I’m not sure if you’ve heard or read this, but the Seattle Seahawks are playing Russell Wilson and the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football. Unlike Baker Mayfield and his Week 1 showdown with the Cleveland Browns, Wilson will be the road quarterback in the familiar confines of Lumen Field.
Wilson is undoubtedly a Seattle sports icon who helped bring this franchise its only Super Bowl to date. He’s set countless individual achievements unlikely to be touched by future Seahawks quarterbacks any time soon. And yet, this is sports, and the drama swirling around Wilson and the Seahawks leading to the eventual trade may have fans feeling a bit differently about Russell after ten years as the team’s quarterback. We could hear appreciative cheers for all that he’s accomplished and what he’s done for the Seattle community, we could hear boos for the manner in which Wilson departed, or just “boos” because he’s on the enemy’s side and this isn’t like when Peyton Manning returned to Indianapolis.
Okay I’ve gone two paragraphs without bringing in the meat of this story, which is Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll’s thoughts on how the crowd could treat Wilson. This is what he told media on Thursday, via Tacoma News Tribune.
“You are either competing, or you’re not. I’m leaving it up to the 12s,” Carroll said Thursday, four days before Wilson’s Denver Broncos enter Lumen Field to play the Seahawks in a season opener like no other.
“You know, it’s game time, and we’re going for it. However they take it, I’ll follow their lead on that. I mean, I’m not going to be involved with that opportunity to react, so I don’t have to make that decision.
“We’ll see what happens. But I’m leaving it up to the 12s.
“I think they’ll know exactly what to do.”
In other words, “you do you.” Individual players don’t get announced on the road so this isn’t like the NBA, but there will be people arriving early to watch pre-game warm-ups and everyone will be there when Wilson’s first offensive possession occurs.
Of course, during Sue Bird’s tribute video at the end of the WNBA regular season, there were apparently audible boos at Climate Pledge Arena, so perhaps that’s instructive for how Monday will go.
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