Travel Post: Reasons to visit Seattle Seahawks stadium

Football is back! I'm sure my fellow football fans agree, life is more complete now that the season has started!  If you’ve been following my blog at all, you already know by now I’m passionate about my Seattle Seahawks.  Today’s travel post is about our home stadium, CenturyLink Field, and reasons why you should pay a visit.  If you’re not into football (gasp!), go ahead and read through this post anyway. There’s a recommendation about the best drink in Seattle at the end.  Ya gotta hear it!

CenturyLink Field during Salute to Service month

Shout out to my die hard football-loving cousins who got me into football too. 

A Seahawks fan to my right, and a Bears fan to my left.

I’m gonna say even if you cheer for a different team, you’ll want to visit our stadium.  It’s that fun!  Well, okay, probably if you’re a 49ers fan, you have no interest in visiting our stadium really.  Haha!  #nfcwestdivisionrivals.  Otherwise though, if you fancy live sporting events, our stadium delivers a great experience.  Here’s why:

1. Tailgating – what’s a live home game without tailgating?  It only took one time and I was hooked.  I love seeing fans show their Seahawks pride… from tricked out cars to costumes, and simply just how everyone likes to throw their parties before the game.  Event planning at its best! 

No clue who these fellow 12s are, but didn't matter. Go Hawks!

Our tailgate group (hi, Paul and Tricia) starts really early in the morning and thanks to our tailgate host, Brian, we have all you can eat food and drinks all day until game time.  He’s out there with his grill and buffet set up, heaters, tvs, radio, games, chairs, canopies, all the goods to make it an awesome time until it’s time to walk over to the stadium for kickoff!

2. The food – even though we eat breakfast, lunch, and snacks while tailgating (which saves us a ton of money by the way, because stadium food and drinks are pricey), there is good stuff to try in and around the stadium.  My cousin Jon picks Joe’s Grilled Gourmet Dogs as his favorite.  Just outside the stadium, Joe is serving various style gourmet hot dogs named after our players. 

There was even one for me!  The vegetarian "Hawk Dog."

Inside the stadium, I love to get fish and chips just because that is such a Seattle thing to eat and they’re always delicious!

Peep the view of the water behind us.  Pic was taken on the way to our seats.

3. The location – I love that our stadium is in the heart of the city.  The Seattle vibe is all around you so if you travel up for a game, you can enjoy the downtown Seattle attractions just blocks away from the stadium like Pike Place Market, The Space Needle, the waterfront and ferries to nearby islands, the original Starbucks, and so much more.  I also love that you can see Puget Sound from the stadium.  I love views of the water.  Basically, you’d get a feel for the city even if you were just traveling there for the game.

4. The noise!  We are a loud and loyal bunch.  My first home game at CenturyLink, I was surprised to find that I couldn’t even hear myself screaming because it was just so loud all around me.  It really is awesome to experience. 

Our stadium is legendary for being the loudest in the NFL.  From ABC News (12/2/2013):  "Many of those who were on the field that day swear they remember the ground quaking beneath their feet when Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch went 'Beast Mode' on the New Orleans Saints.  And technically, they're not exaggerating.  Seismic activity was actually recorded outside the Seahawks' home stadium during Lynch's stunning 67-yard touchdown run that clinched a 41-36 playoff victory over the reigning Super Bowl champions on Jan. 8, 2011." 

Check out the Beast Quake video:

5. The fans.  They don’t call us 12s for nothing.  We take pride knowing it’s our heart and soul and noise helping our team each home game.  You’ll hear commentators say how hard it is to compete against Seattle at home because of the noise.  Other teams prepare to play us by simulating really noisy conditions because they know that’s what they’ll be getting when they play us at home.  We’re proud of that, and we’re just proud of our team.  Being around that sense of community, one that shares the same love, is just infectious. 

I love watching football period.  Nothing compares to watching your favorite team live.  I’ve also loved photographing my Seahawks during home games over the years.

"I may live in Nevada but on game day, my heart and soul are in Seattle!"  I'm blessed when I get to be there for a home game.

Now, my fun fact about Seattle, and this has nothing to do with football...  The best drink in Seattle hands down:  the tap water.  Seriously.  I’m super picky about what bottled waters I’ll drink.  They do not all taste the same!  On my first visit, I noticed how good Seattle’s tap water tastes and I hear other tourists comment on it all the time.  All that rain just leads to really clean, yummy water from the tap.  (We do not have that luxury in Las Vegas.)  Honestly, it is so good, there’s even free flowing fountains and people bring their big empty water jugs to fill up.  I think that is so cool!

Community water station - filler up!

My family knows how much I love the water in Seattle, and this picture made us laugh.  I was pushing the water jug in a baby stroller.  What can I say?  It’s precious water, folks.

If you missed my other Seattle travel posts:  Part I and Part II listed other favorite things to do, eat and see in Seattle.  Hope your travels take your footprints to Seattle someday too.  Go Hawks!