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Divemaster · 02-02-2014, 07:12

The first time the Seattle Seahawks were in the Super Bowl (2006), I was in Iraq living in a team house outside the wire several klicks from FOB Warrior (Kirkuk Airbase). Call sign was Texan Base. The Pesh Merga held the perimeter as half the ODA gathered before the TV at around 0300. The others either didn’t care about football, or didn’t have a dog in the fight (must have been 49ers fans). Plus sleep was at a premium as operations ran around the clock. We never saw the multi-week long pre Super Bowl hype. Didn’t need it. No group can trash talk like a bunch of unwashed football fanatic SF guys.

This wasn’t the typical Iraq Super Bowl experience where hundreds of military personnel gathered in massive chow halls. This was just us, a few guys living off the grid, gathered around a kitchen table in one of Chemical Ali’s former palaces. I was for the Seahawks. Everyone else was for the Steelers. I was their rater, the boss. I wrote the evaluations that could make or break their careers. They didn’t care. My team lost. They rubbed it in my face. I loved every second of the experience. And I love those guys.

If the Seahawks win today, it will be my second favorite Super Bowl memory.

02-02-2014, 07:12	#11
Divemaster Quiet Professional Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Washington Posts: 2,065	I loved it when we lost The first time the Seattle Seahawks were in the Super Bowl (2006), I was in Iraq living in a team house outside the wire several klicks from FOB Warrior (Kirkuk Airbase). Call sign was Texan Base. The Pesh Merga held the perimeter as half the ODA gathered before the TV at around 0300. The others either didn’t care about football, or didn’t have a dog in the fight (must have been 49ers fans). Plus sleep was at a premium as operations ran around the clock. We never saw the multi-week long pre Super Bowl hype. Didn’t need it. No group can trash talk like a bunch of unwashed football fanatic SF guys. This wasn’t the typical Iraq Super Bowl experience where hundreds of military personnel gathered in massive chow halls. This was just us, a few guys living off the grid, gathered around a kitchen table in one of Chemical Ali’s former palaces. I was for the Seahawks. Everyone else was for the Steelers. I was their rater, the boss. I wrote the evaluations that could make or break their careers. They didn’t care. My team lost. They rubbed it in my face. I loved every second of the experience. And I love those guys. If the Seahawks win today, it will be my second favorite Super Bowl memory. __________________ Grando autem duodecimo hominis
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