Anyone who thinks that the impact that a world champion sports team has on the region it represents diminishes in the days and weeks following the celebration of victory may well be missing the bigger part of the picture. Today I learned that Seattle Seahawks Super Bowl MVP, Malcolm Smith, along with some of his teammates and members of the Seattle Sounders Soccer Club visited the suddenly isolated town of Darrington, Wa., a small mountain community hit hard by the deadly mudslide that took out, not only a portion of Oso, Wa., but also a lengthy stretch of Highway 530, the only reasonable link to those on the east side of the damage and their employers and employees on the west. I spent the better part of my youth in Darrington and I can say without question that there is often more than enough pride among the residents to weather nearly any storm without the need for outside assistance, but its clear that the wide spread effects of the Oso tragedy will be a rare memory for most who have ties to the small town, a memory of a time when they simply need something larger than themselves to hang onto, a beacon of proof that nobody is overlooking their dire condition and that people are willing to reach out in the best way they can. In a town that has seen only images of hopelessness and a firm glimpse of a potentially unstable future, it had to feel great to see representatives of the one common thread that has bound firm the fabric of a patchwork made of citizens in every town, in every corner of the region, regardless of economic stature, regardless of gender, regardless of age and regardless of race. Looking back of only weeks ago, we all collectively flew the 12th Man flag, and not surprisingly, few have I seen taken down, and for that symbol to show up among the tired and nervous members of a very confused community in the hour of their greatest need was no small gesture, and one that shows on the faces of the rescuers, the townsfolk and mostly on the faces of the kids who have barely seen little more than sadness on the faces of everyone they see. I no longer live in Darrington, and I visit rarely, but I am relieved to have seen, albeit on the news, the extreme good that a kind and big hearted gift of a visit from everyones hometown heroes did when offered to a community that must feel like they live at the end of the world. Those who were there got a distraction from the gloom and uncertainty, if only for a few short hours, and for the citizens and what they are going through we can sympathize and take comfort that they had a moment of relief, and to the Seahawks, the Sounders and those who made their visit possible, we can all be thankful...
Posted on: Wed, 02 Apr 2014 03:35:04 +0000
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