In the name of objectivity, I have no rooting interest in Saturday's wild-card matchup between the Seattle Seahawks and Dallas Cowboys.

But I must admit, part of me wants to co-sign Russell Wilson's famous interview postscript, "Go 'Hawks" — though not because I have any particular affinity for the sublimely talented quarterback nor enmity for Dem Boyz.

But I do appreciate the effort one of Wilson's teammates has exerted in a bid to win me over.

Let's start at the beginning to detail my "relationship" with the Seahawks.

It's 2005, the first year I covered the NFL for USA TODAY, and I was one of the few "experts" who picked them to advance to their first Super Bowl. (Boom.) Once the Seahawks actually reached Detroit, I was one of many who subsequently picked them to beat Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XL. (Oops.)

I was one of many who panned Seattle's 2012 draft haul, which included relatively unknown linebackers Bruce Irvin and Bobby Wagner and a third-round quarterback, Wilson, surely too short to excel in the NFL. (Oops.) I was one of the very few in 2013 who picked the Seahawks to beat the Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII ... six months before the game. (Boom, BOOM, BOOM!) Naturally, I doubled down on a repeat in 2014. (Oops ... right, Coach Carroll?)

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Let me pause to say I live in Washington, D.C., not Washington state, but I've managed to visit the Seahawks about once or twice a year since 2010. When you cover the NFL, you quickly learn each of the league's 32 teams has distinct personalities — you could even say multiple personalities given the high rate of turnover among players, coaches and even support staffs.

But I've had unfailingly positive experiences with the Seahawks and enjoy drinking in a practice at their majestic headquarters on the shores of Lake Washington in suburban Seattle.

Former quarterback Matt Hasselbeck was very generous with his time in 2010, fresh off a wild-card upset of the heavily favored Saints and heading into what would be his final game for Seattle. In 2011, I wrote a piece about an undrafted receiver who'd caught my eye — though I'm sure Doug Baldwin, then a very soft-spoken, somewhat taciturn fellow doesn't remember. In later years, Wilson, Cliff Avril, Jimmy Graham and others granted me access that can be hard to come by when you're not around a team on a regular basis.

Fast forward to August, when I was visiting Seahawks training camp.

A few weeks prior, I'd released my now-annual NFL record projections for all 32 teams. After reading the tea leaves — I had not ingested any of the legal, recreational pleasures available in Seattle — I'd pegged the Seahawks at 4-12 for 2018.

(Oops, OOPS, OOPS!!)

This was never intended as some hot take directed at the 'Hawks or the 12s — their forecast was 1/32nd of my yearly undertaking after picking all 256 regular-season games based on the landscape prior to training camp. (Worse, I had the Colts at 2-14 ... and they, like Seattle, accommodated me early in the schedule. But I digress.)

I knew Avril, Graham, Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor, Michael Bennett, Paul Richardson and Sheldon Richardson were among the players who wouldn't return. Earl Thomas was MIA (he eventually reported but would break his leg in Week 4). The offensive line still loomed as a weakness.

All this was before a knee injury sidelined Baldwin for most of the summer and threatened to be a persistent problem. I also "figured" the Seahawks to have trouble with 1 p.m. ET kickoffs in Detroit and Charlotte, "knew" they'd be challenged to handle Khalil Mack and the Raiders in London, would face a tough slate of AFC West assignments and were sure to struggle against the NFC West champion Rams, the Cardinals — Arizona always saves premium effort for Seattle — and Jimmy Garoppolo's 49ers.

Wagner, fellow linebacker K.J. Wright and defensive coordinator Ken Norton all spent time with me after a very lengthy camp practice. Wright good-naturedly approached me with a handshake and salutation — "You're the 4-12 guy" — before sharing reasons why Seattle was on the road back after missing the playoffs in 2017 for the first time in six years: The defense had been injected with youth, Chris Carson was going to reignite the run game, and a hunger that had perhaps dissipated over the years was back with a vengeance — reminding all of them of a young 2012 team that nearly reached the NFC title game.

Then the Seahawks went out and lost their first two games. (Boom.)

Then ... they ran off 10 wins against their next 14 opponents and coasted into postseason. (Oops. Sigh.)

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That brings us to Wednesday.

My phone rang.

It was Wagner.

Oh, Lord.

"Happy New Year, Nate. I tried to tell you, man," laughed the perennial all-pro (and, for my money, the best sideline-to-sideline 'backer in the league right now).

"I wanted to chop it up."

If it's possible to "hear" a man beaming from ear to ear, then Wagner was coming through loud and clear.

Make no mistake, he was not gloating. But it certainly gave Wagner satisfaction to reflect on such a remarkable season.

"It was one of those feelings, that vibe where you had older guys that still had something to prove and younger guys that kinda came in with people doubting them," he said. "You mix that together, and it makes a really strong team. I think that's why we came together so quickly, because we all had one common thing — people doubting us, and we wanted to prove everybody wrong. It wasn't just one guy — we wanted to all do it together.

"There's still room for us to get better, but you've gotta like where we're going for sure."

But seriously, Bob, I know you were a little worried after that 0-2 start, right? Ol' Nate was looking pretty wise then.

"We've had so many different starts — we've started 4-0, we've started 0-2, we've started 1-4 — the start didn't necessarily mean much to us. That's the message we were trying to send to the young guys," Wagner said, relaying that he, Wright, Baldwin and Wilson, respected vets from the Super Bowl years, had urged their younger mates to stay the course.

"We start 0-2, the feeling (from outsiders) is that your season's over. But you're only two games into the season, you've got 14 more games left, and you can control what you can do.

"We dug ourselves a little bit of a hole, but we knew we could get out of it. ... The start doesn't necessarily mean anything, that's why we preach finish."

For the record, Wagner told me, they were only worried about establishing the run and shoring up the defense ... not about Nate Davis.

Of course, the rebooted D tightened up while Carson and Co. exploded into the league's most productive ground assault with 160 yards per game.

Now they're looking forward to taking on the Cowboys, focused on stopping Ezekiel Elliott and trying to render Dallas one-dimensional.

"Going on the road, it's a really good feeling because you know it's just you and your team against everybody in the stadium," said Wagner, remembering those visits to Washington and Atlanta back in the 2012 postseason.

"That's a dope feeling."

Ultimately, this whole five-month dialogue has been pretty dope.

I never regarded myself as gutsy for speaking with the players about my dour prediction, but they clearly appreciated having a forum to engage and respond. Similarly, I was thankful for their insight — even if I wasn't fully on board — knowing in other places I might be dismissed as a "hater" with little credence given to an alternate point of view.

I don't want to overstate this, either, but given the way our country feels so polarized anymore — and athlete-media relations can be a microcosm of that — this was a refreshing discourse ... for both sides, apparently.

"Just talk about it, and let everything play out," said Wagner. "And it's nice when people can admit they're wrong. It's life.

"I appreciate you coming down and talking to us and having an open mind."

The feeling is mutual, Bobby.

And even though I can't root for the Seahawks on Saturday, if you don't have a dog in the fight, I'd recommend them.

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Follow Nate Davis on Twitter @ByNateDavis