SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES
Are the 2012 Seahawks the 1977-78 Sonics?
Jan 14, 2013, 7:55 AM | Updated: 9:29 am
Seattle Seahawks middle linebacker Bobby Wagner (54) and defensive end Bruce Irvin (51) sit on the bench during the second half of an NFC divisional playoff NFL football game against the Atlanta Falcons Sunday, Jan. 13, 2013, in Atlanta. The Falcons won 30-28. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
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“Walking off the field, I got so excited for the next opportunity. I’m looking forward to what we have in the future.”
– Russell Wilson
The future is for losers. Even when the future is as bright as it is for Russell Wilson and the Seahawks, to have to talk about the future means we’re not talking about the now. And that stings. It stings big time.
So rather than looking to the future, I say “Look to the past.” This may only make sense to longtime Seattle sports fans, but for me the 2012 Seahawks are the 1977-78 Sonics.
Everyone always talks about the NBA world-champion 78-79 Sonics but the team that has my heart is from the year before.
The Sonics that year had come out of nowhere. They started off 5 and 17. The team was so bad, they fired the coach after only 22 games. They hired Lenny Wilkins, and the Sonics soared. They went from the dregs of the league all the way to the NBA finals, losing only in the final seconds of Game 7 of the NBA championship.
The Sonics of course won the championship the following year, but for me, the year that really counted was the one they lost.
It was magical because it was so unexpected. We were the ultimate Cinderella story – and it was so crushing when our carriage turned into a pumpkin. Fairytales are supposed to have happy endings. To lose it at the very end after such a charmed run, to come so close to the perfect ending … what can I say? It haunts me still.
Winning the next year, after everyone already knew we were a very good team, was fine and all but it couldn’t take away the sting of the year before. It never has, all these years later.
So Hawks fans, I say feel the pain, feel the sting of that excruciating loss to Atlanta. You might as well wallow in that sting because that sting is going to last a long, long time.
Even IF that future is as rosy as all Seahawks fans surely hope it will be, even IF the Seahawks go all the way next year and win the Super Bowl, I’m here to tell you yesterday’s disappointment is not going away.
