Seahawks Crushed by Rams: THIS is the Real Reason Fans Are Upset

I think I know why Seahawks fans are taking this first loss to the Rams so hard.

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The Rams Beat Down Seahawks Fans 2023 Season Hopes

Believe it or not, the opening game yesterday was not the worst loss to the Rams at home, so why does it feel that way today? It is not even the worst loss I have personally witnessed to the Rams since I started going to games around 20 years ago. In 2017, the Rams came to Seattle and beat the Seahawks 42-7 on a cold day in December. The Seahawks didn't score 7 points until the 3rd quarter when the game was completely out of hand. I remember sitting next to a friend of mine while we laughed and he talked about the 1990s. Even though we were getting beat badly, it was kind of expected because at the time the Rams were heavily favored. But that bad loss doesn't feel half as bad as the beat down we took yesterday and I think I know why.

Seahawks Fans' Expectations Were Through the Roof

I personally only got a few hours of sleep because I was so excited for week 1 of the NFL season to start in Seattle. The Seahawks had been talked about throughout the offseason and preseason as favorites to finish with hopes of a Super Bowl return. Pete Caroll, the players, and pretty much every sports writer on the planet had given signs that the Seahawks this year could be something special. Seattle had supposedly addressed their worst issue last season (defense) and looked to be a fierce competitor to the 49ers for the NFC West Championship, or at least that is what we thought.

Lumen Field is Electric at Kickoff

All morning long, there was electricity in Seattle about the start of the 2023 season. By the time team introductions started, the crowd was full-throat and ready to unleash the noise. Bobby Wagner came out of the tunnel to the loudest and longest cheer I have ever heard before a game and the scene was set for a great day. The Seahawks got the ball first and moved the ball down the field, but eventually stalled and had to settle for 3 points. Now it was time for the crowd to wake up and punish the ears of the Rams offense.

The Rams Killed the Crowd Noise with First Drive

When the Rams took the field, I was surprised by just how loud the crowd was. Then play after play, the Rams kept driving down the field and getting first downs. Just look at the picture above with the Seahawks pass rusher's helmet twisted sideways for an illustration of how the day went. Every first down the Rams earned on that first drive, the quieter the crowd got. By the time the Rams had driven all the way down and scored a touchdown, the crowd noise was all but a whisper. Matt Staford and the Rams moved down the field easily by cutting up the Seahawks secondary. Even at halftime with a 13-7 lead, the Seahawks fans had already seen what they were most afraid of, just in a slightly different form. This time it was not really the run defense, but the pass defense that was to blame. That and only having a total of 12 YARDS IN THE 2ND HALF ON OFFENSE...12 YARDS!!!

Were Seattle Seahawks Fan Expectations Too High?

In business, communicating realistic expectations is key to having a great relationship with clients. Let us say you bring your favorite "sports car" to the mechanic because something is wrong with the engine and it just doesn't run like it should. Your mechanic calls after working on the car swearing it is fixed and is better than ever. You go pick up the car and find out that not only does it still have the same engine problem but a few new ones have shown up. The same can be said for NFL teams and their fans. If an NFL franchise is giving all the signs they think they have a "championship caliber" team, fans are of course going to be very excited. Then if the team falls way short of those expectations, the fans will be extra disappointed because they had such high hopes. That is exactly what I felt sitting in section 127 during that first scoring drive from the Rams, the expectations of the Seahawks season were being crushed one first down at a time. I think it is high fan expectations that are really the cause of the heartbreak, not just the horrible play. Hopefully, the Seahawks can respond and fix just about everything before meeting the tough Lions team in Detroit next week but it doesn't look good.