Other than the way they ran the ball the other night, the most impressive thing in Seattle was Earl Thomas’ hat.
The injured Seahawks safety was on crutches wearing an overcoat and a fur-lined hat, which didn’t just look Russian — it was a gift from a group of fans in Russia.
Via Sean Quinton of the Seattle Times, the hat actually carries his number 29 and an inscription in Cyrillic letters which reads: “Restricted Air Space. No fly zone. Restricted by Earl Thomas.”
The hat was sent to him by Boris Khodok and the Russian Sea Hawkers, a group of fans scattered across the former Soviet republics and Eastern Europe. Saddened by their favorite players broken leg, they wanted to send him a gift, and found a Russian Navy hat worn by the pilots on the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, who fly MiG-29s.
They also sent him a letter which read, in part:
“We wish you to stay on the field for many years with no injuries, to hold Lombardi Trophy in your hands couple of times more, and to put on a gold jacket in Canton afterwards. We wish you all the best, be happy and let love, peace and harmony live at your home.
“If it is not difficult, could you please tell your teammates that when they take the CenturyLink Field or any other field, they are supported not only by those who came to the stadium, we are also with you – watching games live on the Internet. And we are also shouting, but that is more like whisper-shout because when you play on Sunday evening, it is already the middle of working Monday in the east of Russia, and 3 a.m. in the West – so we just don’t want to wake our families up shouting too loud.”
Thomas might not need the protection from the elements since they’re playing indoors in Georgia Saturday (the one between South Carolina and Florida, not Russia and Turkey). But he at least has a cool souvenir from some overseas fans.
