Seahawks’ preseason win resonates with NFL pundits

By Michael Grey

It’s only the preseason. The games don’t count. In three weeks, no one will care about any of these contests.

Those are all true statements about Week 2 of the NFL preseason and the Seahawks’ 40-10 win over Denver at CenturyLink Field.

But that didn’t stop Seattle from making a pretty big impression on the football world Saturday night. The 12th Man showed up for the game like a Super Bowl bid was on the line and the national powers that be took notice. ESPN was in on it, Sports Illustrated went so far as to say they don’t see an opposing team winning at The Clink all year and the crew at Fox believes the hype with these Hawks, too. It’s all due, in no small part, to the screaming lunatics that packed SoDo for the game.

I realize that every team in the NFL thinks that it can win a Super Bowl this time of year and hope springs eternal for 32 fan bases, but it’s different this year in the Pacific Northwest. I’ve never seen a city in this kind of a lather for NFL football in mid-August, and obviously I’m not alone. You just don’t hear from the national pundits after a Week 2 preseason game like this very often.

Yes, this is the preseason, and no, this game doesn’t mean anything. But that didn’t stop the Seahawks and the city of Seattle from making a statement Saturday night. A statement the NFL world seems to have heard loud and clear.