12s Returning to Lumen Field Yields Sweet Emotions

601 days. That is how long time dragged on between games with fans in the stands for a Seahawks home game. Oh how blissfully ignorant we all were following that gut-wrenching loss to the 49ers on Sunday Night Football to relinquish the division title to the hated rivals from Northern California. We had no idea what was awaiting on the horizon. So much has happened over those 601 days. Sadly, so many of those were terrible things like disease and death due to the ongoing global pandemic.

However, thanks to vaccines produced by the inspiring work of scientists and doctors, it's a new day and new dawn for football. Yes, cases are still high, but now we have so much more to fight it than we did a year ago. Now, fans can once again shuffle through the turnstiles and enter the cathedrals of the National Football League.

The 12s are back and for the first time, they sit, stand, yell, cheer, at a place called Lumen Field, which was changed from CenturyLink Field during the pandemic-riddled 2020 season sans fans.

I watched as fans filed into the stadium and took their seats and sentiment overcame me. We as a community, as a country, as a human race, have been through so much since the last time fans were permitted to spectate football games on Occidental Avenue in SoDo-Seattle. We now go back to the stadium a little wiser, older, perhaps more aware of our surroundings.

Seeing fans at full throat again in Seattle brought about sweet, sweet emotions, perhaps ones like Aerosmith described. I saw lots of fans "wearing other things that nobody wears," as Seahawk fans never disappoint in their colors, passion, or fashion.

Things are certainly not all the way back to normal but for at least a few hours, everything felt right in the world, even with a suboptimal result on the field. It's just good to be back with friends. Over 50,000 fans returned to the building with a new name. They witnessed Seahawks get thrashed by the Broncos, but that was just a footnote on a historic day.

Seattle fans are lucky. Not only do they get to return to watch football in their favorite venue, but they also get to watch what should be a talented football team that should win double-digit games. They get to watch a team with a perennial Pro Bowler and possible MVP candidate at quarterback in Russell Wilson.

Plus, the city itself doesn't hide her beautiful face either...

Tonight in Seattle - a slice of full moon rising over the Space Needle🌕 pic.twitter.com/U4Fc6VkJv8
— Tim Durkan Photography (@timdurkan) August 23, 2021

As the virus rages on and mutates, "I can't say baby where I'll be in a year," but for now, let's savor these moments. We all took it for granted.

With all the developments of the Delta variant and other possible variants down the road, it almost makes us enjoy this more. Never will I take going to a game in person with family or friends for granted again. Enjoy it. Savor that sweet emotion.

Welcome back, 12s.