After losing power following a major “bomb cyclone” storm Tuesday night, the Seattle Seahawks’ team facility remains affected by the outage on Thursday.
Nearly half a million homes in Washington state lost power with the powerful storm, including the area where the Seahawks are located in Renton, Wash., just outside Seattle. Virginia Mason Athletic Center, the team’s facility, reportedly had limited power on Thursday from generators, but much of it remained in the dark.
“The darkness brings us closer together,” Seahawks defensive tackle Jarran Reed said, via team reporter John Boyle.
As the Seahawks prepare to host the Arizona Cardinals in Week 12, NFL Network Insider Mike Garafolo reported that they’re considering moving Friday’s practice to Lumen Field, the site of Sunday’s big divisional matchup.
The Seahawks managed to practice at the facility on Thursday. But the power outage also continued to leave the players without hot water afterward.
“It’s cold showers. Gotta man up, take a cold shower,” Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith said Thursday. “There’s no sauna. Some of the things that we’re accustomed to having because there’s no electricity.”
Still, Smith said, they’re not using the dim situation as an excuse.
“For the most part, man, we’ve got everything we need,” he said, “and we’ll be ready on Sunday.”
The power outage hasn’t just affected the players at work, but also at home, where many players and their families also lack power. Smith noted that the situation makes it tougher for players to bring work home with them, so they’re altering their schedules a bit and making the best of it.
“For the most part, the prep has been great,” Smith said. “Obviously, without power at home, it’s going to hinder some things, but guys have been doing a great job at studying. It allows you to spend extra hours at the facility, you know, if you don’t (have) power at home. You’ve got power here, so you can spend extra hours here and just study.
“We’re not gonna use it as an excuse. There’s a lot of people without power, and we’re just blessed to be able to come to work and still do our jobs.”
