THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: Seahawks got their fill of the Allens as owners

Was Jody Allen a good owner?

Did she handle stewardship of her late brother’s trust with fairness and a keen eye?

Jody seems like a superstar now, since the most recent picture of her featured a beaming smile and a firm grip on the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

It’s amazing how much a championship (or several) improves the public’s perception of a pro sports owner.

The link between the top of any team’s organization and routine success is no accident.

The average fan probably doesn’t see that connection, except when the coach, general manager and any other critical executive join the owner for those fun TV shots after the title has been won.

If you chat with a die-hard supporter, he or she may very well tell you that the owner gets credit for perceptive hiring — and with the exception of the NFL, for tossing tons of money into a winning roster.

That doesn’t fly in pro football, where payroll limits demand that you need other methods to be clever.

Meanwhile, opinion on Ms. Allen’s trusteeship depends quite a bit on geography.

JODY AND her local lieutenant, Bert Kolde, were considered screw-ups in Portland.

The consensus in the Rose City, where Paul Allen bought (and loved) the Trail Blazers, is that Jody couldn’t unload the team fast enough.

If you go strictly by numbers, well, that argument does hold water.

The Blazers won their only NBA title in 1977, before the Allens were involved, and the franchise almost seemed cursed.

Bill Walton, arguably the best center in the game, could have helped turn that ’77 success into a dynasty under Hall of Fame coach Jack Ramsey — but Walton suffered a string of foot problems that wound up with him (yes, really) suing the Blazers and their team doctor.

Paul Allen’s purchase of the Seahawks has been a winner right from the start — as opposed to his ownership of the Blazers.

After Paul’s death in 2018, Jody and Kolde seemed destined to steer the Blazers like the Titanic.

They were going to find an iceberg.

Somewhere.

Fortunately, they just missed it.

Last year, after the trust had begun sale of the club to Tom Dundon — owner of hockey’s Carolina Hurricanes — the FBI and other law enforcement agencies began an investigation of 34 people (most with NBA connections) for rigging poker games and setting up illegal sports bets.

At the center of it all was Blazers coach Chauncey Billips.

Yikes!

Another nightmare.

If you are so inclined, you might decide that Jody Allen would successfully sell the Seahawks AND win the Super Bowl to even the cosmic score after those various shipwrecks involving the Blazers.

YOU NEED to understand that there are direct lines from ownership to success (or lack of it) on the field or court.

The same teams do well almost every year.

Clubs with circus ownership never seem to turn it around.

Believe me, these are not accidents.

When the news reached Seattle that the Paul Allen estate was going to fulfill the wish of the Microsoft billionaire and sell his sports teams to fund various philanthropies, everyone who knew Allen understood.

Almost exactly 20 years ago, I interviewed Allen for a magazine story about the architecture involved in what is now Lumen Field.

We spent around four hours at Allen’s office in Bellevue.

When the arrangement had been made, Paul’s secretary told me not to worry about lunch — that Allen was “taking care of it.”

Paul himself asked if I liked Chinese food, and I said yes, I certainly did.

I was thinking we’d be leaving the office for a splendid restaurant — but no, Paul ordered takeout and we ate from cartons in his office conference room.

(It was awesome “General Tso’s Chicken,” for the record.)

Back to discussion about the new stadium.

Paul explained that he refused to give concessionaires too sweet a deal, just because he could.

“Everyone acts differently around money,” he said. “I want a fair deal like anyone else, because I intend for my money — on the team, the stadium and so forth — to wind up eventually with people who really need it.”

Paul laughed.

“You contributed today, you know, having lunch in cartons,” he said.

“I hope you get more than the stadium story. I hope you feel good.”

In fact, I did.

And now, two decades later, I’m glad that Jody moved Paul’s trust in that same direction.

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Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press three times each week, normally Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday unless, you know, stuff happens.

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move