I write in response to your editorial in the Feb. 11 issue of The Reflector.
Considering your history in the field of sports I found it difficult to believe that you got “infuriated” about the way the Seahawks lost the Super Bowl. When one stops to evaluate everything Pete Carroll has done for the team it is easy to accept the call he sent in.
How many times have we seen him make a play call that was unconventional? And how many times have those calls worked out? Consider the pass that helped beat Green Bay just two weeks prior. And with every one of those calls Pete Carroll became more popular to us all. We raved about his skill and perception. He was praised for looking at the defense and sending in a play that took advantage of what we were up against.
And some of those calls did not pay off. The only difference is that there was not so much at stake as was this time. And what would everyone be saying if it had worked out? He would have been praised as a skilled and genius coach. The defense was perfect for trying such a play. The quarterback and receiver were on task to make it work. It just happened that a young, enthusiastic defensive back foiled our game.
I’m a Seahawk fan through and through. And I’m a Pete Carroll fan through and through. And I am appalled that anyone who has watched the Seahawks play and has seen Coach Pete Carroll’s style would be so hard on him for making that call. I’m disappointed about losing the game. I’m disappointed in losing the place in history. But I was not disappointed in the game, or the calls Pete Carroll sent in.
I sincerely hope that that one play does not change who he is or how he coaches the team. One team had to win, and one team had to lose. We lost, but not because of a “bad” call. It was because it was a football game, and everything does not go your way all the time. Every player and every coach gave it their all. And that’s all we can ask. It just wasn’t enough this time.
Carl C. Mullen
Battle Ground
