SEATTLE (AP) – The night started with rivers of rain cascading through the stands and the Qwest Field turf bubbling with water as drains backed up, and ended with more than 1 million people in the Seattle area dark, cold and without power.
In the time between, San Francisco quarterback Alex Smith played the best 15 minutes of his young career and the 49ers pulled off a stunning victory over the Seahawks.
That Thursday night last December won’t be forgotten for many involved.
“I’ll remember that one,” Seahawks’ coach Mike Holmgren said this week. “When I write my book in a few years, there will be a little paragraph on that one.”
For everything that happened, on and off the field that night, a chapter would probably be more appropriate.
San Francisco’s 24-14 win in Seattle last December was notable on many levels. The 49ers got their first win over their divisional rivals in Seattle since Terrell Owens yanked a pen from his sock in 2002, taking end zone celebrations to a new extreme.
The victory was due to Smith’s sudden reversal of an awful first three quarters, playing nearly flawlessly in the fourth quarter and leading the 49ers to 21 points, throwing for two touchdowns and running for another.
But it was the powerful storm that most remember. And as if fans need a reminder, forecasters are saying Monday night’s game between the teams is expected to be played in a steady rain. Winds during the day Monday gusted upward of 68 mph in some parts of Western Washington.
The windstorm last year was the worst in more than a decade. Neighborhoods flooded under pelting rain. Trees and branches littered roadways, often bringing down power lines with them.
About 30 minutes before kickoff, a power surge briefly knocked out power to the large video screens at both ends of the stadium and to many of the electronic advertisements inside. The game was nearly delayed when storm drains outside the stadium backed up and the rain started to collect underneath the stadium’s synthetic turf, causing pockets to bubble.
ines, only to arrive at a home most likely without power.
“Fortunately, I had a generator,” Seahawks linebacker Julian Peterson said.
It was the capper to a weird year of weather for the Seahawks three primetime home games. Earlier in the season, a consistent rain pelted a Monday night game against Oakland, only to be topped by a snowstorm that blanketed the area on another Monday night against Green Bay.
Those storms were more of a nuisance. Fans leaving after the game against Green Bay spent upward of 6 hours on the highways just to travel 30 miles.
The December blast caused serious damage. Power was knocked out to 1.5 million utility customers, some who didn’t get their power back until after Christmas, nearly two weeks later. Fourteen deaths were attributed to the storm in Washington state, with several people being struck by falling trees or succumbing to carbon monoxide poisoning while trying to heat their homes.
Even the Seahawks were affected, aside from the loss. The team’s headquarters in suburban Kirkland didn’t get power back until the following Wednesday, running off generators in the interim.
“We had it all last year. I don’t think it can be any worse than it was last year,” Holmgren said. “You know, the lights went off in Seattle for 10 days, two weeks, after that (game). That was as bad as it can get.”
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