Brad Sarsfield will not be the first mild technician. When he mixes with the “12” and cheers for the Seattle Seahawks, he will become a screaming maniac. Football and fans do strange things to ordinary people.
But this Microsoft long-term software engineer is a unique bird among Hawks fans. He is one of those who need a team jersey or a foam finger to express their enthusiasm and loyalty on match day.
Sassfield, 44, a father of four from Guig Harbor, Washington, returned to work on Monday after leaving Microsoft for 12 weeks of parental leave. He left early to participate in the season opener of the Seahawks, and played against Denver Broncos and Russell Wilson in “Weekly Night Football”
Between work and the Lumen Field, he became Hawkman.
“In order to get busy, leave the computer and do something physically creative, I started making this dress,” Sassfield said of the project he had done in the summer.
Sarsfield and his wife are parents of children aged 7, 9 and 11. They are raising a 1-year-old boy, which makes Sarsfields eligible for Microsoft’s parental leave benefits. After working for the technology giant for more than 20 years, he took a vacation in June after the children graduated.
“It takes me three or four hours a night to put the children in bed,” he said of his costume construction. “Part of it is decompression therapy. I like to figure out how to do new and strange things. This is an opportunity to learn skills that are not available on the keyboard.”
Sassfield said that he usually lives at the intersection of data and mixed reality, and is committed to the next generation of iteration and calculation. He has studied Microsoft HoloLens, a hybrid of reality technology and robotics.
“You can create the future,” he said of his work. “This is technology. It requires a certain degree of creativity. When you are dealing with virtual things all day long, it is good to have something you can feel, touch and see.”
As a long-term fan of the Seahawks, Sassfield has been on the Blue Pride’s waiting list for 10 years. He just got the season ticket with a friend in the southern end of Luman Stadium. There are many energetic and well-equipped fans sitting on the seats on the court.
“There are many super planes,” he said. “Mr. and Mrs. Haiying are sitting on my left. They are great. The person sitting next to me is Captain Haiying… cool. They put the TV camera on your face.”
Hawkman combines the pride of sea hawks and the influence of superheroes, which is the first time that Sassfield has set foot in role play. He got the idea from an illustration of a user named William Sabato that he saw on Reddit. He drew cartoons of other NFL teams.
Some details include:
An improved Wonder Woman Golden Eagle helmet made of EVA process foam, just like the one sold on Etsy. He learned how to paint and seal on YouTube.
Batman Cosplay chest film is also made of foam, and the front logo of Seahawk is modified.
The Batman Dark Knight forearm guard paints the Seahawk blue and green.
His right shoulder pad has feather details, and the left is the roof line of Lumen Field.
The imitation of Nike MAG sneakers in Back to the Future is also painted on the specifications of Seahawk.
Sassfield said the most difficult item to find was a pair of uniform pants worn by players. He finally bought the pants worn by former Hawks defender KJ Wright on the team’s charity auction website.
“It’s interesting to play in this game,” Sassfield said of Monday’s much hyped match During the match, more than 68000 fans packed the stadium. “The children want pictures… countless cheers.”
His position in the stands and his reputation as a 12 person TV show made it easy for Sassfield to appear on ESPN radio and appear again in Seahawks social media hype videos after winning.
Sassfield said this was the “top five” competition of the Seahawks, and it was also one of the most famous competitions he had participated in. His ears were buzzing. The next day, his voice was shot in the Microsoft team. But no one recognized him as Eagle Man.
“Nobody at work knows,” he said with a smile. “I haven’t even posted it on my Facebook. It’s a bit like my secret identity.”