Seahawks fans kept the faith

It’s all anybody wanted to talk about Monday — the crazy, improbable comeback that carried the whole region from near despair to outright delirium in a few, wild — and loud — minutes.

“They made a real believer out of me,” said Montesano resident Tom Gibson of the Seahawks’ overtime win on Sunday over the Green Bay Packers. “That was a miracle; I thought they were done. From now on, I’m a real Seahawks fan. I don’t care what happens after this.”

That same feeling of ecstatic disbelief was echoed throughout the Twin Harbors on Monday after the Seahawks inched by the Packers 28-22 in overtime to win the NFC Championship game and a trip to the Super Bowl for the second year in a row. And all that after trailing by 16 going into halftime.

At Selmers Home Furnishings in downtown Aberdeen, customers watched the game on the store’s 52-inch big screen TV on Sunday, giving each other high fives and chest bumps during the comeback victory, said owner Tim Schlaht. It’s common for the store to be empty when a Seahawks game is on Sunday afternoons, but that wasn’t the case this time around, Schlaht said. “All that was missing was beer and nachos. It was fun having the customers giving high fives to us and each other. We had a lot of fun,” he said.

“OMG! Seahawks Baby!!!” reads the sign outside Selmers.

Mel Bennett, the store manager at ColorTyme in Aberdeen had yet to add any mention of the Seahawks to his sign outside, but was planning to do so. Bennett is a Seahawks season ticket holder and has been for the past seven years, although he didn’t make it to Sunday’s game because he was sick. Bennett is already planning his Super Bowl party and expects more than 50 guests to show up. “I’m pumped,” he said.

At 8th Street Ale House in Hoquiam, patrons donned blue and green jerseys on Monday after the win, basking in the weekend’s victory. Vicki Jewell was at Sunday’s game in Seattle and described a scene of complete pandemonium after the Hawks came out on top.

“The place was wild,” she said.

Jewell is originally from Wisconsin, but had no qualms about cheering against her home state.

“The Packers are my other team, but I never root against the Seahawks,” she said.

Also at the game was Garret Weems. Weems lives in Olympia but was on the Harbor to take his 4-year-old nephew to the beach. He said many fans at the stadium gave up hope and left the game early after a sub-par three quarters of play. Not Weems. “I was telling them they were going to miss the greatest comeback ever. I was joking, but when you spend that much money to go to the games, it doesn’t make sense to leave early.”

That hope proved to be more than just wishful thinking, when the Hawks rallied in the fourth quarter and won the game in overtime.

Based on Aberdeen Resident David Kanouse’s “fandom” philosophy, it is highly unlikely he would have left CenturyLink Field one second before the final whistle blew, no matter what the circumstances.

“You gotta keep the faith, you know? Once you’re a fan, you’re a fan. Bad or good, either you’re a Seahawks fan, or you’re not, and I am,” said Kanouse.