Football Trip: Seattle & Vancouver

Football trip to Seattle and Vancouver.

Our annual sports trip this year took us to Seattle, Washington to watch the Seahawks play the Buccaneers, and to Vancouver, British Columbia to watch the Leafs play the Canucks.

This was an arduous journey. I left my house at 6:30am EST and we got to our room at our final destination at 5:30am EST the following day. We knew it would be a long day, but the day was made longer by our Delta flight connection issues.

It was very windy in Buffalo and we had to sit on the tarmac for 25 minutes before being cleared for take off. The wait seemed justified as the plane was being tossed around while we waited. Our connection was a close one at 45 minutes, but we were given some hope from the flight attendant who said it was also windy in Detroit and it was likely that our second leg was also delayed.

We landed in Concourse C, shown below, at a gate in the upper 20's. From there we had to walk to gate A72. Brisk walking turned to power walking. Power walking to jogging and then jogging to running. We missed the flight by maybe a minute and had to wait for the next flight which was 5 hours later. Sweaty and disappointed, we spent the afternoon at Chili's, cursing Delta Air for leaving us behind.

Gate A72. They closed the door about a minute before we got there.

Kokanee and Japadog pre-game meal

It was meh. Good idea but didn't live up to the hype for me.

I've had the opportunity to watch Leafs away games in Buffalo, Boston and Montreal. Of those, only the Montreal game was a victory for the good guys. In Buffalo the Leafs were shutout 6-0. It was Ryan Miller's first career shutout. This game in Vancouver was equally as brutal. The Leafs lost 4-0 and were outshot 47-21. They were never in it.

The next day it was back in the van for the 3 hour trip back into Seattle.

Unlike the Leafs game, the Seahawks game was supposed to be a cakewalk. The 7-1 Seahawks were facing the 0-6 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The spread before the game was 14.5 in favour of the Seahawks. Below is the front page of the Seattle times on Monday morning.

This was the reaction of everyone we talked to in Seattle about the game. The Seahawks were down 21-0 early and the mood in the stadium was dire. The game ended in overtime with the Seahawks kicking a game winning field goal. Final score Seahawks 27, Buccaneers 24.

A smallish tailgate. Pretty sparse compared to other tailgate parties we've seen.

Vito posing in front of the stadium.

Pulled pork sandwich at half-time.

After the game, as it is tradition now, we ordered Papa John's pizza to the room. Only problem is that Papa John's pizza doesn't deliver to downtown Seattle! This must be one of reasons why Seattle is one of the skinniest cities in the US.

We spent Monday as tourists in Seattle. Because of the long travel, we wouldn't have been able to see anything had we only been in town for the weekend. We spent the day at Pike Place Market and the EMP Museum.

Vito buying fish at the famous Pike Place fish market.

The original Starbucks actually burned down. This site at Pike Place is now considered Starbucks #1. I got a Pike Place Brew coffee.

"I arrived in America's airport with clothings, US dollars, and a jar of gypsy tears to protect me from AIDS" - Borat Sagdiyev

I had two Pirosky's. Beef and Cheese, and an Onion roll. Pretty good stuff! The line up for this place was out the door.

Below are images of a landmark we passed daily. For the duration of our stay we were scratching our heads at what this could be. There are strange pictures on the side and there are rubber chickens hanging in the window. It wasn't until I got home that I found out the the Wexley School for girls is an advertising agency.

Huge neon spinning sign at this car wash.

On the way to the Space Needle and the EMP Museum, we walked by this jack-knifed tractor trailer.

Space Needle.

The EMP Museum of music, Sci-fi and pop culture was fantastic. The museum was founded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen who is also the owner of the Seattle Seahawks.