The Seattle Seahawks saw a remarkable turnout for their first pre-season game – a contest that doesn’t count – with a sellout crowd and over fifty percent of all televisions in the market tuned in.
Art Thiel, KPLU sports commentator, said it's the storybook elements this team has that keeps fans from being able to turn away.
"They drew an incredible rating," Thiel said. "This is the world's most interesting team. The Dos Equis Guy would be on this team."
The team, he said, has an ideal narrative arc: Massive, first-time success in a Superbowl against the Broncos, followed by the abject, last-second collapse against the Patriots. Those kinds of highs and lows, Thiel said, makes for a compelling Seahawks' storyline.
And mixed into the terrific plot are must-watch characters, Thiel added. Coach Pete Carroll. Richard Sherman. Russell Wilson. Earl Thomas. And, of course, the team's Beast Mode of a running back.
"Marshawn Lynch is a walking, running cartoon," Thiel said. "He's got all sorts of endorsements. He's got movie and TV appearances. Yet he doesn't talk to the media."
The narratives and the characters make for a great literary drama, he said. And head coach Carroll allows the offbeat to shine through -- unlike many command-and-control NFL bosses.
"He lets them be themselves," Thiel said. "Most coaches don't want to give up that control."
You can find Art Thiel's work at Sportspress Northwest and Crosscut.com.
