Seahawks: shut up.

Are the Seattle Seahawks a franchise of whiners? First they lost the Super Bowl because the refs sided with the Steelers. Now, there's still upset that Steve Hutchinson is a Viking.

This needs to stop.

This article by Art Thiel in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer (via PFT, the best source for all things NFL) reveals a few things about why I'm sick of the Seahawks complaining about the Vikings getting Steve Hutchinson.

1. IT WAS THE SEAHAWKS' FAULT!
Mike Holmgren is rightly annoyed at the Seahawk front office for botching the Hutchinson situation. They could have franchised him. They chose to give him a transition designation. THE SEAHAWKS WILLINGLY MADE HIM AVAILABLE TO OTHER TEAMS.

When you screw up, deal with it. Don't bitch about how others were able to take advantage of your screwup.

2. THE VIKINGS DID NOTHING WRONG
Thiel called the Vikings contract "diabolical." Holmgren says that "No one in their wildest dreams... thought that Minnesota would do something that no team had done in 12 years (under the collective bargaining agreement) because it's kind of unfair."

Did the Vikings break a single rule of the Collective Bargaining Agreement? ABSOLUTELY NOT! It could not be found that the Vikes broke any rule. It's not about being "unfair": when groups agree to a Collective Bargaining Agreement, they are putting aside subjective concepts of fairness and CREATING RULES. These rules are negotiated, compromised, and agreed upon. If one side or the other is concerned that something is unfair, there is a chance to negotiate. If it is deemed too unfair, no agreement will be reached. It's not about morality, it's about law: AN AGREEMENT IS MADE REGARDING RULES THAT WILL BE FOLLOWED.

Is it "fair" that players get drafted and don't get a choice about where they play? Probably not. But it's been agreed that those are the rules by which the system will work.

Quit bitching about fairness, Seahawks. You knew the rules. You made a tactical error within the rules. Another team took advantage of your tactical error and played within the rules to its advantage.

There is nothing else to whine about.