The atmosphere at Climate Pledge Arena, where the team
retired No. 32 before the game
in honor of both becoming the NHL's 32nd team and gaining 32,000 ticket deposits in a single day upon announcement of the franchise, was described by
those in attendance as "electric."
Super Bowl champion quarterback Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks was in the building watching with his pop star wife, Ciara.
Wilson's teammates, All-Pro linebacker Bobby Wagner and Pro Bowl wide receiver D.K. Metcalf, were also in attendance sporting blue Kraken home jerseys.
Sue Bird, a 12-time WNBA All-Star point guard who is the Seattle Storm's career leader in points, assists, steals, three-pointers made and minutes played among others, was also on hand, posing for a pic in an empty Kraken locker room.
Seattle native and four-time Grammy winning rapper Macklemore, who scored No. 1 hits with "Thrift Shop" and "Can't Hold Us" also showed up wearing a No. 21 white Kraken jersey.
Earlier in the day, Kraken scout and Hockey Hall of Fame player Cammi Granato, who led the United States women's hockey team to the gold medal in the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, raised the Kraken falg to the top of
Seattle's most famous landmark
, the Space Needle.
