Tag Archives: football

What One Seahawk Does On His Day Off

Tomorrow the Seattle Seahawk’s football team plays one of the most important games in its history against the Washington (DC) Redskins. It’s a wildcard NFL playoff game where the winner moves one step closer to being a contender for Super Bowl fame. Okay, I know almost nothing about football, but I love to root for a home team, especially when they are playing well. Everyone here gets excited – the 12th man flag is currently flying off the top of the space needle, people with tickets to tomorrows game in DC are looked upon as heroes and yesterday a parade of people lined up to give the team a big sendoff as they boarded their plane. You can feel the fever wherever you go.

What I’m most interested in is the story of what one of the players, rookie quarterback Russell Wilson, does on his day off. He doesn’t sleep in – he says there’s plenty of time for that in the off-season. Instead every Tuesday, Russell and his wife Ashton go to Children’s Hospital in Seattle to talk and play with the children there. Many of these kids are very seriously ill — waiting for a liver transplant or dealing with leukemia – and spend very long periods of time in the hospital. When they see the Wilson’s, their smiles are electric.

Ashton says that she wants their visits to build up the spirits of the children and their parents. From what she can tell, it looks like they do.

Sportscasters say Wilson has poise beyond his years (he’s 24) on the football field. I think he shows a great deal of maturity by helping others on his only day off.

Rookie Seahawk’s quarterback Russell Wilson