A packed Qwest Field before a Seahawks game.

It was the biggest stage many of them have or will ever be on, the culmination of all of their dreams as young kids, lying beneath them.

The Seahawks 7-on-7 squad, which recently won the national tournament after going undefeated, was introduced in front of rowdy Seahawks fans just before the first home preseason game of the year against the Chicago Bears.

“It was exhilarating,” said Skyline receiver Jake Knecht who was a key component of the Super Bowl victory in Louisiana July 12, 2008. “It was the first time I have ever been on the big screen at a major sporting event, and I really, really, really, really hope that it isn’t the last.”

Knecht, who is in a neck-and-neck competition with senior friend Will Chandler, is currently not on the radar of any major colleges to play football. Yet, as Anthony Beattie wrote in an earlier article, he still maintains hope that he might be able to prove himself this season.

The fore-mentioned Chandler had a similar, but different attitude after being introduced in front of over 45,000 fans, called the experience, “nerve-wracking and kind of awkward, because [he] didn’t know whether to smile or just stand there or what.”

Still, though, Chandler considers the experience to be one of the “coolest” in his athletic career. And who could blame him? He was officially (and un-officially) a Seahawk.

When the team’s highlights was shown on the big screen and announced in front of the crowd, even those without the slightest inkling of who the kids were or what the tournament was, felt pride for their Seahawks. In Section 317, where fellow writers Jeff Lestz, Alex Hanson, and I were located, people threw their arms in the air, and were yelling almost as loud as they did during the game.

The team didn’t spend the entire night in paradise, though. After spending the pregame watching routes and kicks from the Chicago Bears’ sidelines, the team was given club passes and tickets in the nosebleeds, which Knecht found disappointing.

Chandler says the guys originally traveled to the boxes, where he bought a 12th Man Burger, containing jalapenos and other “weird ingredients,” but eventually moved up to their seats to properly watch the game. And judging from Knecht’s hoarse voice when I spoke with him an hour after the game ended, they surely enjoyed it.

Skyline and the members from other Seattle-area schools lived it up for a night, but are now a mere four days away from going back to reality: training camp.