Super Sportsmanship Shown in Mossyrock

Students at Mossyrock Elementary School are sending a giant get well soon card to San Francisco 49ers linebacker NaVorro Bowman, who was injured Jan. 19 in the NFC Championship game against the Seattle Seahawks.

Some Seahawks fans threw popcorn on Bowman while he was being carted off the field with a torn anterior cruciate ligament and severe medial collateral ligament injuries. 

Amber Gerard, a Mossyrock PTA member, said she wanted to turn the unsportsmanlike behavior into a learning experience for the Mossyrock Elementary School students. 

Gerard helped the students put together the poster, which reads “Mossyrock 12s Wish You a Speedy Recovery Mr. Bowman.”  Students signed it and helped organize a food drive last week to counter the incident. 

“There has been such negative press on both sides, we thought we could rise above it,” Gerard said. “We are taking advantage of a bad situation.” 

The poster is covered in signatures from the students using both blue and green pens for the Seahawks and gold and red for the 49ers. 

“Get well soon Mr. Bowman,” wrote one student. 

“May God be with you,” wrote another. 

The students and Seahawks players both agree the incident is not in the spirit of the 12th Man, the term used for Seahawks fans, known for being the loudest in the NFL.

Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman wrote about the poor sportsmanship in a recent column for MMQB.com. 

"One thing I can't accept is what I read after the game about Seahawks fans throwing food at (Bowman) as he was being carted off the field with his knee injury," Sherman wrote in a column for MMQB.com  "If it's true, it's beyond terrible. That's as low as it gets. I'm sure whoever did this is in a small minority of fans, because I don't think that kind of action is an accurate representation of the character of the 12th man.”

The food drive at Mossyrock Elementary School is scheduled until Thursday. The donated food will be sent to the Teen Challenge Graham Women's Center in Graham. 

Gerard said the school’s librarian has a friend that works for the women’s center. The center in Graham recently helped someone who was jumped during a Seahawks game this year.   

Gerard estimates more than 200 cans of food have already been collected.  

The students will win prizes for good behavior and helping with the food drive, Gerard said. 

The school plans to email a picture of the signed poster to the 49ers organization to let Bowman know about the support. 

“We definitely want to try to reach out to them to let them know we are doing this for him,” Gerard said. “We do hope he does get better soon.” 

Along with signing the poster and donating food, the students are getting excited for the upcoming Super Bowl this weekend. Some students have vowed to wear Seahawks gear every day until Sunday. 

Staff has decorated the hallways of the elementary school in blue and green and the main office is also decorated in Seahawks colors and logos.

Second-grader Hunter Isom, who wore a Russell Wilson jersey to school on Friday, said he has learned that win or lose, it is important to show good sportsmanship. He said the fans that threw food at Bowman never should have treated him they way they did. 

“It could really hurt his feelings,” Isom said. “He may not want to play the Seahawks again.”