Being a true blue and green Seattle Seahawk fan, it's pretty easy to develop a crush on Russell Wilson. Not only is Russell a great guy, he's an outstanding athlete. His leadership skills are stellar and he's a humble man, full of integrity. What's not to love? Our Seattle Seahawk quarterback has proven he isn't a fluke. Records from veteran football players have already been broken during Russell's very short career. He's a hard working player, deserving of everyone's respect.

Russell Wilson can throw. He can run like very few quarterbacks have ever displayed. His agility and speed rivals abilities only what a gymnast and sprinter combined can master. He is a member of a Super Bowl winning football team. Yet, with all of these abilities and accolades no one see's Russell tooling around in a turbo-charged racecar (unless it's disguised as the Batmobile when celebrating with Ciara), sporting diamond pimp earrings or showing off his collection of, well, anything. He's not trying to draw attention to himself. Many may say it's because fame hasn't set in since he just signed a multi-million dollar contract this year. While this might be true, was he ever seen whining about how hard he works and how little he is paid? The answer is no. Russell, while remaining humble, abstained from looking like a cry baby. There are few quarterbacks out there who can claim acting like such a grown-up.

We can all agree that Russell does, indeed, hold his own on the field. Yet for all the attention he receives, Russell makes sure to acknowledge why his game play is so hot. You will never hear him state how great he is or boast about how hard he works. Do we know Russell is the first one on the field, greeting all the players? Is it common knowledge that he's the last one to leave the practice field? If we do, it's not because Russell Wilson is bragging. The staff and announcers have made sure that the general population knows this is a man who works hard for his team from the beginning of everyday till the sun sets. Rather, Mr. Wilson constantly acknowledges all the spectacular players on the Seattle Seahawk team. His throw isn't great - Doug Baldwin made an amazing catch. A handoff to beastly Marshawn Lynch is Marshawn's victory. More press could bring more ego, yet Russell remains a man of integrity.

Super Bowl XLIX is a perfect example of how Russell NEVER undermines his coach or throws a play caller under the bus . His throw was caught by the opposing team. Seattle lost the game. Did Russell spew profanities? Did he pitch a fit? Any finger-pointing? No. Not a bit. That's because Russell Wilson is a man of integrity. He cares about his team and the coaching staff. There are plenty of quarterbacks out there who wouldn't have hesitated to explain that if it weren't for some bad play calls a Super bowl ring would have been theirs.


Seattle has become a national team
A fellow Seattleite, walking through Washington DC, saw someone wearing a Seahawk jersey. Being from Seattle, you just assume that if you are wearing a 12th man shirt, you must be from the Emerald City, right? In this case wrong. The tourist in Washington DC was from Detroit. Sure he loves his Lions. He also loves a Super Bowl-winning team. As this Detroit native explained it, he's 100% supportive of a team that's headed up by a cool guy like Russell Wilson.

He doesn't have diva moments.
Having witnessed Aaron Rogers, from the Green Bay Packers throw a tizzy fit when he made a poor throw and lose the game, it's hard to have much respect for him. If Russell had thrown that pass (and let's face it he wouldn't have thrown the ball, he would have run it in himself) he would have been on the sidelines cheering on his defense. Aaron Rogers, on the other hand, checked out the replay on a tablet and then threw the tablet on the ground. He waited for an assistant to pick the tablet up that lay at his feet. It was a pathetic show of how you don't have to be Diana Ross to pitch a diva tizzy.

Not so long ago, this corner state of ours possessed a so-so football team. We stayed strong, believing our 12th Man persona and a great team of players would make us Super Bowl contenders. Russell respects us and the traditions Seattle created before he arrived on the field. He would never dream of taking way what makes us the Seattle Seahawks. In turn, we respect Russell. He encourages our kids at Seattle Children's hospital. He embraces our loud stadium, damp climate our Booms and our Beast. He's a truly real cool guy.