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Soft spot for Dome

Zorn recalls Seahawks' first home, but doesn't miss it

Thursday, September 12, 2002

By Angelo Bruscas 

KIRKLAND -- At the time, it was the biggest game of Jim Zorn's young football life, the biggest crowd he had ever seen, the most vocal fans and the most unique building in which he had ever played.

A sellout crowd of 60,825 pro football-starved fans greeted Zorn and Co. in Seattle 's unique, new concrete sports palace, the ill-fated Kingdome. It was a moment the current Seahawks quarterbacks coach and the team's first starting quarterback will never forget.

"I was a rookie, and it was absolutely incredible," Zorn said of that experience, as the Seahawks lost to the then-St. Louis Cardinals 30-24 on Sept. 12, 1976.

Zorn said the feeling of pressure opening the new stadium was quickly lost in the opening, deafening roar of the crowd -- a wave of sound that would go on to make the Kingdome one of the loudest venues in sports for opposing teams (the Hawks ultimately retired jersey No. 12 in honor of their boisterous fans).

Led by Zorn, the Seahawks fell behind early but mounted a 21-point, second-half comeback. Zorn threw two touchdowns to Sam McCullum and ran for another.

The importance of the inaugural game in a new stadium was somewhat lost amid all the emotion of his first starting experience in the NFL.

"What an experience it was, with new uniforms, a new team, and what a unique facility that was," Zorn said. "And I was the starter, throwing the first touchdown pass."

That's not to say he shed tears when the Kingdome was imploded to make way for the $430 million Seahawks stadium project.

"It's not something where I look back and say, 'I wish we had the Kingdome again,' " Zorn said.

In cities around the NFL with newer stadiums, such as in Tampa and Jacksonville , Fla. , and Charlotte , N.C. , the facility becomes an integral part of the experience for players, coaches and fans, Zorn said.

"When I went to those stadiums, I thought we needed to do something with the Kingdome," Zorn said. "I felt they weren't just boxes of concrete."

Even if he will always have a soft spot in his heart for that opening day 26 years in the past, when the Kingdome opened its doors to a rookie QB from little Cal Poly in Pomona, Calif., Zorn is just as excited to be a part of the new stadium and the team playing there.

"It's really for the fans," he said. "The fans can come in and really enjoy the day. They don't have to get in and get out, like they felt in the Kingdome. This stadium just outdoes that stadium so much, and I think it's a good thing."

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