Tackle My Ride Truck Transformation An "Unbelievable" Experience For Patrick 'Seahawk' Duncan

This story originally appeared in the November 17 edition of Hawk Mail. To subscribe to Hawk Mail, click here. Legally changing your middle name to ‘Seahawk’ has to be one of the more extreme ways to showcase your super-fandom for professional football in Seattle, but it's also one of the many reasons why Patrick ‘Seahawk’ Duncan was selected to be included in NFL Network’s new show, ’Tackle My Ride.’ Duncan, who did indeed change his middle name to ‘Seahawk’ during the team’s Super Bowl XLVIII championship season, was featured in the initial episode of the network’s series that helps add a heavy team-theme to NFL fans’ cars. With the help of Seahawks defensive end Cliff Avril, ‘Tackle My Ride’ transformed Duncan’s reliable ride — a cracked, dented, paint-job peeling 1992 Dodge Ram with more than 200,000 miles — into the ultimate fan car. Avril, Seattle’s sack leader in 2016, said he was "definitely a big fan” of the MTV show 'Pimp My Ride' from back in the day, and when he found out a deserving fan like Duncan was to be the recipient of a tricked-out truck, Avril "thought it was a cool idea, so I decided to do it.” "They had a great idea about rewarding some people that are doing some great things in the community,” said Avril, who's building a house in Haiti for every sack he records this season and whose Cliff Avril Family Foundation works to raise awareness for Type 2 diabetes in youth. “And I was like, ‘Oh yeah, that’s kind of my thing.’"Duncan, who resides in nearby Poulsbo, Washington, fits the community-first bill that Avril is proud of. A Seahawks fan since 1984, "since that’s the first game I can remember watching as a kid,” Duncan holds the position of public relations director for the Kitsap County chapter of the Sea Hawkers Booster Club. Each year, he grows out his hair and donates it to Locks of Love, he also shares Seahawks memorabilia with youth organizations, hosts local food drives, and this December he’ll work closely with Wreaths Across America to put wreaths on the graves of military veterans in the Bremerton area. His mother has multiple sclerosis and was recently diagnosed with cancer, which has influenced Duncan to participate in fundraising walks around the region in an effort to put an end to various diseases. “When people pass away and you miss opportunities you kind of learn you’ve just got to go do stuff for people,” Duncan said. "That’s kind of why I’m trying to do stuff. Just make everybody have a better time.” The devotion Duncan has displayed to his community coupled with his enormous Seahawks fandom is why Duncan's wife, Jamie, nominated him for the show, and what ultimately helped lead to his selection. “He just does so many great things in the community,” Avril said. "So I was grateful to be a part of that whole process.”That process started with ‘Tackle My Ride’ hosts paying an unexpected visit to Duncan’s home, where his yet-to-be-tricked-out truck — which Duncan had named ‘Glena’ after Pete Carroll’s wife — was waiting for its remodel. Former NFL linebacker LaMarr Woodley and master car builder James Torrez of Demented Customs in New Mexico serve as the show’s hosts and "when they pulled up it was definitely a surprise,” Duncan said. “I loaded it onto a big semi and they were going to take it down to New Mexico,” Duncan said of his ‘Tackle My Ride’ truck. "A few days later they called me and said the semi was in a wreck and your truck is totaled. First thing I said was ‘Is everybody all right? How bad is it?' Because I sat there and talked to the driver of the truck for 45 minutes while we loaded it up.”While the truck's driver and everyone involved in the accident made it out OK, Duncan's Dodge wasn't as lucky, "it was completely wasted," he said. Fortunately for Duncan, 'Tackle My Ride' found a replacement 'Glena' -- same year, same model, and with roughly 100,000 miles less than the original -- that made its way to Torrez’s body shop, where the transformation from 'Glena' to 'Glena 2.0' began. From there, ’Tackle My Ride' invited Duncan out to Renton’s Virginia Mason Athletic Center for what Duncan believed to be a tour of Seahawks headquarters. Unbeknownst to Duncan, his tackle’d out truck was waiting there for him. As was Avril, who drove Duncan’s new-look motor vehicle out from the Seahawks players’ parking lot for Duncan and his wife Jamie to see.“It was just unbelievable first off to even be chosen for that, then to see the old school truck with the old school logo was just sweet,” Duncan said of his new-look Dodge Ram that had been painted Seattle blue-and-green, given a lift kit, and installed with 12” subwoofers in honor of the 12s. "I kind of freaked out. And of course you see Cliff Avril get out of the truck and that’s almost as cool, to say that Cliff Avril was driving my truck. It was a great experience.” Added Avril: “I thought it was cool, man. From what it looked like to what it was and the work that they put into it, that was cool. He’s the ultimate fan, so they decked it out in the old school, throwback Seahawks colors, and what they did to it looked pretty dope. That truck has been through a lot, so it’s pretty cool.” Duncan, who said he owns more than 200 Seahawks jerseys, added a new one to his collection that day from Avril, who signed a No. 56 retro jersey in Duncan’s honor. Today, the truck is “running great,” Duncan said. "It definitely is awesome to drive it around and support our team,” he said. [wysifield-embeddedpoll|eid="452721"|type="embeddedpoll"|view_mode="full"]

Tackle My Ride Truck Transformation An "Unbelievable" Experience For Patrick 'Seahawk' Duncan

With the help of Seattle defensive end Cliff Avril, NFL Network's 'Tackle My Ride' series transformed Patrick 'Seahawk' Duncan's 1992 Dodge Ram into the ultimate Seahawks ride.