Superbowl Postgame & Latteland Narcisism

So I watched most of the second half of the superbowl projected onto a screen in the cafeteria at work, after spending most of the first half training kids on how to be smart in their service placements; e.g., how to talk to people, how to learn names, how to react in a medical emergency, how to react if a client hits on them, etc. They all left at halftime, and then came back in time for the fourth quarter. Everybody got to see most of the superbowl.

Then there was a Mass, and then we checked kids into the simulated homeless shelter. The goal of this simulation is to realize how undignified it is to check in to a shelter. So we challenge them at the door with questions, if they say anything we don't like, they go to the back of the line:

• Name?
• Age?
• Where did you sleep last night? (If they answer "at home" then we tell them, "go home, this is a homeless shelter)
• What is your address? (If they spout out an address, we tell them "then go home!)
• Are you drunk? (Sometimes I do a field sobriety test)
• Shelter rules (No drugs or alcohol, no weapons, no fighting, no women in the mens' section, no men in the women's section, lights out at 11:30, wake up at 6:30, obey the shelter staff--you'd be surprised how fast they can memorize this list perfectly).

_________

So I just got home, and I have work to do for tomorrow, but I want to say something about the Superbowl.

I have always been a Seahawks fan, and always been a Husky fan, and some of you are going to misunderstand this, you might call it sour grapes, but it's not. We, of course would have preferred to have won the Superbowl. Of course. We love our teams, despite their rotating rosters. We have a reputation for building stadiums that by architectual design are earsplitting. We are rowdy, noisy, loyal fans.

However, we're not known to be abusive to other teams, and we're not know for being terribly disappointed when we lose. Here's why (write this down): our world famous smuggness and provincial self-satisfaction is not based on the performance of our sports teams. Win or lose, we still act like we're better than everyone else. We don't hang our heads in shame if our team is in the basement. And we're not hostle to people who are not Seattle fans. And if people try to rattle our cages because they have better teams that we do... we feel a little bad for them.

The fact that our Seahawks lost to the Steelers is disappointing to us in an "aw, shucks, get 'em next time" sort of way. But the loss does absolutely nothing to shake our belief that as a city, and as a people, we are superior. It's just the way we think around here.

I know it sounds like sour grapes, but I can honestly, honestly say that if I had to choose between the a) the Seahawks never winning the Superbowl, or b) having to live in Pittsburg, I would choose a) without a moment's thought.

And on the rare occasions that we do win a championship, we don't rub it in the other fans' faces. Why? Because we are more evolved and more mature? No. Because as a rule, we don't put the spotlight on the other team's fans. Why draw the focus away from ourselves?

There are many ways to measure the goodness of a city, and Seattle scores high on many of them. However, if there was a way to measure the collective narcisism of a city, Seattle would leave other American cities in the dust.

The team arrives back at Boeing Field at noon, and should be at Quest Field by two. I kind of feel bad for the players, most of whom are not from here, who might expect more doom and gloom. They won't get doom and gloom. Someone might start a Howard Dean style war cry about next year, but it will seem out of place, as will any disappointment or comiseration. The crowd will welcome them home enthusiastically, thank them... and go to lunch, confidently smug and self satisfied that we are the best people living in the best city.

Now, we might not actually be the best people living in the best city, but you'll have a hard time convincing us otherwise.

#12 Seahawks jerseys will probably be cheaper now. I'll buy one and wear it in the summer. I wonder if they have away colors...

Hear that? It's the sound of my narcisism.