Legion of GLOOM
<p>Diehard super fans Patrick Swift, left, and friend Jeff Stoeckert, both of Coeur d’Alene, root for the Seattle Seahawks during Super Bowl Sunday at the Iron Horse.</p>
<p>Lou Chandler of Coeur d’Alene rocks a tricolor hat and red, white and blue face paint as he cheers for the New England Patriots at the Coeur d’Alene Eagles on Super Bowl Sunday.</p>
<p>Teri Hamilton of Coeur d’Alene shows off her homemade 12th man sock monkey and green and blue leg cast while watching the Super Bowl at the Eagles on Sunday.</p>
<p>Diehard super fans Patrick Swift, left, and friend Jeff Stoeckert, both of Coeur d’Alene, express dismay Sunday during a play in the first quarter of the Super Bowl while watching the game at the Iron Horse.</p>
COEUR d'ALENE - The streets of downtown Coeur d'Alene looked like a ghost town Sunday afternoon, but if you peeked into the windows of the local pubs, you could see a whole lot of blue and green.
Fans flocked to social venues to watch Super Bowl XLX between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots.
Whether they were glued to the TVs in their living rooms amongst friends or wagering friendly and vocal bets while smashing mugs together in the taverns, the Super Bowl provided many a good reason to eat, drink and be merry.
A huge spread of food was available to members of the Coeur d'Alene Eagles. Manager Michael West was happy to see so many patrons seated at his tables.
"What happens is, whenever anybody says 'pot luck,' the members are just so giving that everybody shows up and brings something, so it's way cool," he said. "Last year I started with one table, an 8-footer, and so many people brought food that I had to put two tables out. This year I started with two and a half and I had to put out a whole other table."
Seahawks jerseys, scarves, sweatshirts and hats could be found everywhere. Eagles member Teri Hamilton of Coeur d'Alene uniquely showed her Seahawks pride with her blue and green leg cast and handmade 12th Man sock monkey.
"I made one for my granddaughter, hers is No. 3 for Russell Wilson, because she loves Russell, and this I made for my husband Steve, the 12th man," she said, holding up the monkey with a smile.
In the sea of Seahawks colors was a lone tricorn hat and a red, white and blue face. Lou Chandler of Coeur d'Alene admitted he is normally a San Francisco 49ers fan, but decided to go full Patriots to shake up the day's festivities and possibly make some money off his pro-Seahawks friends.
"I'm a 49er fan, so being that the 49ers are out, the Patriots are the next best thing," he said, grinning. "I can get a lot of bets, that's why I came here."
Super fan Patrick Swift of Coeur d'Alene has been a Seahawks fan for 16 years. He and his friend Jeff Stoeckert of Coeur d'Alene enjoyed hanging out with friends and watching the game in the Iron Horse. Swift said he was definitely feeling like their team was going to claim the victory.
"There's an activation session going on at the Iron horse," he said.
"We got this," Stoeckert added.
The duo jumped and high-fived when the Seahawks intercepted the ball during the first quarter, but a few heads shook, indicating somewhat of a mixed crowd.
Brandon Hampton of Coeur d'Alene is normally a Denver Broncos fan, but chose to root for the Patriots for the Super Bowl when the Broncos didn't make it.
"Bill Belichick is the best coach in the NFL, if anyone can win this, it's him," Hampton said. "Anything for the Seahawks to lose."