By Eric Wilson-Edge
Put away the nonfat milk. Hold the whole grain cereal. Skip the fruit. My breakfast this morning is a hot dog slathered in cream cheese and covered with onions. It’s game day and I don’t care. My beloved Seahawks need the calories and I will do my part. The setting is almost perfect. Someone else made the food, there are multiple televisions and plenty of beer. The only downsides are that I’m not allowed to wear sweatpants in public and I can’t swear.
After all, this is a public place. The Main Street Bar inside the Lucky Eagle Casino offers a unique football watching experience. “It’s a fun crowd,” says Lindy Waring, Marketing Manager at Lucky Eagle. “Everyone gets loud, not out of control, but you get that cool Seahawks feel.”
Russell Wilson escapes the pocket and takes off down the field. Someone behind me yells “go-go-go-go-go” in a rapid, machine gun like cadence. Wilson makes two defenders miss before he steps out of bounds. First down. People high five, some clap. I hug my wife. She’s in a lime green long-sleeved Seahawks shirt.
She’s not the only one dressed up for today’s game. I spot a group of women near the front. They’re all decked out in Seahawks gear. Penny, Teresa and Carrie are down from Renton. I don’t catch their last names because the Hawks just scored and conversation is moot for the next few minutes. We’re all too busy celebrating.
Penny is wearing a Golden Tate uniform. She tells me she and her friends “wanted to get away and watch the game.” She calls the Lucky Eagle “the total package.” Teresa interrupts. She’s moving to Arizona soon and is going to paint the Seahawks’ colors and logo on her golf cart. There’s an audible boo. “The refs are making me mad,” says Penny. Tate just got flagged for a penalty. It’s clearly a bad call.
I return to my seat. My wife and I are working on some garlic fries. The first quarter ends and a different game begins. Before the game Player’s Club members claim squares on the “freeboard.” It’s an elaborate game of chance based on the score at the end of each quarter.
During the first break a name is called. An older gentleman stands and collects his prize – $25. Later, at halftime, more names are called. A few people are given mini footballs. The goal is to throw the ball into a net. The first pass is too high and thuds against the wood backdrop – still good for $25. The second is a tight spiral that nicks the side of the net but doesn’t go in.
The bill comes. We got nachos, garlic fries and a loaded hot dog for $13. Not bad. The game is close and I don’t want to watch. Remember, I can’t swear. Instead I think about signing up for the Player’s Club, which would allow me a shot at those giveaways during the game. It could also help me win an autographed Richard Sherman jersey. My wife loves Richard Sherman. She jokes that she would leave me for him. I laugh and tell her I would do the same.
