Not long ago, the Seattle Seahawks looked like a budding dynasty. With the franchise trying to rebuild on the fly, a trip to London came at the worst possible time. Or was it the best?
The N.F.L. told the Seattle Seahawks last winter that they would face the Raiders in London on Oct. 14.
Back then, months before the rest of the 2018 schedule came out, the Seahawks could never have anticipated that last weekend’s trip to London would come at a pivotal juncture for the franchise: Their record stood at 2-3 after a tough loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
Then it was time to spread the gospel of American football overseas. Instead of heading about 670 miles south to Oakland, Calif., the Seahawks would fly nearly 5,000 miles to England, eight time zones away.
Sending an N.F.L. team overseas is a herculean venture. Players need passports, the equipment staff sends supplies months in advance, the travel director has to navigate an unfamiliar airport and hotel, and the trainers will often modify the players’ diet and sleep regimens. Then there is the equipment, some 21,000 pounds of it, that must be transported.
The Seahawks were doing all this while searching for their footing. The cornerstones of the team’s dominant Super Bowl defenses were mostly gone. Russell Wilson, the franchise quarterback, had one year remaining on his contract and was expected to seek a far larger deal. In Week 4, safety Earl Thomas broke his leg and appeared to point his middle finger at the Seahawks’ bench as he was carted off the field. The team owner Paul G. Allen’s non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which was in remission, had returned — something that proved far more serious than all but a few realized. (Allen died on Monday.)
Maybe, with pressure mounting, a venture far away was exactly what this franchise needed. (...)
They boarded a chartered Airbus A340-600 that included 45 sleeping pods in first class for the veteran players. Coach Pete Carroll sat in the first row of business class along with other coaches. Rookies and members of the practice squad sat behind them. About half the 170 passengers sat in coach, which was filled with giddy chatter before takeoff. The menu was the same for everyone: beef filet, Cajun chicken or herb roasted salmon.
The players and coaches rolled off the plane on Thursday about 1:30 p.m. Some players struggled to stay awake, like defensive end Frank Clark, who draped his thick coat over his head.
Buses took them to the Grove, a resort in Watford, north of London, that features grass tennis courts and a golf course.
It has plenty of amenities, but nothing was left to chance. The team shipped 1,150 rolls of athletic tape, two tons of medical supplies, 350 power adapters, 500 pairs of shoes and 240 pairs of socks. In all, the Seahawks had shipped 21,000 pounds of gear and products worth $770,000. Some items — toiletries, snacks, bottled water, Gorilla Glue, lighters (to burn off loose threads) and cayenne pepper, which when mixed with talcum powder keeps players’ feet warm — were ordered from the Amazon U.K. website.
The N.F.L. told the Seattle Seahawks last winter that they would face the Raiders in London on Oct. 14.
Back then, months before the rest of the 2018 schedule came out, the Seahawks could never have anticipated that last weekend’s trip to London would come at a pivotal juncture for the franchise: Their record stood at 2-3 after a tough loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
Then it was time to spread the gospel of American football overseas. Instead of heading about 670 miles south to Oakland, Calif., the Seahawks would fly nearly 5,000 miles to England, eight time zones away.Sending an N.F.L. team overseas is a herculean venture. Players need passports, the equipment staff sends supplies months in advance, the travel director has to navigate an unfamiliar airport and hotel, and the trainers will often modify the players’ diet and sleep regimens. Then there is the equipment, some 21,000 pounds of it, that must be transported.
The Seahawks were doing all this while searching for their footing. The cornerstones of the team’s dominant Super Bowl defenses were mostly gone. Russell Wilson, the franchise quarterback, had one year remaining on his contract and was expected to seek a far larger deal. In Week 4, safety Earl Thomas broke his leg and appeared to point his middle finger at the Seahawks’ bench as he was carted off the field. The team owner Paul G. Allen’s non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which was in remission, had returned — something that proved far more serious than all but a few realized. (Allen died on Monday.)
Maybe, with pressure mounting, a venture far away was exactly what this franchise needed. (...)
They boarded a chartered Airbus A340-600 that included 45 sleeping pods in first class for the veteran players. Coach Pete Carroll sat in the first row of business class along with other coaches. Rookies and members of the practice squad sat behind them. About half the 170 passengers sat in coach, which was filled with giddy chatter before takeoff. The menu was the same for everyone: beef filet, Cajun chicken or herb roasted salmon.
The players and coaches rolled off the plane on Thursday about 1:30 p.m. Some players struggled to stay awake, like defensive end Frank Clark, who draped his thick coat over his head.
Buses took them to the Grove, a resort in Watford, north of London, that features grass tennis courts and a golf course.
It has plenty of amenities, but nothing was left to chance. The team shipped 1,150 rolls of athletic tape, two tons of medical supplies, 350 power adapters, 500 pairs of shoes and 240 pairs of socks. In all, the Seahawks had shipped 21,000 pounds of gear and products worth $770,000. Some items — toiletries, snacks, bottled water, Gorilla Glue, lighters (to burn off loose threads) and cayenne pepper, which when mixed with talcum powder keeps players’ feet warm — were ordered from the Amazon U.K. website.
by Ken Belson, NY Times | Read more:
Image: Brett Carlsen for The New York Times
