SEATTLE -- Before Sunday's Super Bowl rematch with the Denver Broncos, the Seattle Seahawks had their annual celebration for their Canadian fans.
The Seahawks call it their Canada Day, not to be confused with the actual Canada Day on July 1st each year.
Canadian punter Jon Ryan proudly stood on the sideline and listened to the singing of O'Canada with a huge Canadian flag and five Canadian Mounties on the field.
"As a Canadian, you always get a little fired up when the see the Mounties," Ryan said after the game. "I guess I had to do it for my country."
Whatever the motivation, it sure worked because Ryan had one of the best games of his career. If you pick three players who were the biggest factors in the 26-20 overtime victory against the Broncos, Ryan certainly would be one of them.
He had six punts for a 50.2-yard average, but that doesn’t come close to telling the whole story. Ryan also pinned the Broncos at their 7-yard-line on two other punts.
He also almost booted a ball all the way to Canada after Denver got a safety in the fourth quarter. On the free kick, Ryan boomed the ball 79 yards to the Denver 1 before it was returned to the 23.
Was it the longest he’s ever kicked a football?
"It’s probably pretty close," said Ryan, who is from Regina, Saskatchewan. "It was a decent hit and I had the wind a little bit."
His actual punts weren’t much shorter. His first two were 61 and 66 yards.
"I thought if anybody would be the MVP, it would be Jon," Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. "He had a phenomenal game. You can’t expect a guy to do any better than that. The gorgeous kick after the safety, that changed that whole opportunity [for Denver] there. I was happy to see him do it on [the Seahawks'] Canada Day. Can we have another Canada Day next time we’re here?"
Ryan is one of two Canadians for the Seahawks. The other is tight end Luke Willson, a Rice University (in Houston, Texas) graduate from Lasalle, Ontario.