By Tim Booth
The Associated Press
SEATTLE — John Vidale didn’t get to see Seattle’s upset of New Orleans in the first round of the NFL playoffs live, so he turned to the Internet to watch highlights later that night.
When he saw a homemade video shot from the upper deck of Qwest Field following Marshawn Lynch’s 67-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter that clinched the Seahawks 41-36 upset, Vidale, the director of the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network, became a bit intrigued.
“It was pretty striking how everyone was shaking,” Vidale said today.
The crazed reaction from the fans wasn’t surprising considering what Lynch had just accomplished, shedding a half-dozen or so broken tackles on his way to the longest touchdown run of his career that gave Seattle a 41-30 lead with 3:22 left.
Turns out, Lynch’s TD shook Qwest Field and the ground around the stadium — literally.
Vidale said a seismic monitoring station located about 100 yards west of the stadium registered seismic activity during Lynch’s run. The shaking was most intense during a 30-second stretch about the time Lynch broke free from the line of scrimmage, finished off his touchdown and celebrated in the end zone with his teammates.
After that, Vidale said, the shaking died down, but it took about a minute for the shaking to completely fade away.
This was the first time Vidale has taken a look at the monitoring station near the stadium. He said the station that picked up the tremors is mostly concerned with monitoring the two-level viaduct highway that runs along the Seattle waterfront and the seawall.
Asked if he would be watching in the future to see if there is activity during Seahawks games, Vidale was simply wanting more team success.
“Well, I hope there are some more playoff games to watch,” he said.
