In May of 1986, I was 7 years old (I turned 8 in August). My grandpa had a beach house over on the Hood Canal, a couple hours West of Seattle. We spent a lot of time over there. He was always having people over, and usually it was a party.
Well, I don’t know exactly when, but my grandpa attended an auction for Kennedy High School, a Catholic School, where his step-son was going at the time. One of the items that he successfully bid on, was a “day of golf” with Chuck Knox. For those of you that don’t know who that is, before the Seattle Seahawks had Mike Holmgren, Chuck Knox was the most beloved Head Coach we’d had. And, with all due respect, to many, he probably still is.
Being the avid fisherman that my grandpa is, that “day of golf” turned into a “day of fishing”. Being that my grandpa had the beach house, they all went fishing over on the Hood Canal.
Truth be told, this happened a couple years in a row. I think the second year didn’t have anything to do with the auction though. Also, the first year I didn’t go over, but the second year, I did.
My grandpa got one of the local restaurant owners to put on the incredible seafood spread, complete with fresh oysters, shrimp, salmon, smoked salmon, Dungeness crab, etc… You name it, it was probably there, and half of it was probably stuff out of my grandpa’s own stock, that he caught himself.
Funny thing about it, looking back, Don James was there, too. Again, for those of you that don’t know who he is, Don James is probably held in a higher regard amongst University of Washington Husky football fans, than any other head coach in that schools history. He is referred to as the “Dawgfather”.
So, back in the mid – 80’s, when Husky Football, and Seahawks Football were riding high’s, and I was 7 years old, here I was, with my family, hanging out with the Head Coaches of both teams. Needless to say, “it was pretty cool”.
So, the whole day goes by, and Coach Knox says to me, just before he is leaving, “I got a deal for you!” … “Two tickets, best seats in the house, to any Seahawks game you want to go to.” … “Or, you can come down on the sidelines for any game you want to go to next season”.
“Hmmm, that’s a pretty tough one “coach”, let me think about that.” … “Um, yeah, I think I’m going to have to go with the sidelines.”
So, that’s was that. The sidelines it was, and a few months later, on December 8th, 1986, my grandpa and I went down on the sidelines for a Seahawks game. The game I chose: Monday Night Football, against the Raiders. Back then the Seahawks were in the AFC West, and “Raider’s-Busters” was in full effect. It was the biggest game of the year.
About a week before the game, I received a big package from the Seahawks, with a bunch of Seahawks apparel in it. On the night of the game, I got to go out for the flip of the coin, and meet the captains for both teams. I got to ride around the field in the Seahawks helmet. I got pictures with SeaGals, and players. And, my grandpa and I literally almost got run over by Curt Warner. “It was awesome!”
The Seahawks won 36 – 0.
I still have the sideline passes as souvenirs.
To this day, my grandpa and I still attend Seahawks games together. It’s often a topic of our conversations, during football season.
As I look forward in my son’s life, I hope that I can give him some of the same experiences that I have received from my family. The chances of it being a trip to the sidelines are probably slim-to-none. Whatever it is, I hope that he feels as grateful as I do.
When it comes right down to it though, I bet that even if my grandpa just went to the park with me every Sunday and hung out, I’d be just as grateful.
My son is the future, and my time is the best and most valuable thing I can invest in him.
Check out www.hermie.com, and you can see how this experience helped shape the things I am still passionate about today, 20 + years later.