Once in a life time...

The Seahawks Superbowl victory parade in downtown Seattle on Wednesday, February 5th was one of those once in a life time events.  I kept hearing people say that as I was standing along 4th Avenue with the other 700,000 people!

It was a joyous day!  And a cold one - below freezing all day.  Really tough on the fans who had been standing in their spots for hours and hours.

It was an hour late getting started, and people on the street had no way of knowing what was going on because our trusty cell phones had no data.  Too many people using too many devices at once.
This was in front of Rainier Square.  Some kids went by on skate boards with this Seahawks flag, to wild cheers. Otherwise, the crowd entertained themselves by cheering SEA - HAWKS back and forth across the street.

A guy near us finally succeeded in getting signal, tuned in to the local news and discovered the parade was just at the Seattle Center.  We figured it was an hour away.  Norm and I dashed in for lunch at The Rock Bottom, where it was gloriously warm, we could watch the parade progress on one of their many huge flat screen TVs, and I was fortified with a nice IPA beer.  We ate lunch, paid the bill, and dashed back outside to see the parade.  Brilliant!

Yes, this is mostly what we could see!  Up at the front there were some actual Seahawks going by, some in Seattle Duck Tour vehicles, some in dump trucks, some in Humvees, and other assorted vehicles. 

This is a picture of the trophy! Perhaps it is hard to see?  I can't quite make out who is holding it.

Some kids had a great idea and climbed up in trees!  Across the street are some people on a building roof.  Lucky!!  There were people in all the windows of buildings along the way.  Some of the old buildings have windows that actually open, and people unfurled Seahawk flags and cheered their team. 

Despite the cold and the crowd, everyone was smiling and happy, still talking about that fantastic Superbowl game.







The most amazing thing was that whole day, with all those people in the city, with all the uncomfortableness of cold and people crammed up against each other, there was no violence, no vandalism, no arrests at all.  It was a completely peaceful event!!  Maybe it's one of those Seattle things.  Or maybe people anywhere can unite over something positive.   Something to ponder.

Me and Norm early in the parade.  A nice guy snapped our picture with my phone.