Seattle Pride

alanafrew
Feb 3, 2015
3 min read

This past weekend, many of us watched the Super Bowl with the New England Patriots taking on the Seattle Seahawks. Of course, Cincinnatians would rather see the Bengals playing in the big game (Sorry, I'm not really a Bengals fan, though I have slightly more respect for them as a whole than I have had in previous years). However, I like to choose a side. To me, it felt like most people wanted to root for either team or the Seahawks because they hated them less than the Patriots, but I wanted to root for the Seahawks for two reasons. The first is that I can't stand the Patriots and how arrogant they are (cough cough, Tom Brady). But the biggest reason I rooted for the Seahawks is because of my love for the city they're from: Seattle. The love I have for the city of Seattle began in my junior high and high school years. I became a big fan of the movie 'Sleepless in Seattle.' I thought the Space Needle was cool and I liked the fact that it's rainy (However, as I mentioned in my last post, it's not that rainy and gets about the same annual rainfall as Cincinnati). I am one of four girls in my family (third born) and when each of us graduates from high school, we go on a trip with our Aunt Tootsie (Yes, that's what we really call her) to any place we choose in the continental U.S. My oldest sister picked Boston and the second oldest picked San Francisco, both of which I thought were good choices, but I didn't want to go to the same places. Then I thought about the movie and how I had never been that far west, so I decided Seattle might be a good fit. My aunt had never been there before, so we both agreed it was a good idea. We went in early June in 2011 and the weather was perfect. It's hard to believe, but in the six days we were there, it only rained once and it was drizzle at the airport when we were leaving. During our trip, we went on a tour of Pioneer Square and the underground streets there. We went to the aquarium as well and on our first try going there, they were closed for an event (the only day they closed all year), so they gave us free tickets to use another day (which was awesome!). We also went downtown and saw the movie 'Hanna', which was an odd choice, but good movie. Other highlights included a ferry up to Victoria Island in Canada to see the Butchart Gardens, a Mariners game (since the Seahawks weren't playing yet, though the Seahawks stadium is so cool) and of course, Pike Place Market. Pike Place Market is similar to Findlay Market, but much bigger and more in terms of seafood and flowers, both of which are plentiful in the area. We visited three times because I loved it so much and other than going to the original Starbucks (It's really tiny, but cool), my favorite part of the entire trip was the Pike Place Fish Market and the fish throwing. Though I was afraid to do it myself, it was fun to watch people catch the fish and interact with the workers. One thing I wish I had done was visit the University of Washington because I have heard the trees are beautiful there, but it was a great trip. I love the Cincinnati, but if I were to live somewhere else, Seattle would be one of my top choices. The people are wonderful, the public transportation is top-notch (Cincinnati is laughable in comparison), the climate and geography are amazing, it offers a lot in terms of technology jobs, the city has multiple attractions and sports teams and there's an abundance of city pride. Even though the Seahawks lost (and Chris Pratt lost the bet with Chris Evans), Seattle has won over the many visitors that have visited the city.