There’s Nothing to Shout About in End

The Seahawks ended their 24-year run in the Kingdome, and while a noisy place to watch a ballgame, the home-field advantage was not overwhelming.

Seattle played only three home playoff games here--how’s that for a public investment payback--and while going 2-1, the Seahawks will leave the dome with an overall record of 102-84.

“It is by far the loudest place I’ve ever played in,” said Dolphin guard Kevin Gogan, who played here on a yearly basis while with the Raiders. “It’s loud with 15,000 people in here.”

Costing $67 million for property and construction, the Kingdome opened in March 1976, and underwent an additional $47 million in capital improvements. The building will be demolished in March, and replaced by a $400-plus new open-air stadium in two years. The public here voted to provide billionaire Paul Allen $300 million to help pay for the new stadium.

The Seahawks will play their home games in Husky Stadium for the next two years.

“It was a very emotional day,” said Seahawk defensive lineman Cortez Kennedy, who played in all three of the franchise’s home playoff games. “It was the last game in the Kingdome and I wish I could have closed it out with a win. It’s just tough to take right now.”

In the next few weeks fans will be able to purchase ripped out seats in the Kingdome for $100 each.

They will be paying a lot more for new seats in the 67,000-seat stadium.

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The Seahawks ran 23 plays in the second half and mustered a total of 32 yards in total offense. As Seattle Coach Mike Holmgren is learning, it makes a difference when you don’t have Brett Favre at quarterback.

Seattle won the AFC West Division this year despite losing six of their last seven games.

Quarterback Jon Kitna, who had nine touchdowns with only two interceptions in the team’s first seven games, had 15 touchdown passes the rest of the way, including the playoff loss, with 16 interceptions.

“I feel good,” said Kitna, discounting any notion that Seahawk fans should lose confidence in him. “It’s a disappointing loss and I’m as disappointed as anybody, but this will be a learning experience.”

Holmgren has learned something already. With Favre running his plays, his team went 5-0 in playoff games at home. With Kitna, his team is 0-1.

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The Seahawk offense got no help from running back Ricky Watters, who was playing with a sore knee.

Holmgren vowed to use Ahman Green if Watters was ineffective, as he was a week ago in a loss to the Jets, but he stuck with Watters, who ran 19 times for 40 yards.

“This week Coach Holmgren and I talked and said if I can’t do it, then I won’t go out there,” Watters said. “I wasn’t going to do anything that was going to hurt this team.”

Watters ran for 115 yards against Denver in mid-December, but since then has carried the ball 46 times for 133 yards--a 2.9-yard per carry average.

“I have no clue as to how the Dolphins were able to push us around like they did,” Watters said. “They really handled us and made us look pretty bad.”