Ready, set, go!
The journey to Phoenix on Sunday felt like I was racing the Seattle Seahawks.
An early morning flight from Portland took me to Sea-Tac, where I would fly from Seattle to Arizona. But there was a slightly more important plane traveling the same route.
As we descended toward the runway, I saw hundreds of blue, green and gray dots lining a main road to the airport. They were among the thousands of Seahawks fans who came to catch a glimpse of the team bus on its way to the airport.
On the tarmac, a large Delta jet waited near a hangar adorned with a “12” flag. The Seahawks would start boarding it about the time my flight departed.
Would I beat the team to its hotel near Phoenix? I had a head start.
I was slightly ahead of the NFC Champions when I landed, but I could tell they were close behind. The rental-car shuttle took me by an executive terminal where the Seahawks would disembark and board a line of shuttle buses. About 100 Seahawks fans had gathered outside the terminal.
I was losing my lead. I had to pick up my rental car, adjust the mirrors and find my way around a city I had never visited.
I barely beat the Seahawks to the gates of the Arizona Grande resort, where the team would have its first of many media sessions of Super Bowl week.
A few hundred Seahawks fans lined both sides of the road into the resort. As I drove toward the security gate, fans lobbed “SEA…….HAWKS” chants over my car.
This will be an exciting week.
The fans here in Arizona ensure that.
