Century Link

A little over a year ago I started limiting my coverage of roller derby and was in search of different sports to photograph, that search led me to the Everett Reign All Female Tackle Football team out of Everett. Since becoming involved in their team and the associated league, I have had many opportunities that otherwise I never would have had the pleasure of enjoying. I’ve traveled with the team outside of the state, met a ton of wonderful athletes that play for other teams in both Washington and Oregon and had the amazing opportunity to do photography for the IFAF International Championships that were held over the summer in Langley BC Canada.

However great all those “perks” were, the one that really stands out is the amazing opportunity I had in August to be one of eight members of the team to attend a preseason game between the Seattle Seahawks and Kansas City Chiefs…not only attend the game but be a part of the half-time entertainment helping out the local Boys and Girls Club demonstrate the important role that sports play in the lives of young children. Four members of the team got to be on television and four members operated as “officials” for two games taking place on the field. I was an official for one of the games and for about 12 minutes ran around on the field where the pros play. It was possibly one of the best experiences of my life so I want to paint a picture for you of how that day went.

Now I’m not a big Seahawk fan, I just don’t follow professional teams with the same passion that I follow college teams, so when it comes to the big leagues I follow individual players…but for one day, I couldn’t have been prouder to be in Seattle. Myself and fellow teammates arrived around noon to get past security, get shown around, go through several practice runs of what we would be doing during half-time and getting all the timing down.  Once we finished that practice runs, we had some down time and were escorted through the bowels of Century Link Field, places the common fan doesn’t have access to. It was amazingly powerful having access to places just by flashing a wrist band…I never would have imagined such freedom, such intoxicating freedom. We were allowed to wander the stadium, most of it anyway as well as sample delicious food prepared for us in the fan zone well before it opened to the public.

I was incredibly overwhelmed by the moment, and so I took an hour to wander around the stadium by myself while my teammates finished eating and started playing games in the fan zone. I was able to walk the inner tunnels, watch both teams warm up, see the artwork in the various team offices and take the steps all the way to the fan platform where they raise the giant 12 man flag. It was amazing to have access to all these places where it was just myself and event staff. It was equally amazing to see all the inner workings of this bustling metropolis and all that it takes to make it possible for a football game to be played. I was so disappointed that I couldn’t bring my photography gear for this amazing day, so I documented everything I could with my phone, a very poor substitute it’s true…but still enough to take you on this journey with me. Our seats were in the upper deck…like upper, upper deck on the East crest of the field but even that wasn’t so bad because the sunset and the views from the seats overlooking the Puget Sound, the Wheel and Safeco Field was something other worldly.

When it came time for us to gather for our half-time duties, for a brief time I was standing on the field with Russell Wilson, Alex Smith, Earl Thomas and…..the moment was surreal. I was just a mere 15 feet from the Chiefs bench watching some of the highest paid players, play the game I love to watch. But I couldn’t spend time reveling in that moment because I was there to do a job, to make sure the Boys and Girls Club shown brightly and that the girls playing on the field would have an amazing experience. 

The moment was so big…the fans were so loud…to be down on that field with thousands and thousands of fans screaming was something I will never forget. And as big as that moment was, once I stepped foot on the turf to do my job as an official the moment suddenly became small and the cheers disappeared, the nerves went away and it was quiet. Suddenly it was just us kids playing football on a field. The many practice runs that we spent over an hour running through in the baking hot sun earlier in the day paid off, it wasn’t difficult to remember the lines, the directions or where and what to do like it was earlier. Things just felt natural and I wasn’t nearly as nervous as I thought I would be…I mean I’ve never been in front of that many people in my life. I realize I was nothing to them, just a big black dot on the turf playing the role of line judge for a brief game of flag football.

But I was standing on the Seattle Seahawks field. I was on blades of grass (plastic though it may be) that greatness has touched and I’m not just talking about hometown heroes. This field has been graced by the cleats of Tom Brady, Brett Favre, ……it was absolutely humbling.

I hope that every player that walks those inner halls, every staff member that dons those wrist bands, every person that gets the opportunity to follow my steps never loses sight of how blessed they are to be there. I realize that the players are just regular men, that there is nothing special about them and that they are no more or less human than I or you…but they have been granted access to an amazing venue.

Thank you to the Everett Reign, Seattle Seahawks and the Boys and Girls Club for this chance of a lifetime.