Story Published:
Jun 7, 2006 at 6:20 PM PST
Story Updated:
Aug 31, 2006 at 7:27 AM PST
KIRKLAND - Tired of hearing about how they lost the
Super Bowl, the Seattle Seahawks took a moment Wednesday to
celebrate winning the NFC Championship.
Following the conclusion of their third minicamp practice, the
Seahawks retired to a tent set up in the players' parking lot and
were presented with their NFC Championship rings.
The rings were made by Jostens and include 58 diamonds
surrounding a striking blue, crystalized, volcanic stone with the
Seahawks' logo in the middle. One side of the ring features an
image of Qwest Field with Mount Rainier in the background, and the
player's name on the other side.
"That's what we emphasized in there, this was about what you
accomplished," Seahawks president Tim Ruskell said. "No other
Seahawks' team has gone to the Super Bowl, no other team has ever
won 13 games, no other team has ever won 11 in a row, led the
league in scoring, led the league is sacks. This was about
accomplishment and is the way it needs to be viewed."
Much of the offseason has focused on Seattle's 21-10 loss to
Pittsburgh in the Super Bowl, with little mention of the Seahawks
34-14 rout of Carolina in the NFC title game. Wednesday's ceremony
brought smiles and a tangible sign of that accomplishment.
"Now that it's come and gone and we've been there, it's
something we feel good about, but not quite what we wanted it to
be," fullback Mack Strong said. Strong is the longest-tenured
Seahawk, having played all 13 seasons in Seattle.
Most of the players immediately started wearing the rings. A
number lined up in a conference room to meet with Jostens
representatives about ordering auxiliary pieces for friends and
family members.
The Seahawks added one special feature to the rings - a tiny
image of a carabiner, an oval metal ring used in mountain climbing.
Before the season, accomplished climber Ed Viesturs gave a
motivation speech to the team. Viesturs gave each player a
carabiner, and the players received another - either blue or green
and inscribed with motivational phrases - after each victory.
"We thought the look of it just came out perfect," Ruskell
said.
Ruskell earned a Super Bowl ring while working in the Tampa Bay
Buccaneers' front office and said the Seahawks' ring is fairly
comparable, but the Bucs ring held "a few more diamonds here and
there."
Relatively quiet and simple in his approach, Strong joked he
wouldn't mind getting the next level of ring - one with a little
more "bling."
"I'd like it if people had to help me hold my hand up while
it's on," Strong said. "It feels good."