Was Seeing Home Finale A Moving Experience?

It was easy to find symbolism. The maintenance staff removing name tags from above the lockers of Seattle players. The Graebel Van Lines ad in the second quarter on the Kingdome’s Mitsubishi big screen.

The two Graebel Van Lines trucks parked near a Dome exit.

Buffalo certainly came with parting gifts - five turnovers in a 26-18 Hawks’ victory on Sunday.

Maybe this was Seattle’s last football game in the Dome. Maybe this was Seattle’s last NFL game period.

Or maybe Graebel was just doing what official team sponsors normally do.

No one knows for sure what will happen, now that prospective buyer Paul Allen has locked horns with new Gov. Gary Locke. Allen wants some guarantees before he parts his billfold. The battle will intensify before there is a resolution.

So what are we left with? A season of What Ifs and a future of What Might Bes.

What if field-goal kicker Todd Peterson doesn’t slice a game-winning kick at Detroit. What would Seattle’s record be if quarterback John Friesz was taking snaps instead of walking around on crutches the last month. 7-7? 8-6?

On the other hand… what if Michael McCrary’s blocked field goal didn’t turn a certain loss to Houston into a win.

“Ifs,” Seahawks left tackle James Atkins said, “don’t get you a win, you know what I mean. We have a good football team, a playoff caliber team, but things didn’t go our way. If we keep working hard, something good’s going to happen to us.”

Like the team staying in Seattle.

For what it’s worth, the players believe that will happen. Hawks fans weighed in with a conflicting message: There were 11,000 no shows, but those who found Dome shelter from another gray, rainy Seattle day, voiced their opinion.

“Gary Locke, if we lose our Hawks, I want my vote back,” read one poster. “SOLVE IT!” urged another. A pregame save-the-team rally drew a spunky crowd, though the event was emcee’d by Seattle radio transplant, “New York Vinnie.”

In times of Seahawks crisis, it’s always good to turn to veteran Joe Nash, a wise man with a knack for uttering perspective words during this franchise’s turbulent years.

“I really have a feeling the deal is going to be done,” Nash said. “That’s a gut feeling. But we still have two more games to go so it’s kind of tough to sit around and think about that.”

Added defensive lineman Michael Sinclair: “I would like to stay here, to be honest. I have a lot of ties here, but I can’t control the situation. I haven’t heard anybody talk about it (the future) because guys don’t know. We know as much as the average fan.

“The Seahawks belong in Seattle. I’m not expecting the worst. I have all the faith in the world we’ll be right here. I don’t know where we’ll be playing - Husky Stadium, Lake Washington High School. As long as we stay somewhere in Seattle, it doesn’t matter.”

If this was the Hawks’ Dome sendoff, they can take solace in a quality performance, especially considering the sleepwalk in Denver last week. They can take solace that they, as receiver Joey Galloway said, “didn’t shut it down like a lot of people thought we would and get ready for Christmas.”

Can you deliver one more present, Joey? An NFL future in Seattle.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo