‘Russellmania’ gets one Seahawk the star treatment
Dec 5, 2013, 12:20 AM | Updated: 10:30 am
By Brady Henderson
You’d be hard-pressed to find a more popular person in Seattle these days than Russell Wilson, the Pro Bowl quarterback, MVP candidate and all-around good guy who has led his team to an NFL-best 11-1 record.
 Michael Bennett |
“Everybody loves the Seahawks right now,” said teammate Michael Bennett. “They love Russell Wilson.”
That degree of celebrity status understandably comes with its share of perks. Just ask Bennett, who joined 710 ESPN Seattle’s “Wyman, Mike and Moore” on Wednesday and explained how he recently reaped some of the benefits.
The story goes like this: Bennett tried to make a reservation at a local restaurant but was told there were no tables available. This was on Tuesday, a day after Seattle’s nationally-televised dismantling of New Orleans. Bennett had returned a fumble 22 yards for Seattle’s first touchdown of that game, but it was Wilson who stole the show with one of his best performances of the season.
So after his failed attempt to make a reservation, Bennett had an idea.
“I called back and said, ‘Hey, this is Russell Wilson. I’ll be attending your restaurant today about 3:30. Do you have any tables?’ ” he said in the altered voice he used over the phone.
“And she was like, ‘Yes! We can make a table for you! You were 22 for 30 the other night, 130 quarterback rating!’ She knew every stat.”
Bennett still got the star treatment after the restaurant employee realized he had posed as Wilson.
“And then I got to the restaurant – it was me and my wife and my kids – I said, ‘Oh, thank you. I’m Russell Wilson.’ And then she took me to the table. They had it roped off, they had sparkling water, everything.
“She was like, ‘Good joke.’ I said, ‘Gotcha.’
Follow Brady Henderson on Twitter @BradyHenderson.
