Why do we care about NFL football?

Why do we care about the Seahawks?

This is actually a question I've struggled with for a long time. I bleed Seahawks Blue, Green, Silver, Wolf Grey, Salmon Pink, or whatever color the sponsors decide to plaster on them... but why? My day is virtually ruined when they lose but they sure don't send me a check when they win. Do I miss playing? Yes. Does sitting and watching a game come even remotely close to bringing me back to those days? Not near as much as simply going outside and tossing the ball around with a brother. So why do I, and likely you, care so damn much?

I'd like to think that the reason I get so fired up about the Hawks is literally because you do too. I might not know your name, but if I see you walking down the street with a Curry or Housh jersey, I know you've felt the same pains I have. I'm positive you've felt some of the same highs. (Well... I did say some.) There is just something electric about 65,000 people all riding the same wave of emotions for 3, and depending on the W, maybe 24 hours. We are connected. I became a Seahawks fan because they were from my city, and I didn't understand why I should be rooting for Bears, Raiders, or 49ers. I stayed a Seahawks fan because of you! (and maybe Tez a little bit.)

Alright... so what does any of this have to do with the damn title?

I had a problem today that I came to my fellow Hawks' fans with and I was terribly disappointed. It would seem that even the faintest whiff of fantasy football is enough to sour the taste buds of some. Why is this? I understand the need for a blog to limit regular NFL rosterbation, (let alone fantasy rosterbation which is sickening to me as well,) but why does even the mere mention of the activity elicit such disapproval? I can guarantee that had I not mentioned that my motivation for an extremely valid, relevant-to-the-topic question was fantasy related, the responses would have been completely different. The mere fact that I even play the game itself was enough for folks to get their knickers twisted, or un-bocked, or whatever happens to knickers when cranky people get crankier.

So now let me tie in the intro.

Assume for a second that nobody is asking you who to start, who to keep, who to draft, or whatever. Assume a fantasy player is just asking you about a current event involving a player from your mutually favorite team, and that fantasy player is going to use that information to their benefit.

Why you so mad?

I've found a way to actually get that check when the Hawks win. Shouldn't you be even more inclined to engage in a topic of current conversation if it actually means helping out a fellow Hawk fan? Is the act of playing fantasy football in and of itself enough to sully my hulking internet reputation? You do realize that over 30 million a year partake in this travesty of a corruption. Are you that upset at its encroachment in your favorite sport that even a fellow 12 is dead to you at the mere mention of it? If anything, I would think the one place I should be able to turn to for relevant Seahawks opinion would be the most active Seahawks blog on the web. Maybe not.

What's the point of even coming to this site? I know what I think it should be. I think it should be a way to capture just a piece of that feeling we all get at the stadium. So go ahead, enforce your rules. Just don't forget why we all come here and abide by them.

(I wish I was able to defend this piece properly. I'll be leaving on Thursday for my auction in L.A. on Friday. Do not take my immediate absence as a lack of interest in debate. I will check back as soon as possible.)