Seattle QB Wilson talks faith and football
Fans of Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson gather around his table for photo opportunities at an event held by Stillwater Christian School at the Flathead County Fairgrounds in Kalispell on Wednesday. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson is introduced by Darnay Tripp at an event held by Stillwater Christian School at the Flathead County Fairgrounds in Kalispell on Wednesday. Tripp is sports director at KREM 2 in Spokane, Washington. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson speaks at an event held by Stillwater Christian School at the Flathead County Fairgrounds on Wednesday. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson walks to the stage to speak at an event held by Stillwater Christian School at the Flathead County Fairgrounds in Kalispell on Wednesday. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Fans of Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson take photos in front of his table at an event held by Stillwater Christian School at the Flathead County Fairgrounds in Kalispell on Wednesday. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson is interviewed by Darnay Tripp at an event held by Stillwater Christian School at the Flathead County Fairgrounds in Kalispell on Wednesday. Tripp is sports director at KREM 2 in Spokane, Washington. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson jokingly removes his tie to appear more relaxed and then throws it into the crowd at an event held by Stillwater Christian School at the Flathead County Fairgrounds in Kalispell on Wednesday. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and Darnay Tripp lead the crowd in a "S-E-A-H-A-W-K-S" cheer at an event held by Stillwater Christian School at the Flathead County Fairgrounds in Kalispell on Wednesday. Tripp is sports director at KREM 2 in Spokane, Washington. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Fans of Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson gather around his table for photo opportunities at an event held by Stillwater Christian School at the Flathead County Fairgrounds in Kalispell on Wednesday. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson is interviewed by Darnay Tripp at an event held by Stillwater Christian School at the Flathead County Fairgrounds in Kalispell on Wednesday. Tripp is sports director at KREM 2 in Spokane, Washington. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
The night ended the same way it began — with Russell Wilson on stage, pointing to his left and then to his right as the crowd in front of him roared with a booming “SEA-HAWKS” chant that reverberated inside the Trade Center of the Flathead County Fairgrounds.
“We’ve got some Seahawks fans,” Wilson said. “I like it.”
Wilson, the Super Bowl-winning starting quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks, made his second trip to Montana and his first to the Flathead Valley on Wednesday evening as the keynote speaker for Stillwater Christian School’s “For Such A Time As This” benefit dinner.
Approximately 1,000 people — including Stillwater students, local religious leaders and Rep. Greg Gianforte, R-Mont. — packed into the Trade Center to hear the four-time Pro Bowler speak on the three themes of the evening — faith, family and football.
“In that order,” Wilson said.
Wilson began the evening reflecting on his spiritual journey, one that he said transformed him from a “bad kid” to one of the NFL’s most outspoken Christians.
“I was always in the principal’s office; I was always in trouble,” Wilson recalled. “When I was 14 years old, I got saved and my life changed.
“I’m one of 32 men in the world — one of 32 men in the world — who get to do what I do. There’s 7.5 billion people in the world, and I’m one of 32. When I think about that, there’s a responsibility. There’s an accountability for me to love and give back and show what I’ve learned in the tough times and the good times.”
The Richmond, Virginia native touched on some of both when discussing his football career, reliving experiences from both Super Bowls he’s been a part of.
He relived the high of winning Super Bowl XLVIII over the Denver Broncos in dominant fashion and revisited the painful experience that followed the next year in Super Bowl XLIX, when he threw an interception at the goal line in the waning seconds that allowed the New England Patriots to escape with the championship.
“Every moment is any opportunity to learn something and to understand how to be thankful,” Wilson said. “You can’t just thank [God] in the good times. You’ve got to thank him in the bad.”
Wilson also engaged with moderator Darnay Tripp, a sportscaster from Spokane, on how he balances his often “hectic” lifestyle. The quarterback is married to R&B singer Ciara, and the couple has two children and three Great Danes.
“The biggest challenge is time,” Wilson said. “There’s only 24 hours in a day, and what are we going to do with it?”
Wilson elicited laughter from the crowd on a number of occasions, including when he rehashed the wild sequence of events that led to him coming off the bench to lead his seventh-grade team to a 60-7 victory in his first football game.
He left the hundreds of attendees on their feet in applause when he vowed this year’s Seahawks squad would be “great.”
“[Wilson] impresses me because he works so hard and yet stays grounded and stays focused on putting Christ first,” said Darrin Gress, one of dozens of attendees who donned Wilson’s blue No. 3 jersey to the dinner. “It’s just a testament to the kind of guy he is.
“I felt like he was a down-to-earth guy. It was like he was talking to a room of his friends.”