Grant, Lauren and I walked through the bitter cold north to Ghirardelli Square. Here we looked through the original Ghirardelli chocolate shop and stopped for James and Grant to split the famous Ghirardelli hot fudge sundae, as Lauren and I enviously watched them devour it. After driving around downtown and dropping Lauren off at home we headed back to the hotel and we decided to head down to the hotel bar to have a drink before calling it a night.

Typically, much like going through security at the airport or your flight experience, having a drink in the hotel bar seems like pretty textbook stuff. You go, you talk, you drink, and you go back to your room. Not on this trip, however. Once again a mundane part of a typical vacation was turned upside down thanks to a group of knucklehead Seahawks fans staying at our hotel. We took a seat in a booth in the hotel bar/restaurant and it took forever to get served by the one server/busser hybrid. Once we got our drinks (and James’s humongous chicken Caesar salad) after a long wait the mayhem really began. The front of the restaurant is lined with glass windows. One end of the front hallway leads to a stairwell and the other end leads towards the elevators and the front desk. All of a sudden we heard some sort of ruckus outside of the restaurant over by the stairwell. Our server and the main bartender ran outside to break up what turned into a fistfight that had been led down the hallway close to the entrance of the restaurant. We turned around to see a struggle between a small group of Seahawks fans and another couple of people. Hotel security is almost immediately on the scene and they make it known that the police have been called. Once the police arrived they started to question each person that was involved in the fight and word started to spread among the guests dining and drinking in the bar that the instigators (the group of Seahawks fans) were going to be arrested, charged with assault, and would spend the night in a San Francisco jail. After about 15 minutes with the police right outside the bar, we decided to close out and head back to our rooms before the scene potentially started to escalate again. It was a really bizarre experience but one we would joke about for the rest of our trip.

I headed back to my room and called it a night. We had a very big day ahead of us on Sunday. My gameday wake-up call was set for 6am.

Sunday: I woke up to a beautiful red sunrise and later we checked out of the hotel and were on our way to the stadium by 8am. What sucks is that we could have afforded to leave a little later than 8. I knew that the parking lot gates to Candlestick Park opened at 9am but with the inevitable traffic that was going to clog the areas around the stadium I was positive that the 9am opening time was simply a plucked time and the gates would be open before 9am. I was dead wrong and it left me scratching my head, flustered, and it required us to figure out how to kill some time. After driving around the outside of the stadium gates we drove through the bad part of San Francisco which neighbors Candlestick Park and we eventually found our way back onto the highway. We drove one exit south and waited in a Radisson hotel parking lot for about a half an hour before making another attempt to park at the stadium. As we were driving south however we saw numerous cars along the shoulder of the highway waiting for 9am to draw closer so they could finish their drive and get into the parking lot. At 9am we headed north on 101 once again and when we got back to Candlestick Park, the parking lot when from a ghost town a half an hour earlier to about halfway full by the time we arrived again. We hit our second snag of the morning when we re-arrived at the stadium. Candlestick Park has three entrances to the main parking lot and each gate had signs stating that the only people allowed to park in the main parking lot were fans that had purchased a pre-paid parking pass through the 49ers. This banished us to the outer gravel parking lots at the “Candlestick recreational area.” After walking back and forth between the car and the RV tailgating lot multiple times (because I forgot the tickets at the car and we could not take any outside alcohol into the Candlestick parking lot (the stupidest rule I have ever encountered on any of my road trips by the way)) we headed to the Northern California Seahawkers “Final Stompin’ at the Stick” tailgate in the northwest corner of the stadium lot. The tailgate was crowded with Seahawks fans but the lack of beer due to the “no-alcohol in the parking lot” rule put a slight damper on my personal pregame plan. Nevertheless I was still excited for the game.

A little more than an hour before kickoff we decided to head into the stadium and made our way to the seats in Section 51, row 1. I sat in the exact same section and row the previous year so I was familiar with how to get to our seats and I had previous familiarity with the view from the inside of the stadium. I will spare details of the game because I’m assuming you already saw it on television but the environment inside the stadium was probably the worst experience I have ever had at Candlestick in regards to the people around me. During a television timeout in the first half, James asked the people sitting behind us if they could take a picture of our group with our backs facing the field. When we posed the entire section booed and cussed at us and one fan through a whole sandwich in our direction. Although the sandwich did not hit any of us, it did hit a 49ers fan seated in the lower part of the bowl about four rows in front of us. The fan continued to look back in my direction for the next few minutes and it was not hard to jump to the conclusion that he thought I had thrown the sandwich just because I was wearing Seahawks gear. He seemed like he wanted to get security involved even though the people next to us and directly behind us signaled to him that we were not the sandwich culprits. Still though, he had a look on his face that he wanted to come up and punch me in the face. I was hit in the head by some other small object when Russell Wilson threw his game-ending interception at the conclusion of the game but it was not big enough of a deal for me to be angry or questioning what had just hit me. Overall the crowd was very hostile and although I stood up and cheered loudly when the Seahawks scored, I felt like it was in my best interest to subdue my cheering to prevent any incidents that could involve me or the rest of the guys I went with. The crowd in San Francisco this year only re-affirms how pleasant other opposing fan bases are to interact with on my previous road trips. Even for a brief moment upon reflecting on the day’s events it crossed my mind that maybe I should not pay another visit to another Seahawks/49ers road game for a few years.

After the game we grabbed one last bite to eat once again at In-N-Out before heading to the airport to conclude our trip. Overall I had a lot of fun on this trip but it is unfortunate we did not get the chance to win the division on our final visit to Candlestick Park. Although the outcome of the game was disappointing, I had lots of fun on another Seahawks road trip with friends and it was definitely a memory making experience.

Review: 49ers 19, Seahawks 17

Photo Credit: seahawks.com

Although the NFC West championship and home field advantage is still all but certain, if for any reason we completely fall apart and miss out on either of these two scenarios this is the game the Seahawks and their fans will look back on as the turning point in the season. The Seahawks 7 game losing streak has come to an end and our quest for the division title must wait at least one more week as the Seahawks fell to the San Francisco 49ers 19-17 on Sunday. The Seahawks fall to 11-2 and now lead the 9-4 49ers by 2 games in the NFC West. There are a lot of frustrating moments that may have ultimately changed the outcome of the game. This is what I saw.

2^nd Half Defense Does its Part: Over the past couple of seasons the Seahawks have been one of the best teams in the league when it comes to halftime adjustments and improvements. The defense stepped up and shut down the 49ers offense in the second half, holding them to only 3 points (for the sake of this section, forget those points were the ultimate difference in the game). The defensive pressure on 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick was cranked up as Clinton McDonald and Chris Clemons each recorded a crucial sack on third down plays in the fourth quarter. Byron Maxwell once again stepped up in place of Walter Thurmond, recording 5 tackles, 3 passes defensed, and an interception. Overall the Seahawks defense only allowed 19 points to a solid 49ers offense which should be enough in order to win. Unfortunately the Seahawks failed to get any momentum going on offense to parallel the effort of the defense.

2^nd Half Offense Fails to Show: When I went to Houston back in September the Seahawks were down by 17 points at halftime. Although I was surprised and disappointed I never gave up hope that the Seahawks could comeback because prior to that game they had proven that they could come back facing a deficit of at least 20 points. The Seahawks trailed the 49ers by 2 points at halftime and my overall feeling was that Darrell Bevell and Russell Wilson would make the necessary adjustments for the offense to comeback, take the lead, and potentially blow this game wide open. That never happened. The Seahawks only scored 3 points of their own in the second half and missed opportunities denied Seattle the chance to extend drives and perhaps put points on the board. Marshawn Lynch only ran for 72 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries and it felt as though the Seahawks number one priority this week was to move the ball through the air even though Russell Wilson only threw the ball 25 times for 199 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. I give lots of credit to the San Francisco secondary, especially cornerback Tramaine Brock and safety Eric Reid for their impressive blanket coverage on all Seahawks receivers. As the game went along the belief remained that the Seahawks would make a run at taking control of the game because I knew they could but as the minutes ticked off the clock the worse our chances became and by the time we got the ball back for our final drive it was too little too late and the clock had struck midnight.

Penalties Doom Seahawks: While watching Sunday NFL Countdown on ESPN in my hotel room prior to leaving for Candlestick Park, one analyst boldly predicted that this week’s Seahawks/49ers game would break an NFL record for most number of penalties in a single game. It sure felt like he was right but the calls that went against the Seahawks came at the worst times. Instead of extending drives, penalties backed the Seahawks so far back that the drives predictably stalled and the Seahawks were forced to punt, trading potential points for goose-eggs and a change of possession. In a nutshell, I strongly believe that the 49ers did not beat the Seahawks but that the Seahawks beat the Seahawks. Two Marshawn Lynch first down runs were called back for holding, a long completion to Golden Tate was called back for offensive pass interference because Tate pushed off of his defender, and on a 4^th and 5 while in punt formation it appeared that a 49er defender jumped offside, which caused the Seahawks to point towards the other side of the line of scrimmage. Instead of a 5-yard offsides penalty and an automatic first down, it was ruled a false start and the Seahawks backed up 5 yards. In total, the Seahawks committed 9 penalties for 85 yards. About half of those penalty yards came on long, potential game altering plays.

The Gamble and the Two Plays that Changed the Game: After the Seahawks took a 17-16 lead the 49ers got the ball back with 6:20 left in the game. The Seahawks had two timeouts to work with and with the way the defense had been playing, I felt that it was entirely possible that we could force a quick drive and get the ball back to attempt to pad our lead. Instead, the 49ers gave the ball to running back Frank Gore who galloped 51 yards on the fourth play of the drive and all of a sudden the 49ers went from having the ball in their own territory to having the ball in the red zone, well within field goal range. After Kendall Hunter ran for one yard on the next play coach Carroll decided to take our second timeout and it was clear how he was going to play the end of the game; use both timeouts and the two-minute warning to stop the 49ers with enough time to allow them to kick a field goal and for us to go down the field into field goal range for Steven Hauschka to win the game. Carroll used the Seahawks final timeout after a 2-yard run by Gore and all the Seahawks needed to do was stop San Francisco to set up a 49ers field goal with 2:00 left. Instead Carroll’s gamble backfired and the Seahawks allowed the second most important play of the game; a first down scramble by Kaepernick to give San Francisco a fresh set of downs and the ability to run the clock down under a minute, kick a field goal, and leave the Seahawks virtually no time to go down the field and score. If I was Pete Carroll I would have waited to use our timeouts after the two minute warning which would have given us about one extra minute of game clock. I do not blame Carroll for the decision he made because he had trust in a unit that had not given up any points in the second half up until this point in the game. Unfortunately it nipped the Seahawks in the bud.

49ers Played Like They Wanted it More: On Saturday night, Mitch Levy of Sports Radio 950 KJR tweeted that the attitudes and body language of 49ers players in interviews leading up to this week’s game showed a team that was uptight; so uptight that, as Levy stated “you can’t get a blade of grass up their asses.” San Francisco sure did not play like that at all. The 49ers came out firing with full confidence and I got the sense that they did a remarkable job preparing for what the Seahawks were going to throw at them on both sides of the ball.  They fed off the energy of their home crowd and scoring 16 points in the first half alone gave their defense extreme confidence to shut the Seahawks offense down. The 49ers did not play as an uptight team, but as a team that had a “we have nothing to lose” mentality when in reality this was a game they definitely needed to win to continue to control their own destiny in the NFC wild-card race.

Injury Analysis: Linebacker K.J. Wright broke a bone in his foot on Sunday and there is an estimated recovery time of at least six weeks. If that is the case, Wright could make it back in time to play in Super Bowl XLVIII should the Seahawks make it. Wright however remains hopeful that he will be healthy enough to return in time for the start of the playoffs, as was portrayed on his Twitter shortly after Sunday’s game. Max Unger and Jeron Johnson also exited the game this week and both did not return. Unger is dealing with a strained pectoral muscle and Johnson pulled a hamstring. To my knowledge their statuses for next week against the New York Giants is unknown. Losing Wright, a starter on defense, hurts but Malcolm Smith stepped in for Wright and did a good job. Unger is the man I would be the most worried about. Unger is the anchor of the offensive line and if the Seahawks are going to be without him for any length of time, we may see shades of the Seahawks teams that struggled against St. Louis and Tampa Bay.

Thoughts on San Francisco: The 49ers looked like a team that could make the playoffs as a wild-card and make a run deep into the playoffs, assuming of course that they do not run into Seattle along that road. The defense played a really good football game and if Frank Gore is feeling it he is extremely hard to stop. The addition of Michael Crabtree back into the lineup also adds firing power to the cannon of Colin Kaepernick. If the 49ers have to come to Seattle in the playoffs they will most likely lose but I would not be surprised to see the 49ers make it to at least the divisional round if not the NFC Championship Game if they are able to play like they did on Sunday.

Random Thoughts: All of my random thoughts will come in an in-depth feature post on my entire weekend trip to San Francisco. I hope to have that post published by mid-week. Stay tuned!

In addition to “Weekend in San Francisco 2013” post in the middle of this week, make sure to check back on Saturday as I preview next week’s matchup with the New York Giants. Go Hawks!

Seahawks/49ers Preview

Photo Credit: seahawks.com

Matchup: Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers

Site: Candlestick Park (San Francisco, California)

Kickoff: 1:25pm

In his weekly press conferences, Russell Wilson religiously states that each game “is a championship opportunity.” For the first time this season Wilson’s mentality can be taken literally. This week, in one of the more highly anticipated games of the week, the Seahawks have the opportunity to clinch the 2013 NFC West title and a first round bye in the NFC playoffs. In their way are their arch rivals, the San Francisco 49ers. The Seahawks are 11-1 and are coming off of a thrilling 34-7 win over the New Orleans Saints last Monday and will take on the 49ers in San Francisco on a short week for the second consecutive season. The 49ers enter this week’s game at 8-4 and they are coming off a 23-13 win over the St. Louis Rams last week. Although coming back to win the division is highly unlikely, the 49ers are battling several teams for the final NFC wild-card playoff berth and a win this week would certainly help their case to make the playoffs. The Seahawks lead the all-time series with the 49ers 15-14 and Seattle defeated San Francisco 29-3 in their last meeting back in September. Here is what I will be looking for from my upper deck first row seat at Candlestick Park on Sunday.

Russell Wilson has started 29 career games for the Seahawks and the worst performance of his young career came last season in San Francisco. At that point last season the Seahawks had yet to unleash their entire playbook and I believe playing conservatively cost the Seahawks multiple scoring chances and ultimately the game. This year things are different. I believe that Pete Carroll will try to feed Marshawn Lynch the ball early but in the later parts of the game I expect to see the “Russell Wilson show.” I think that the read option will be a pivotal part of the Seahawks offense this week. I realize that the 49ers will be preparing for everything the Seahawks pose as a challenge but the read option has not be used on a regular basis over the past few weeks, simply because we have not had the need to use it. The read option has turned into an emergency package that is only used in excess when the Seahawks are struggling or trailing late in games. I could see the Seahawks struggle in the first half of the game and if Seattle is leading by one score or if they are trailing, halftime adjustments will be made with a serious attempt to unleash Russell Wilson and the read option. I believe that Wilson is just now starting to play his best football of the season and using him in read option this week could put the 49ers at a serious disadvantage.

When it comes to the Seahawks defense this week, there are several things that concern me. Seattle has faced 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick twice but never at Candlestick Park. That plus the return of wide receiver Michael Crabtree from a torn Achilles adds a wrinkle that could put the Seahawks at a disadvantage because there is only one game’s worth of Kaepernick/Crabtree game film this season; last week against St. Louis. Forcing turnovers and getting off the field on third down will be very important for the Seahawks defense this week but the main key to controlling the ball and preserving a victory will be to put excessive amounts of pressure on Colin Kaepernick. In preparation for this week, I suspect the Seahawks paid very close attention to the game film of the 49ers game against Carolina from four weeks ago when the Panthers were able to sack Kaepernick 6 times and held him to a career-low 91 yards passing. Although the sack totals have not been present over the past couple of weeks the Seahawks have been doing a much better job of putting pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Look for Cliff Avril and Bruce Irvin to step up and have big games for the Seahawks on defense this week.

The San Francisco 49ers offense has proven to be a rather shaky unit this season. It seems as though they play well against average or bad defenses and they struggle immensely against good defenses. Although San Francisco has Michael Crabtree back I would not be surprised to see him make a minimal impact this week. In last season’s matchup in San Francisco, running back Frank Gore rushed for 131 yards on 16 carries. If the 49ers are to have any offensive success this week it starts with Gore. If Gore is effective against a Seahawks run defense that has vastly improved in their last three games, that opens up the offense and could help Anquan Boldin and Vernon Davis get open, thus the 49ers offense will be two-dimensional. If the Seahawks shut Gore down, the passing game will become the focal point of the offense and the Legion of Boom will have an easier time creating confusion for Kaepernick in the passing game.

The 49ers defense has been consistently good all season long. A solid front seven is starting to gel with a young secondary to create a strong cohesive unit. Much like it is a key for the Seahawks defense to stop Frank Gore, it will be equally as important for the 49ers defense to be able to stop Marshawn Lynch. The 49ers allow an average of 105 rushing yards per game and I believe they will have keep Lynch to fewer than 100 yards rushing on Sunday in order to have a chance to win. For San Francisco to do this I put my spotlight on the middle of the 49ers defense. My X-Factor player to watch this week is 49ers defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey. Prior to last week against St. Louis, Dorsey’s most productive game of the season came in Seattle in week 2 when he recorded 5 tackles. In San Francisco’s base 3-4 defense, Dorsey is mostly responsible for clogging running lanes on the interior of the offensive line, with the help of linebackers Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman. On interior running plays it will be Dorsey’s responsibility to make initial contact with Marshawn Lynch or Robert Turbin to slow them down or to make the solo tackle. Lynch likes to pound the ball on the inside and run defenders over so Dorsey will have the chance to make a big impact in this game. A solid performance by Glenn Dorsey could help propel the 49ers to force turnovers, manage the game clock, and control the tempo of the entire game.

Random Thoughts: I am once again going to bank on the Seahawks wearing white jerseys this week. I think they have maxed out the number of times they can wear their grey alternate jerseys so I’m going to be packing my white one. Please wear white, Seahawks. I don’t want to wear the wrong color jersey on both of my road trips this year… Joe Buck and Troy Aikman have the call for “America’s Game of the Week” on FOX… Clete Blakeman is the referee this week. Remember, Blakeman and his crew were the ones responsible for waving off pass interference at the end of the Patriots/Panthers Monday Night Football game… I have been looking forward to this weekend since I booked airfare and bought tickets to the game back in May. I am excited to experience a Seahawks road game for the first time with my friends James and Grant. Even though I have given them excessive information about what to expect on gameday in San Francisco, they really have no idea. They are just going to have to experience it for themselves. My gut feeling is that they are going to have a blast… To all Seahawks fans heading down to San Francisco with us this weekend, don’t forget about the 12^th Man takeover at Pier 39 on Saturday night. The “attending” count on the Facebook event is currently at 900 so it is going to be very crowded… And very fun!… I’ll be tailgating in the southern part of the Candlestick Park parking lot most likely… The 49ers are giving away red rally towels this week so of course we are going to counter. We will be waving white Seahawks rally towels so be on the look for us. For those watching on TV, we are sitting on the Seahawks sideline on the north goal line in the first row of the upper bowl (left side of your screen)… I find it hilarious that the 49ers sent out their version of “Ram Rules” to their season ticket holders this week. If I were a 49ers fan I would be completely embarrassed and pissed off. I’ll be sure to use that in any friendly trash talk we engage in on Sunday… I’m also excited to see the Seahawks banner fly over the Stick before the game. It seems like the 12^th Man is getting more and more creative when it comes to making an impression on road trips… Let’s clinch this division. I don’t want to sit at the airport gate unhappy after the game. It would be an incredible feeling to be en route home knowing we are the 2013 NFC West champions and I was there to witness it.

Seahawks Playoff Outlook: As previously stated, the Seahawks can wrap up the NFC West and lock up a first-round playoff bye with a win this week. San Francisco can boost their chances at earning a wild-card berth with a win. The winner of this week’s Sunday Night Football game between Carolina and New Orleans will have control of the NFC South. Here are this week’s games to keep an eye on with potential NFC playoff implications. Teams to note are bolded.

Seattle (11-1) at San Francisco (8-4)

Detroit (7-5) at Philadelphia (7-5)

St. Louis (5-7) at Arizona (7-5)

Carolina (9-3) at New Orleans (9-3)

Dallas (7-5) at Chicago (6-6)

Prediction: Although this game will be higher scoring than last year’s Seahawks/49ers game in San Francisco, it will still feel like more of a defensive battle. Russell Wilson will throw for one touchdown and will also run for a score. Frank Gore will score the only 49ers touchdown. I am 1-2 when seeing the Seahawks play the 49ers at Candlestick Park. The Seahawks will not only help improve my personal record to 2-2, but they will exit Candlestick Park for the final time in grand fashion; as champions of the NFC West.

Seahawks 20, 49ers 13

My flight home leaves San Francisco around 9pm and I do not believe I will be home until at least 11:30 or midnight, barring a flight delay. Look for my Seahawks/49ers game review on Monday morning. I will also chronicle my weekend in San Francisco in a post that I hope to have published by the middle of next week. Let’s clinch this everyone! Enjoy the game and for those of you attending I hope to see you there. Go Seahawks!

Commentary: A Tribute to Candlestick Park

Photo Credit: pro32.ap.org

*Sunday will mark the fourth and final Seahawks game I attend against the 49ers at Candlestick Park. The stadium is set to be torn down at the conclusion of the 49ers 2013 season. As a part of our second 49ers “hate week” of the season, I commemorate Candlestick Park with a special tribute post about the stadium from a Seahawks fan’s perspective*

Over the past decade-plus there have been many instances when my friends and I talk about the Kingdome. Those talks include topics such as what our most memorable experiences in the Kingdome were, what we miss about it, and how sometimes we even wish the Kingdome was still around today. On March 26^th, 2000 the Kingdome was imploded and the most iconic part and the most special era of my childhood came tumbling to the ground.

The same is about to happen to San Francisco 49ers fans.

San Francisco sports fans have already gone through this once when the San Francisco Giants moved downtown to AT&T Park in 2000. However once the 49ers move out of Candlestick Park at the conclusion of the 2013 season, the clock will have struck midnight on the legendary building most famously known for hosting the final concert of the Beatles and hosting game 3 of the 1989 World Series when a magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck the San Francisco area minutes prior to the start of the game, shaking the stadium and postponing the series for one week. Following this season, Candlestick Park will be torn down to make way for a proposed shopping center at the site of the stadium. Next season the 49ers are moving into Levi’s Stadium, their new state-of-the-art facility in Santa Clara and thus will shift into an era of playing their home games in a modern day football stadium they can call their own. After the final game at the end of this month, a remarkable run including 42 years of memories will come to an end.

Let me get this out of the way now. Personally I hate Candlestick Park. It is an absolute dump of a stadium. The seats are uncomfortable, the bathrooms are claustrophobic, and the concourses are so narrow that it takes forever to get out of the stadium after the game. Not only that but the sole fact that it housed the team I despise the most for 42 seasons gives me reason to hate the building by itself. On the inside it reminds me of a more cramped Kingdome without a roof. A lot of people would say the Kingdome was the same but many Seahawks fans including myself loved that building. That feeling of “home” for 49ers fans at Candlestick Park is the same feeling I miss about going to the Kingdome and the “home” of the “Niner Empire” will be permanently relocated which could come as a traditional shock for many 49ers fans. For those Seahawks fans that have never had the opportunity to attend a game at Candlestick Park, let me attempt to paint you a colorful picture of a 49ers gameday at the Stick.

The Drive: For my first two games at Candlestick Park, we drove north on highway 101 to get to the stadium. The Stick sits along the San Francisco bay just east of the highway. You know you are getting close once the highway curves past South San Francisco and you can see Candlestick Park in the distance on your right-hand side. Once you can see the stadium you hit a straight stretch of the highway and the stadium becomes larger as you drive closer, much like seeing the skylines of large cities become closer as you drive closer. The view is even better on a clear sunny day. The highway exit wraps around “Candlestick Point” and leads cars into multiple directions into the handful of parking lot entrances, which can be a big pain if you arrive closer to game time.

The Parking Lot and the Tailgating: The Seahawks are at a disadvantage when it comes to tailgating in Seattle because CenturyLink Field is located in the downtown core. There are limited parking lots surrounding CenturyLink Field and because of that fact many fans choose to drink at the surrounding neighborhood bars before the game. Candlestick Park does traditional tailgating the right way. The stadium is surrounded by roughly 8,800 parking spaces, housing the grand majority of fans attending each game. It is always best to arrive shortly after the gates to the parking lot open to avoid the inevitable traffic congestion that is promised both before and after the game. Once you park (around Seahawks fans of course) the fun really starts. As soon as you crack your car doors open you can smell the sweet aroma of meat being prepared on the numerous charcoal barbeques. You can see the different beautiful layouts of each car’s food and the large coolers stuffed with different types of liquor and beer. You can hear the mixed sounds of NFL pregame shows on the radio and the latest hip-hop/rap tracks blasting from car speakers. You can see the sights of fans playing beer pong, flip cup, beanbag toss, and throwing around footballs while engaging in friendly football banter. It is always a very merry atmosphere; an atmosphere that would get even the most bandwagon of fans excited for the rest of the day’s events.

The Walk: If you a 49ers fan this part would not be nearly worth talking about but as a visiting fan, the walk into the stadium is a very intimidating, yet very cool thing to experience. Most fans walk down a designated stretch of blacktop that leads straight to the gates of the stadium. Tailgating fans line the sides of the walkway and it is custom for 49ers fans to boo the Seahawks fans making their way into the stadium. I personally feed off of their energy, often signaling them to boo me louder. I absolutely love it and it is even better when the Seahawks are a better team on the field than the 49ers are. The walk into Candlestick Park serves as a preview of what to expect inside the stadium as an opposing fan.

The Concourses: Since I have sat in the same area of the Stick in each of my visits, I am not familiar at all with the lower level concourses. Once you enter the stadium, in order to get to the upper level you hop on an escalator that takes you right up to the upper deck. The concourse wraps around the entire stadium and they are very narrow, thus they can get very crammed as you get closer to kickoff. Concession stands and beer stands are continuously within spitting distance. The best part of the upper level concourse is the incredible view of the South San Francisco Bay, the downtown skyline, and the Bay Bridge along with the massive parking lot flooded with cars and people. It is a beautiful, picture perfect sight.

The Upper Bowl: Inside the bowl of the stadium, the first thing you see is the large Candlestick Point hill that neighbors the stadium. It is directly behind the stadium and provides a pretty backdrop to everyone that sits on the opponent’s side of the stadium. The seats are a bright orange color that are big but are very uncomfortable. It is a workout to even push your seat down and the seat stays down if you decide to stand up. Although I have sat in the same area of the stadium there is no bad seat in the upper bowl. The only problem I have is that the sun is constantly beating down on the entire stadium during day games, which has resulted in two terrible sunburns to my pale pigmented redhead skin.

After the Game: Leaving the stadium is a nightmare regardless of whether the Seahawks win or lose. 60,000+ people leaving the stadium all at the same time with one main road to get back onto highway 101 is the recipe for a long wait to exit the premises. Many fans go back to tailgate at their parking spaces to kill time while others try to get in the multiple car lines to leave the parking lot. It is very similar to the set up at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, where they turn the neighboring golf course into a giant parking area. I waited in that parking lot for over two hours following the 2001 Rose Bowl. Most fans wait for upwards of one and a half hours to leave Candlestick Park which is a gigantic pain. In my experiences, I have left Candlestick postgame both in the light and in the dark and after a night game the stadium (like many other stadiums) looks cool with all the lights on, especially from a distance on the highway. As you leave the parking lot the reality sets in that your trip is over but in my past experiences, the anticipation of my next trip to Candlestick Park starts to set along with the sigh of relief that you survived the current trip, which is a very exciting feeling.

Sunday will be the fourth and final Seahawks/49ers game that I attend at Candlestick Park. I have been through both good and bad moments in the games I have attended there. From the Seahawks 23-3 thumping of the 49ers in 2007, to the sick feeling of witnessing Ted Ginn Jr. return a kickoff and a punt for a touchdown in the 2011 season opener, I can say that I had the opportunity to watch NFL football in one of the more famous stadiums in America. People like talk about bucket list trips and stadium visits they would like to make before they die. Lambeau Field in Green Bay and Soldier Field in Chicago are a couple of NFL stadiums that instantly come to mind, but in my opinion Candlestick Park is the Lambeau Field of the west coast. This season, as part of a Candlestick Park celebration, the 49ers are counting down the top 10 moments in the stadium’s history which includes a halftime ceremony honoring each moment. In this week’s game against the Seahawks, the 49ers will honor the number two moment: “The Catch III” which occurred on January 14^th, 2012 when quarterback Alex Smith connected with tight end Vernon Davis for the game-winning touchdown in a Divisional playoff win over New Orleans.

Although I may not like the stadium, I have tremendous respect for the moments that occurred over the past four decades as well as the legacy that Candlestick Park will leave in the bay area.