RENN090807_A02
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BY ADAM MCFADDEN
And I thought I was a big fan. Washington State Cougars, Philadelphia
Eagles, and yes, Seattle Seahawks,
my sports allegiances run deep. But they are nothing compared to the group of Seahawks superfans that make up the very core of the 12th Man.I’m talking about the fans who be-gin tailgating at 5:30 a.m. as Nancy
Campbell does. � e fans that tattoo images of Seahawks up and down their legs, like Bryan Murphy does. � e fans who morph from 65,000 to one on gameday, focused on rattling the brains of opposing players.
� ese people are involved, devoted and a little bit crazy.Last year our Seahawks special section focused on the brand new Virginia Mason Athletic Center. � is season, it seemed like a natu-ral � t to focus on the very thing that makes sports go: fans. � is was especially easy since the Seahawks have such a faithful (and loud) following.I interviewed � ve of the biggest fans I could � nd in the area, Mur-phy (Hawk� end), Efrain Lopez (Charro Hawk), Chris John-son (WeeHawk), Jimbo Sabado (Cowbell Dude) and Campbell (Mrs. Cowbell). � ese are people you may have seen, or more likely heard, at games. � eir pro� les are on pages six and seven of this section.It was fun getting to know them as we spoke, and I was struck by three big similarities in all � ve of the fans I interviewed.First, they all su� er from severe indecision. When you ask one of them to pick a favorite Seahawk, that is. Trying to get a “maybe Lofa Tatupu, no wait, Darryl Tapp, no wait...” was akin to prying a man hole cover o� with a toothbrush – it wasn’t working. Murphy may have said it best (a� er refusing to give an answer): “� at’s like asking which is my favorite daughter.” � ese fans couldn’t pick one player because they love all the Seahawks too much. It’s as simple as that, yet it took me a couple of interviews to grasp it.Second, it is crystal clear what the
August 7, 2009www.rentonreporter.com2 Seahawks
Seahawkers putting the fanatic back in fan
� ese people are involved, devoted
more than just fans...
Four members of Seahawkers SoCo stand behind a table of Seahawks memorabilia at Touchdowns in Renton. From left to right: Hawk-� end (Bryan Murphy), Mrs. Cowbell (Nancy Campbell), Cowbell Dude (Jimbo Sabado) and Charro Hawk (Efrain Lopez). ADAM MCFADDEN, Renton Reporter
What’s What’sinside:Page 2 - An introduction to the special section and what it was like to work with Seahawkers Page 3 - An introduction to some of the big additions to the Seahawks this o� season: T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Aaron Curry, Deon Butler and Ken Lucas
Page 4 - A column covering Adam McFadden’s 2009 Seahawks season predictions
Page 6-7 - Superfan pro� les
Page 10 - 2009 schedule and bio on new head coach Jim Mora
Publisher - Ellen Morrison
Section editor - Adam McFadden
[ more FANS page 9 ]