Seattle Seahawks vs Green Bay Packers. Photo Credit: Mike Morbeck – Under Creative Commons License
In recent years, the Seattle Seahawks, have, unfortunately, joined the ranks of the post-2004 Boston Red Sox, early 2000s Colorado Avalanche, and the Golden State Warriors and Chicago Cubs of late, as a major magnet for bandwagon fans. To be fair, there wasn’t much for people to cheer for when it came to pro football in the northwest until 2005, but the franchise has turned around and done some amazing things lately.
As we fully expect the Seahawks to continue their reign of dominance in the NFC West, we present the Top 10 Moments in Seattle Seahawks History. Join the conversation and let us know what you think on our Facebook page or Twitter.
10. NFL Expansion in 1976
Seattle sports junkies will preach about the Seattle Metropolitans winning the Stanley Cup and the Seattle Pilots baseball team playing years before, but if we’re being real here, Seattle didn’t have any really major pro sports teams until 1976 when the Seahawks rolled into the Kingdome and began play. They hired on Jack Patera as their first coach and struggled initially, but they were there. The Seattle Mariners would join the city in 1977, but the Seahawks kicked off what is a still young but vibrant sports history in the Pacific Northwest.
9. 1983 Postseason
Under new head coach Chuck Knox, the Seahawks posted a 9-7 record in 1983, advancing to the Wild Card round of the playoffs, in which they defeated the Denver Broncos. They even advanced all the way to the AFC Championship (they had previously moved from the NFC to the AFC, and would move back to the NFC years later) where they were defeated by the Los Angeles Raiders. This was the first time the team had advanced to the postseason, and they would do so six more times before finally advancing to the Super Bowl.
8. Monday Night Massacre
In that beautiful 2005 season, the Seahawks were set up against Andy Reid’s Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football. They walked away with a 42-0 win, the third worse in Eagles franchise history. Granted, the Eagles were without Donovan McNabb and lost Brian Westbrook to injury, but it was a chance for the Seahawks to show their dominance on a major national stage.
7. Onside Kick Against Packers
In recent years, the Seahawks have seen some incredibly unlikely and very lucky plays work in their favor. In the 2015 NFC Championship Game against Green Bay, the Seahawks did what any team does when they’re down late in the game and kicked an onside kick. As a fan, I never expect this to work out. Luckily, very luckily, Packers tight end Brandon Bostick muffed the onside kick instead of blocking for Jordy Nelson, the Seahawks came up with the ball, won the game, and proceeded to not run with Marshawn Lynch on the two-yard line in the Super Bowl.
6. Romo’s Butter Fingers
In another of the longer-than-usual line of lucky moments for Seattle, Tony Romo was responsible for holding the ball for a chip shot to help the Cowboys to a wild card victory in 2007. Never has a football looked more like an ice cube. Romo fumbled the snap, attempted to run the ball in, and was taken down short of the goal line as the Seahawks advanced.
5. Ice Bowl Part Deux
The 2016 NFC Wild Card game was insane. First off, nobody should ever be subject to playing football outdoors in Minnesota (or Green Bay) in the winter, and the -48-degree wind chill at this game was a testament to that. Not surprisingly, it was a low-scoring affair, ending in a 10-9 Seahawks win. This was also the worst day of Blair Walsh’s football career when he missed a chip shot to lose the game and bring Seahawks fans all over the country to delirium.
4. Shawn Alexander NFL MVP 2005
Shawn Alexander is a stud. The no-gloves wonder was an anchor to a powerful offense and set the tone for a physical running game that Marshawn Lynch would expound upon in beautiful ways later on. In 2005, Alexander showed the world what Seattle football is all about, racking up 1,880 rushing yards and 27 rushing touchdowns while bringing NFL MVP honors to the Pacific Northwest
3. Beastquake
Marshawn Lynch’s career can be and is summed up in one play: the Beastquake. In his first ever playoff game in his first season with Seattle, Lynch pulled off what has to be the hardest-fought-for 67 yards in football history. He broke nine tackles on the play and shoved Tracy Porter to the ground with his off hand. Just bask in the glory:
The cheering and commotion from the 12s were so loud it registered on a seismograph near the stadium. Have some Skittles, Marshawn.
2. The Immaculate Deflection
A lot of people get caught up in Richard Sherman’s interview with Erin Andrews after this game, but if you watch the play, you’ll feel every bit as emotional as he did. As time wound down in the 2014 NFC Championship Game, Colin Kaepernick went right at Sherman and paid for it. Trying to drop a pass over Sherman’s head into that “sorry receiver” Michael Crabtree’s hands, Kaepernick instead watched the ball beautifully deflected into the hands of Malcolm Smith, and the Seahawks were set up for their #1 greatest moment in franchise history.
1. Super Bowl XLVIII
How dare you doubt the Legion of Boom. This was never a game, from the opening safety to Percy Harvin’s kickoff return for a touchdown. 43-8 is a boring Super Bowl for anyone else, but for Seahawks fans, it was 4 hours of glory to bask in. Sure, the sweet taste of victory made the failure of next year’s game that much harder to bear, but we got there and brought it home.