Seattle is swept up in Seahawks fever
Time is running out.
Ticket for tomorrow's Seahawks game against the San Francisco 49ers?
That Seahawks jersey?
Best place for a brew and a large screen?
You weren't watching all that closely as the team fashioned a 10-2 record, won eight consecutive games, clinched the NFC West championship and now stares at 3 to 1 Vegas odds to win the Super Bowl.
Now you need to talk the talk.
For those late to the party, hold on and we'll take you through a remedial course at a pace faster than the Hawks ran the score to 42-0 against the Eagles on Monday.
For those who haven't figured out that the Seahawks are for real -- or didn't realize that quarterback Matt Hasselbeck is bald -- this is for you, because time is running out.
Jump on the bandwagon!
How to get tickets
We are definitely late to the party and, to get in, we're going to have to pony up our resources. Sunday's game against the San Francisco 49ers, as well as the Christmas Eve showdown with the Indianapolis Colts, is sold out.
"Officially," that is.
Tickco.com has upper-level seats between the 20-yard line and the end zone for as low as -- gulp -- $135. In the 100 level, tickets run between $120-$345, depending on the location. And, chances are, you'll have to go alone because single tickets are about all that are available.
(However, if you want your friends with you, a luxury suite remains available for the Colts game -- 12 seats, a wet bar, TVs, four parking passes. Shoot, it's only $16,705!)
Back to reality.
There also are Web sites like RazorGator.com and StubHub.com, where you can buy and sell tickets. Craig's List is another option, especially if you're selling tickets.
You can always roll the dice and just mosey down to Qwest Field on Sunday and grapple with a street salesman. After the first quarter, you just might get a bargain. Then again, you may get nothing.
It's never too early for next year, either.
Official word out of the Seahawks ticket office is that they have collected nearly 3,000 new deposits for season tickets for 2006 -- this week!
According to Lane Gammel, assistant director of public relations, July and August are typically the peak time for deposits when they average about 250 per week.
Over the past 10 days, they've averaged about 250 deposits per day.
Where to watch
Since a 32-inch Toshiba at Best Buy would run you as much as one of those scalped premium tickets, the option to watch Sunday's game on KCPQ/13 is favorable.
Recent ratings indicate you won't be alone.
The division-clinching Seahawks-Eagles game shown on KOMO/4's "Monday Night Football" broadcast received a 30.9 rating with a 48 share in the Seattle market, the highest mark of the season.
The "share" portion of the Nielsen ratings represents the actual percentage of televisions in use tuned into program.
According to the Seahawks front office, Monday's game marked the fourth consecutive week the Seahawks set a season-high and the seventh consecutive week the game earned a 20.0 rating or higher.
Equally as impressive is the fact that the Monday's game and Sunday's San Francisco game could end up being the week's No. 1- and No.2-rated shows in the Seattle market.
If you don't want to stay home, every bar in town with a television will be airing Sunday's game -- with the exception of maybe Club Manray on Capitol Hill. (Manray's TVs are devoted to RuPaul, Kelly Clarkson and Scissors Sisters.)
Want some Qwest Field atmosphere with that pitcher of Bud Light?
Any establishment around Pioneer Square is going to be riddled with blue and green, but Sluggers on Occidental is a Josh Brown field goal away from the stadium's entrance.
It is stuffed with Seahawks fans before, during and after the game. Sluggers airs all the games, thanks to the DirecTV NFL Ticket package. The staff hustles and the crowd borders on ill-behaved.
For a more upscale experience -- although separate from the Qwest ambiance -- try Jillian's on Westlake Avenue or Sport at the Seattle Center.
What to wear
ESPN.com devoted an entire column this week to the fashion faux pas that is grown men wearing jerseys. But let's face it -- this isn't a passing fad.
Seahawks merchandise has flown off the shelves, reportedly at a 30 percent higher clip than it did a year ago.
According to the Seahawks merchandising department, the biggest seller is the pink jersey, further proof that the ladies are way into this, too.
NFC West Division Championship gear -- hats, T-shirts, sweatshirts -- had to be reordered just two days after the Seahawks clinched.
The official Seahawks Pro Shop is at the stadium, but you can order merchandise online (www.seahawks.com/proshop or www.nflshop.com), hit one of the independent stores along Occidental for licensed gear and even find caps and T-shirts at Target, department stores and gas stations.
Face-painting, bright green wigs, the XXXL replica jersey ... this clearly isn't Paris, but who cares? It's fun.
However, you only get a hall pass on Sundays.
What's cool
Knowledge is cool, so don't sound like you are just jumping on the bandwagon.
Fast facts: The Seahawks offense is the NFC's best. Shaun Alexander is rushing toward the NFL season touchdown record. (He needs six more to break Priest Holmes' record.) The defense is much improved, and rookie linebacker Lofa Tatupu is a rising star.
Other cool things: Public transportation, tailgating on the sly, Grant Wistrom's hair and football-savvy women.
What's not
While Alexander is cool, buying his jersey isn't.
He is a free agent at season's end, and, well, you know how Seattle franchises are with their stars. (See Gary Payton, Ken Griffey Jr., A-Rod, et al.) You don't want to be stuck with your favorite former Hawk's jersey, right?
Other things that are not cool: DUIs, public nuisances, swearing in the stands. Oh, and three playoff wins in 29 years.
DID YOU KNOW?
The "Monday Night Football" game against the Eagles received a 48 share in Seattle, the highest mark of the season. The MNF game and the 49ers game Sunday could be the No. 1- and No. 2-rated TV shows for the week in the Seattle market.
The final regular-season home games against the 49ers and the Colts are sold out, but tickets can be had for as much as $345 on Internet sites.
Champion Party Supply on Denny Way stocks blue, green and silver face paint.
P-I reporter Molly Yanity can be reached at 206-448-8295 or mollyyanity@seattlepi.com.
Ticket for tomorrow's Seahawks game against the San Francisco 49ers?
That Seahawks jersey?
Best place for a brew and a large screen?
You weren't watching all that closely as the team fashioned a 10-2 record, won eight consecutive games, clinched the NFC West championship and now stares at 3 to 1 Vegas odds to win the Super Bowl.
Now you need to talk the talk.
For those late to the party, hold on and we'll take you through a remedial course at a pace faster than the Hawks ran the score to 42-0 against the Eagles on Monday.
For those who haven't figured out that the Seahawks are for real -- or didn't realize that quarterback Matt Hasselbeck is bald -- this is for you, because time is running out.
Jump on the bandwagon!
How to get tickets
We are definitely late to the party and, to get in, we're going to have to pony up our resources. Sunday's game against the San Francisco 49ers, as well as the Christmas Eve showdown with the Indianapolis Colts, is sold out.
"Officially," that is.
Tickco.com has upper-level seats between the 20-yard line and the end zone for as low as -- gulp -- $135. In the 100 level, tickets run between $120-$345, depending on the location. And, chances are, you'll have to go alone because single tickets are about all that are available.
(However, if you want your friends with you, a luxury suite remains available for the Colts game -- 12 seats, a wet bar, TVs, four parking passes. Shoot, it's only $16,705!)
Back to reality.
There also are Web sites like RazorGator.com and StubHub.com, where you can buy and sell tickets. Craig's List is another option, especially if you're selling tickets.
You can always roll the dice and just mosey down to Qwest Field on Sunday and grapple with a street salesman. After the first quarter, you just might get a bargain. Then again, you may get nothing.
It's never too early for next year, either.
Official word out of the Seahawks ticket office is that they have collected nearly 3,000 new deposits for season tickets for 2006 -- this week!
According to Lane Gammel, assistant director of public relations, July and August are typically the peak time for deposits when they average about 250 per week.
Over the past 10 days, they've averaged about 250 deposits per day.
Where to watch
Since a 32-inch Toshiba at Best Buy would run you as much as one of those scalped premium tickets, the option to watch Sunday's game on KCPQ/13 is favorable.
Recent ratings indicate you won't be alone.
The division-clinching Seahawks-Eagles game shown on KOMO/4's "Monday Night Football" broadcast received a 30.9 rating with a 48 share in the Seattle market, the highest mark of the season.
The "share" portion of the Nielsen ratings represents the actual percentage of televisions in use tuned into program.
According to the Seahawks front office, Monday's game marked the fourth consecutive week the Seahawks set a season-high and the seventh consecutive week the game earned a 20.0 rating or higher.
Equally as impressive is the fact that the Monday's game and Sunday's San Francisco game could end up being the week's No. 1- and No.2-rated shows in the Seattle market.
If you don't want to stay home, every bar in town with a television will be airing Sunday's game -- with the exception of maybe Club Manray on Capitol Hill. (Manray's TVs are devoted to RuPaul, Kelly Clarkson and Scissors Sisters.)
Want some Qwest Field atmosphere with that pitcher of Bud Light?
Any establishment around Pioneer Square is going to be riddled with blue and green, but Sluggers on Occidental is a Josh Brown field goal away from the stadium's entrance.
It is stuffed with Seahawks fans before, during and after the game. Sluggers airs all the games, thanks to the DirecTV NFL Ticket package. The staff hustles and the crowd borders on ill-behaved.
For a more upscale experience -- although separate from the Qwest ambiance -- try Jillian's on Westlake Avenue or Sport at the Seattle Center.
What to wear
ESPN.com devoted an entire column this week to the fashion faux pas that is grown men wearing jerseys. But let's face it -- this isn't a passing fad.
Seahawks merchandise has flown off the shelves, reportedly at a 30 percent higher clip than it did a year ago.
According to the Seahawks merchandising department, the biggest seller is the pink jersey, further proof that the ladies are way into this, too.
NFC West Division Championship gear -- hats, T-shirts, sweatshirts -- had to be reordered just two days after the Seahawks clinched.
The official Seahawks Pro Shop is at the stadium, but you can order merchandise online (www.seahawks.com/proshop or www.nflshop.com), hit one of the independent stores along Occidental for licensed gear and even find caps and T-shirts at Target, department stores and gas stations.
Face-painting, bright green wigs, the XXXL replica jersey ... this clearly isn't Paris, but who cares? It's fun.
However, you only get a hall pass on Sundays.
What's cool
Knowledge is cool, so don't sound like you are just jumping on the bandwagon.
Fast facts: The Seahawks offense is the NFC's best. Shaun Alexander is rushing toward the NFL season touchdown record. (He needs six more to break Priest Holmes' record.) The defense is much improved, and rookie linebacker Lofa Tatupu is a rising star.
Other cool things: Public transportation, tailgating on the sly, Grant Wistrom's hair and football-savvy women.
What's not
While Alexander is cool, buying his jersey isn't.
He is a free agent at season's end, and, well, you know how Seattle franchises are with their stars. (See Gary Payton, Ken Griffey Jr., A-Rod, et al.) You don't want to be stuck with your favorite former Hawk's jersey, right?
Other things that are not cool: DUIs, public nuisances, swearing in the stands. Oh, and three playoff wins in 29 years.
DID YOU KNOW?
The "Monday Night Football" game against the Eagles received a 48 share in Seattle, the highest mark of the season. The MNF game and the 49ers game Sunday could be the No. 1- and No. 2-rated TV shows for the week in the Seattle market.
The final regular-season home games against the 49ers and the Colts are sold out, but tickets can be had for as much as $345 on Internet sites.
Champion Party Supply on Denny Way stocks blue, green and silver face paint.
P-I reporter Molly Yanity can be reached at 206-448-8295 or mollyyanity@seattlepi.com.
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