Monday, December 10

MNF: Vikings vs. Seahawks

A few months ago mom called me to tell me she got some Seahawk tickets from dad's friend Randy.  Randy is retired and usually spends time here in Washington and in Arizona during the winter.  He couldn't use the tickets so he asked dad if he wanted them.  He said he isn't really into football but mom and I were.  He gave dad the tickets to give to mom.  She told me we were going to the Monday Night Football game against the Vikings.  I don't think I've been to a MNF game.  I think they've all been Thursday and Sunday night games so far.  I set aside some vacation time at work and put it on the calendar.  Mom also added since they were Randy's tickets he was also part of the South Sound Seahawkers bus club.  That meant I had to get off work at 11:30 with all of my stuff and head to O'Blarney's at 2, where the Seahawkers met for the bus.  We really didn't know what to expect so we showed up with an open mind.  We talked to one of the people who were there to find out what we had to do and which bus we had to get on.


We grabbed all of the stuff that we needed out of our vehicles and found the bus we were suppose to go on.  It was nice knowing that we didn't have to worry about traffic or where we were going to have to park when we get there.  We sit somewhat in the middle of the bus and watched people come on with coolers, bags of food, drinks, clothes, etc.  


As it got closer to us leaving our MC addressed the bus.  He let us know the rules, what to expect if you were a new rider on the bus, the games, how the games are played, food and drinks.  It was literally a party bus without it getting too rowdy...we also had a few kids on the bus as well. 

We got onto I-5 and headed north towards Seattle.  Along the way we carried on and played the 100 square grid, a game I have never played before so I wasn't sure what to expect.  It cost us $5 to play.  We got to fill in our names into three of the 100 squares.  To my understanding if our name corresponds with the correct score of the game (it is random) then we win some of the money in the pot. We would find out on our bus ride home.

We got to the stadium and we got to park really close.  I guess there is a spot near the stadium just for charter busses.  We only had to walk a block, if that.  Mom and I grabbed our stuff and exited the bus.  We headed towards the stadium.   I wondered what kind of free stuff was inside the field house this time.  We got through security and into the field house.  There was a lot going on.  I asked mom what she wanted to do.  She said she didn't know.  I went over to AmFam and saw what they were giving out.



We waited in line for a few free goodies, some pictures and Curt Warner's autograph.  It was so cool to meet Curt Warner.  Mom said she used to watch him back in the 1980's.  I barely knew who he was because I was still a really young kid back then.



I asked mom if she was good, she was, so we headed up to the gate to get into the stadium.  We wandered around for a bit and I was super nervous about the game.  We really needed to play well so we could make the playoffs.  This was going to be a tough week 14 game.  We visited the Pro Shop and if you bought a hat they would throw in and iron on the MNF patch for free.  I considered it but I was really there for one of the posters...which they didn't have anymore left.  We got back onto the concourse and  Mom and I found Ivar's and got our fish and chips and made our way to our seats.  Randy's seats were pretty good but not as good as the ones we got from Dr. Smith the year we beat the Carolina Panthers.


We ate our food and enjoyed the ambiance of being there.  Monday Night Football has a different feeling than some of the other game's we've been to over the years...especially when we need the game tonight to keep the playoff hopes alive.  It was electric, the crowd was pumped up and we didn't have to sit next to douchbag Viking's fans.  It was a dream come true.  We donned our neon green uniforms which really are obnoxious but they get the job done.  The are definitely a conversation starter.



The first quarter was pretty uneventful, however the defense kept stopping them.  Our offense needed to start making plays because it was giving the home team some serious anxiety.  At the end of the first quarter we were tied at two very large goose eggs.

Mom wanted some popcorn and something to drink so I meandered my way to a concession stand and grabbed what I needed.  I heard there was a new mural inside the stadium so I went and found it.


The second quarter we finally put some points on the board with a field goal but the last seconds of the half, Russel Wilson throws an interception trying to get away from the rushers.  We could have scored before halftime but instead turned the ball over.  I was thinking out loud to mom...I hope we can get our butts into gear before Cousins and the Vikings wake up.  We were up 3-0.


We watched an abbreviated version of the Corgi Races at halftime.  The real Corgi races are at Emerald Downs in August.  This next year they will be August 4, 2019.  We will have to try to make one of those at some point.  It really makes me want a Corgi.

The third quarter we put a couple of good drives together but didn't do anything.


The fourth quarter is when it got really exciting.  Ty Diggs caught a long bomb thrown by Cousins, which deflated the crowd.  We started to worry.  However, our defense came up big time by stopping the drive which forced them into a field goal which they missed!  Wagner flew over our linesmen and blocked the kick!  On our next drive, Wilson scrambled and ran for 50 yards setting us up in the red zone.


Chris Carson punched it in for our first touchdown.  Then we went for a 2-pt. conversion to Lockett and it was good!  We were now up 14-0.

The Vikings next drive Cousins went to throw it and got hit by one of our guys sending the ball in a forward pass, causing a fumble, we picked it up and ran with it and Coleman scored our second and final touchdown of the evening.  We made our extra point.


The Vikings got it back with about 2 minutes left.  Thielen got a nice screen pass and ran it down the field for a good 30 yards setting them up in a positive situation.  Cousins then threw a short pass to Dalvin Cook with about a 1:10 left and made a really uneventful touchdown and extra point to make the score 21-7.  We got the ball at the end of the game and just took a knee.


We took a few pictures and made our way down to street level to get back on the bus.  The Viking fans were pretty bummed out.  Before they played us they were on their way towards a playoff berth.  I sure hope we played well the rest of the season.

We got back onto the bus and once we got onto I-5 our MC rattled off the winners of the grid.  Sadly, mom and I weren't winners of anything.  It was still fun to participate and experience the party bus.  We got home pretty quickly considering.  Once we got back to O'Blarney's we thanked everyone for having us.  We put our stuff in our vehicles and told mom I would see her later.  She had to drive back to Rainier while I only had to drive a few miles.  I took the next day off just because I didn't want to be tired trying to do my work.  Plus, it meant I only had a three and a half day week.

GO HAWKS!

Next Adventure:  Figgy Does OMD

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