Seattle 30, Oakland 7

	Click images to see slightly larger versions:
	The starters in the night's first drive ? Field Gulls
	The view from our seats ? Field Gulls
	Vision Qwest at night ? Field Gulls

Well, that was a mighty nice way to end the postseason. A convincing win, some freaking outstanding defensive work by the Seahawks, some inspired offensive series by the bottom-stringers, and not one but two ejections of drunken Raider fans near my section!

I'll admit, I didn't see most of the 2nd quarter or the 4th, as I was walking around the grounds at Qwest, getting a feel for the whole concession thing and snapping some stunning vistas on my Canon Sharapova-Cam. So because of that I'm not giving out a game ball. You can go ahead and give out yours if you like.

I will comment on a couple of things I did see:

• The best drive I've seen from the Seahawks all preseason was the very well-executed, 90-yard drive in the 3rd quarter as led by -- David Greene?

  This was the drive I paid attention to the most all night, and I was stunned at how beautifully Greene was executing the West Coast. He was consummately patient, and seemed to overcome some obvious jitters with really great reads. Marquis Weeks had a great night, and scored the rushing touchdown at the end of this drive, but I really admired D.J. Hackett and Maurice Mann's short-yardage grabs. I got the sense these guys had been working with each other for awhile.

  The most jaw-dropping statistic from this drive: It consumed 7 minutes and 55 seconds, over the course of 16 plays. I realize the Raiders gave us great assistance by -- well, by being the Raiders -- but Greene really controlled the pace masterfully. I have to think knowing he's got 3rd QB sewn up (barring the proverbial veteran backup) must have settled him down a bit.

• Yes, Hasselbeck's 25-yard scramble in the 1st was thrilling, albeit terrifying. Just a nervous reaction in me. I'm always gritting my teeth until the QB goes into his slide.
• Rocky Bernard's sack of Aaron Brooks in the first, for a loss of ten yards, was felt as far away as the San Juans.
• I only saw Seneca's TD pass to Hackett on the JumboTron, but still loved how Hackett managed to stay in bounds.
• Stop me if you've heard this one, but the Raiders aren't very good.
• Actually, that early-stages-of-man picture I used for the logo pretty much sums up their offensive line. Especially the dude with the worst haunch, and the implication that all the creatures are walking somewhat slowly.

I'm very tired, so I'll hang up now. Please feel free to leave comments. I'll be posting my absolutely useless pictures later.

Oh, P.S.: In a pre-game ceremony, the new mascot hawk was named "Taima," which means "thunder" in one of our local Native American tongues. My cried pleas to name the bird "Ozzy! Ozzy!" were ignored, and the drunk dude sitting next to me (who got his tickets for $10 on eBay) thought I was being weird. Maybe I should have screamed "Lemmy!"

Humorous exchange between this gentleman and myself at some point in the 3rd quarter:

Dude: Hey... your name isn't Larry, is it?

Me: No, it's Paul.

Dude: Oh, okay. You look exactly like this friend of mine from back in Southern Idaho.

Me: Well, it's great to know that you've got really good-looking friends! (Laughter)

Oh oh! P.P.S.: I almost forgot the best news of the evening. During my rounds in the 2nd quarter I went to take a picture of the NFC Championship banner... but it wasn't there!

I trust this means we'll see it re-unveiled when we were supposed to -- September 17.