The Pacific Northwest showed unflagging support for the Seattle Seahawks ahead of Super Bowl LX, and was rewarded with a dominant 29-13 victory over the New England Patriots on Sunday.
Perhaps no place was that support more evident than Swinomish Village, where a large crowd gathered three days earlier to watch tribal elders raise a Seahawks flag at Swedebs Park.
More than 50 people donning Seahawks gear joined together near the Cedar Hat pavilions on a bright sunny morning to revel in repeated “SEA-HAWKS” cheers before and after the flag was raised. Among their number was former tribal Senate Chair Brian Cladoosby, who wore a Darth Vader mask in honor of the Seahawks’ vaunted ‘Dark Side’ defensive unit.
Cladoosby and the other Swinomish 12s showed their unwavering passion for the Seahawks, which, during Super Bowl LX, exorcised the demons from Seattle’s deflating 28-24 loss to the Patriots in the Big Game 11 years earlier.
Anticipation of the Seahawks’ revenge tour matchup with New England was evident even before the flag-raising. Swinomish Elder Services Director Mandy Buck had previously organized a Seahawks T-shirt making party for tribal seniors.
“We had a lot of fun making Seahawks swag,” Buck said. “I think it ended up being about 30 or 40 T-shirts so that everyone would have Seahawks gear to wear for the game.”
Seahawks swag was much on display at the flag-raising, too. A favorite fashion statement was made by 4-year-old Imani Espinoza, who wore a Seahawks cheerleading outfit. Others donned Seahawks jerseys from various eras of the team’s history.
The preponderance of Seahawks garb made for an impressive blue-and-green wave at the base of the Swedebs Park flagpoles as fans posed for photos to mark the event, which was further chronicled by the Swinomish Police Department camera drone overhead.
Ironically, it took some real scrambling by current Swinomish Senate Chairman Steve Edwards to make the flag-raising ceremony happen. Turns out, there wasn’t a Seahawks flag to be found that could be shipped in time for the Feb. 5 Swinomish celebration.
Buck said Edwards tapped his contacts to land a flag on short notice. How did he do it?
“He has his ways,” Buck said coyly.
Meanwhile, the Seahawks had their way with the Patriots in a matchup that was more lopsided than the final score indicates.
Bill Reynolds is a general assignment reporter for La Conner Community News.
