Islanders cheer as Seahawks clinch Super Bowl slot
Published 10:21 am Wednesday, January 28, 2026
In a hard-fought NFC championship game that wasn’t decided until the final play, the Seahawks advanced to the Super Bowl by beating the Los Angeles Rams 31-27 on Sunday night.
Islanders were glued to the game in their homes and at local watering holes. At Sporty’s, a standing-room-only crowd erupted in joy when the win was clinched as the clock ran out on the Rams’ last-minute final drive down the field.
Island newcomer Brandon Aldrich, watching the game with his sister-in-law, Andrea Courtney, had a prime seat in front of the big screen in the restaurant section of the bar. Explaining that he and Courtney had grabbed the same lucky seats for the Seahawks win against the 49ers last week, Aldrich said he loved the camaraderie and conviviality he’d experienced with his new friends and neighbors on Vashon.
“It’s really infectious,” he said — before leaping to his feet to cheer as the Seahawks denied the Rams on fourth and four from Seattle’s 6-yard line in the last four minutes of the game.
The Seahawks made the most of their final drive, running down the clock to just 25 seconds before the Rams’ final possession, which proved to be too little, too late to give the Rams a shot for a comeback touchdown.
That’s when the crowd at the bar and restaurant went wild, celebrating the fact that the Seahawks will have their fourth-ever shot at winning the Super Bowl. They’ll play the New England Patriots at Levi Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on Feb. 8.
