**** Seattle

Henry said:

... and yeah, they sure were yapping a lot. Sherman's a punk.

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Seahawks defensive back Richard Sherman said that Griffin was playing great early in the game, but once Seattle settled down and adjusted to the Redskins offensive tempo the defense was able to clamp down.

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My friends and family purchased 36 tickets to the Seahawks-49ers game Dec. 23 game, a trip we had planned since September. Our group, which was almost evenly split between Seahawk and 49er fans, headed up to Seattle to have a great time and enjoy the game.

Unfortunately, neither of those things happened.

Before the game, as we walked down First Avenue to CenturyLink Field, both my 14-year-old son and his friend, were verbally assaulted by Seahawks fans because they were wearing 49ers items. My son’s friend was wearing an Oregon Ducks rain jacket. One Seahawks fan walking behind us screamed at him, “Do you know what I (bleeping) hate more than the (bleeping) Niners? The (bleeping) Oregon Ducks!”

I told him, “He is 14 years old! He is just a kid, and you need to shut up!” The fan apologized.

About three minutes later, a Seahawks fan screamed in my son’s face: “The Niners (bleeping) suck! Go the (bleep) home!”

When I yelled at the fan to shut up, he told me, “Shut the (bleep) up!” and disappeared into the crowd.

At this point, I was fuming. It looked like a long night. It was just the beginning.

Inside the stadium, we walked up the ramps that led up to our seats. Three Seahawks fans walked by, and one stuck his face inches from my husband’s face and screamed profanity about the Niners, then ran away.

Throughout the game, every 49er fan in our group was screamed at, cussed at, even pushed and threatened that they were “going to get their ass kicked.” If any 49er fan left his or her seat, they had to take a Seahawk “bodyguard” with us.

We couldn’t enjoy the game because our primary concern was our safety.

Finally, we decided to leave the game midway through the third quarter. On my way to the restroom, a Seahawks fan screamed in my face: “Go the (bleep) home, you (bleeping) bunch of losers!”

I’d had enough and screamed back at him, “I guess it’s true what they say about Seahawk fans.” I used a choice word of my own.

He turned around to confront me: “What the (bleep) did you just say to me?” My husband guided me into the restroom, and another Seahawk fan kept the angry fan away from my husband, diffusing the situation.

We did meet some very nice Seahawks fans, but they were sorely outnumbered by the ones who weren’t. Every Niner fan we talked to endured the same treatment.

Security and event staff were too busy taking care of intoxicated fans and escorting them out to help us. We couldn’t get any of them to help us. We witnessed several people being escorted out before the game even started.

I was warned before we went to the game that Seahawks fans can be rough toward the visiting team, but I never imagined that we would be subjected to anything like that.

This was my son’s first professional football game, and it will probably be his last. He told me that he never wants to go to another pro football game.

I have been told that confrontations and violence are not limited to Seahawks games and are common throughout the NFL. If that’s true, I am appalled that teams and venues accept such behavior and don’t do more to provide for the safety of fans.

We are Washington natives, but a trip to Seattle will likely not happen again, even for non-sports events. We will not support a town whose fans behave that way.

Being a fan means that you are an extension of the team, and in a sense, a representative of the team you support. The Seahawks were not represented well by their rude, childish, violent and classless fans Sunday.

Sarah Brown is an executive assistant and a native of the Pacific Northwest who lives in Vancouver, Wash., with her husband, two children and dog.

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