The Journey Was the Win

By Bettina Carey, Publisher, Seattle Means Business

By the time the Seahawks clinched the NFC Championship, my plan had already changed.

I was watching the game at a bar in Seattle when a fellow customer leaned over and offered a simple piece of advice: Take whatever money you were going to spend on an NFC ticket and put it toward a hotel near the Super Bowl stadium instead. It was a hunch—hers and, moments later, mine. I booked the hotel just before the win was official.

That decision set everything in motion.

On Saturday, I began what turned out to be the journey of a lifetime. And what I learned quickly is this: going to the Super Bowl isn’t just about being inside a world-class stadium. It’s about everything it takes to get there.

This trip was a true planes-trains-and-automobiles experience—Seattle to San Jose, light rail, taxis, BART, terminals, conversations, and chance encounters. On the way home, the route twisted again, carrying me from San Jose to Portland and back to Seattle. Every leg added texture to the story.

And everywhere I went, I shared why I was traveling. People immediately understood.

I met fans and fellow travelers from Indiana, Cincinnati, San Francisco, Vancouver (both Canada and Washington), Dublin, and Fresno—along with thousands of Seahawks fans who made the trip south together. Strangers became instant friends. Stories flowed easily. Football was the connector, but community was the point.

What surprised me most was how complete the experience felt without ever stepping inside the stadium.

My final Super Bowl experience was at the Hyatt Regency, watching the game on a 14-foot screen. I had my own couch, my own table, and a group of brand-new friends cheering right alongside me. A few Patriots fans stood nearby—equally invested, equally frustrated as the game unfolded. It was electric in its own way, shared and unscripted.

That’s the part people don’t always talk about.

The Super Bowl is an ecosystem. The city becomes a gathering place. There are official events, pop-ups, fan zones, hotel lounges, bars, and watch parties—each one packed with people who made a choice to show up, even if they didn’t have a ticket in hand.

I would recommend this trip to any Seahawks fan without hesitation. Travel to the Super Bowl city. Immerse yourself in the energy. Say yes to the journey. The memories aren’t limited to a seat in the stadium—they’re made in terminals, on trains, in hotel lobbies, and on couches next to people who were strangers just hours before. Whether you’re inside the stadium—or somewhere nearby on a very good couch—the experience is worth the journey.

Sometimes a hunch is all it takes.

Oh yeah—and the Seahawks took the win, making the journey even sweeter.