Seahawks Gameday Poster Series: The Art of Barry Ament

Ament perfectly blends the college navy and action green of the Seahawks with the Raiders’ signature silver and black to create a vibrant, fun holiday gameday poster. But that’s as far as the courtesies go, as the poster does little to give Raiders fans any hope of victory. This is the Seahawks gameday poster after all, as Ament explains.

“First and foremost,” said Ament. “It needs to be 100-percent a Seahawks poster. But, it’s fun to take the opponents colors and imagery, re-imagine, re-appropriate and flip things on their head. It’s a way to memorialize the event as a whole by including the opponent, but making it clear they’re not invited to the party.”

Art is about creativity and drawing inspiration, and this week’s poster was a personal dedication to Ament’s childhood.

“I grew up in a small town in Montana and as a kid nothing mattered more to me and my friends than football,” said Ament. “Football at recess. Football after school. Football behind the end-zone when the high school game was going on. Understand, growing up in Montana, there’s no home team, at least not for hundreds of miles and in another state. So, as a kid you had to pick “your” team. We got AFC West and NFC East games on TV, so most of my friends were Seahawks, Chargers, Raiders and Cowboy fans. Mostly Raiders and Cowboy fans for sure. So I grew up with a disdain for both of those teams. I straight up could not stand America’s team, but the Raiders? The Raiders, I loved to hate, they’re like the Darth Vader of sports. The ultimate villains. And if you get me talking about Lester Hayes, The Snake, Matuszak or any of those Raiders from the 80s, I might get a little choked up. I miss some vintage Silver and Black. So, my favorite part of creating this poster is thinking about my buddies, who I grew up with, who had the Raider’s shoe laces, pants and satin jackets and imagining they’ll be a little sad after this Sunday’s game. It’s honestly why I looked at the schedule and picked this game, satisfying my inner 12-year-old.”

Not only was this week’s gameday poster a chance to have fun with the holiday-based theme for Ament, but to help out a great cause. Pay close attention to the details of the poster, because you may miss a more-important message.

“This being a Thanksgiving weekend game and having the proceeds going to the NW Harvest sparked an idea,” said Ament. “It’s one of my favorite holidays – not terribly commercialized and all about family, food and football. And with an emphasis on giving and thinking about your fellow man. I really like the idea of everyone getting fed on Thanksgiving and collectively being so full of food and good-will that we let a few turkeys off the hook. I’ve actually seen the turkeys who are pardoned by the president who live out their days tucked away in a remote corner at Disneyland. It’s an enviable set-up. With the poster, I thought, why stop there – what if Coach Carroll pardoned a few more and made them honorary Seahawks? I figured he’s earned the power to do so at this point. If you read the fine print on the Pardon you’ll see that all birds are welcome but does not include Cardinals, Falcons, Eagles or Ravens. I like to tell a story with a poster, even if only for self-amusement.”

Northwest Harvest is a food justice organization striving to end hunger in Washington state. It’s all about the details, down to the text itself, which Ament used to pay homage to someone that inspired him.

“Definitely a tip of the cap to vintage holiday cards and type treatments from the days of yore,” said Ament. “Something Burl Ives would be happy with. Pure nostalgia.”

This week’s poster is officially sold out, but you can BID NOW for an opportunity to secure a Week 12 platinum poster via our auction website.