The Poco Loco Olsons: Seahawks Training Camp: Go Hawks!

Thursday, August 21, 2014

Seahawks Training Camp: Go Hawks!

At the end of last month, Eric and I met my brother (Troy) and his family met up in Renton to watch the one of the open-to-the-public Seahawks training camps.

It was a GORGEOUS day ... nary a cloud in the sky. We all agreed that we we were grateful that the grassy hill the crowd sat on faced west; otherwise, we would have been blinded by the sun for two hours and burned to a crisp, even with the sunblock we'd slathered on ourselves!

Before we even got to the seating area, we wandered through the vendor area. We were surrounded by food carts and Seahawks gear galore. I did pick up a white jersey as an early b-day present (yippee!!!!!), so will be quite the fashion maven when football season starts up. One of the tables set up had a guy from the Seahawks office (marketing, perhaps) who was giving out posters to people as they passed by. I noticed that he, as a team employee, had a Super Bowl ring. COOL! I asked him if I could see it so I could snap a picture, thinking he'd hold up his hand to me. Instead, he took off the ring and handed it to me. Whoa!! I was stunned to say the least. He did look a bit nervous when I handed it to Troy so he could try it on, to which I said, "Don't worry. He's my brother. We can't run fast. Plus, we're Catholic and aren't allowed to steal." That seemed to ease his mind, but he still wasn't taking his eye off of that ring (not that we blamed him)! After Troy tried it on, so did Eric. So much fun and something I never expected to do. (Side note: That ring was HUGE!!!!)

Because the Seahawks played on the half of the field that was further away from the crowd, we didn't really see a whole lot in terms of football. We saw the players run drills and plays, but were so far away that the details were lost on us. It was fun to play a sort of "I Spy" game with each other as we sat there. "I see Russell Wilson!!" and "There's Richard Sherman!" were common choruses for us.

At one point, a Seahawks employee offered Troy two VIP wristbands so Kat could go to the area set aside for people with mobility issues. We decided to go together and see if they'd let both of us in with her. No one batted an eye, which was nice. As we watched the practice for a bit, I noticed the Seagals were walking by and I asked if I could take Kat's picture with them. They happily agreed (thanks, Seagals)! Kat LOVED the sparkly pompoms ... I think I know what she might get for her birthday! :)

Ironically, the real excitement from the day had nothing to do with football. Because it was right before Seafair, we were treated to a display by the Marines and Blue Angels. The Blue Angels flew overhead numerous times... even buzzing the crowd during one flyby. The Marines brought in some helicopters to show the crowd (and Seahawks personnel) how they do water insertions. We also got a neat brief education on the various types of helicopters used by the Marines. The last helicopter pass included the airborne Marines holding up a 12th Man flag in the helicopter's open side door. Very fun!!!

By the time practice and the air show wrapped up, we were all incredibly hot (it was over 80 degrees) and ready for some cool AC in our cars. A very fun day together with our extended family and favorite pro football team!

GO HAWKS!