Super Bowl Champions Seattle Seahawks (SuperHawks)
It took only thirty-eight years but we finally made it. The Seattle Seahawks have ended their drought and have won their first ever Super Bowl Championship in franchise history. The Seahawks began their inception to the NFL in 1976. The Seahawks originally played their games in the historic know blown up Kingdome and were part of the AFC West. The Hawks are the only team to have played in the AFC and NFC Championships. Four NFL Hall of Famers have come from the Seahawks, which include Steve Largent, Cortez Kennedy, Warren Moon, and Walter Jones. The Seahawks have won the eight division titles and two NFC Championships in 2005-2006 and this season in 2013-14. The first time the Seahawks made it to the Super Bowl the Pittsburgh Steelers trounced them in 2006. The final score to that game (Super Bowl XL) was 21-10 in favor of the Steelers. The loss to the Steelers was devastating to the city of Seattle, and it proved the fact that every major Seattle team collapses in the big game. The other major sports team to have won a Championship title was the Seattle Sonics in 1979, but since then they have been relocated to Oklahoma City and are now the Thunder. The Seattle Storm of the WNBA also won a World Championship in 2004 and 2010. Lastly the University of Washington Huskies won an NCAA Football National Title in 1991 co-sharing it with the Miami Hurricanes. The Seattle Mariners have never even made it to the World Series and in 2001 they tied the best record (with the 1906 Chicago Cubs) of all-time with 116 wins but lost in the ALCS to the New York Yankees four games to one. So to say the least, Seattle sports fans have shared in their lifetime amount of disappointment and misery.
The 2013-14 Seahawks brought a sense of hope, faith, and unity for the city of Seattle and their sports fans worldwide. I am from Seattle and am a recent transplant of LA and there are droves of Seahawks fans that congregate to Seahawks bars in Southern California and the city of Los Angeles. I had the privilege and honor of attending Super Bowl XLVIII where the Seahawks faced off against the Denver Broncos and Peyton Manning. The Seahawks number one defense versus the Broncos number one offense and the proclaimed greatest offense in NFL defense. First of all the 12th man (Seahawks fans) invaded MetLife Stadium in New Jersey and brought the house down with deafening noise. The Hawks basically had a home game in the Super Bowl because the 12th man was so loud. Usually the Super Bowl attendees are corporate business people who have the money to pay for the expensive tickets to the biggest game in sports, but this Super Bowl contained many faithful Blue and Green Seahawks fans. As a fellow Seahawk fan I can say that Hawk Nation came out to support our hometown boys in full force. It seemed like there was at least a 10-1 ratio of Seahawks to Broncos fans in New York at Times Square as well as at the game in New Jersey. Hawk Nation stood up the whole game, passionately cheering and screaming their lungs out for the Seahawks. The #12th man was able to cause a few false starts and get into the head of Peyton Manning and the Broncos players.
On the first play of the game, the ball was snapped over Peyton Manning´s head as he was trying to audible out of the play, which resulted in a safety and a 2-0 lead for the Seahawks. The Seahawks Legion of Boom (LOB) and defense brought the pressure to Manning and intercepted him twice and forced two fumble recoveries. Malcolm Smith was named Super Bowl MVP as he picked off Manning´s pass for a defensive interception touchdown return and the first touchdown of Super Bowl XLVIII.
The Seahawks offense was also clicking on all cylinders as quarterback Russell Wilson threw for 206 yards, two touchdowns and was 18-25. Wilson outplayed the MVP of the League in Peyton Manning, who threw a Super bowl record of 34 completions with only one touchdown and three turnovers two which were costly interceptions. Wilson was turnover free. Russell finished with a passing rating of 123, while Peyton finished with a 73 passer rating.
The Hawks did not only show up against the Broncos but they obliterated them on a national level. It seemed like the Seahawks were playing at a different speed and level of intensity than the Broncos. The Seahawks were flying in with multiple defenders swarming to make vicious tackles. The Hawks played this game like it was their last and it showed. The Broncos were playing at a slower pace and the Seahawks defense and the Legion of Boom overwhelmed them. Denver looked like they were playing an exhibition game while Seattle was playing to win the Super Bowl. Strong Safety Kam Chancellor was putting the hitstick on Denver receivers and gave devastating blows to Denver´s Knowshon Moreno and Demaryius Thomas. The Super Bowl MVP Smith also made huge plays intercepting Manning to the house as well as forcing and recovering a fumble on defense.
The big playmakers for the Seahawks on offense were wide receivers Doug Baldwin, Percy Harvin, and Jermaine Kearse. Jermaine a fellow alum and graduate of the University of Washington Huskies scored a magnificent touchdown where he spun twice off of defenders and glided into the endzone. Kearse finished with 65 yards receiving and one touchdown. Doug Baldwin also caught a touchdown and led the Seahawks with 66 receiving yards. Percy Harvin pretty much sealed the deal for the Seahawks as he returned the opening kickoff of the second half for a touchdown burning the first 12 seconds of the 3rd quarter. Harvin showed off his tremendous wheels when he took a fake running back handoff from Russell Wilson thirty yards down the sideline for a big gain and a first down. Beastmode Marshawn Lynch had a quiet day with only 39 rushing yards on 15 carries but he did score a touchdown for the Seahawks.
The Seahawks made the big plays early and often. Denver on the other hand was stifled by the defense of the Seahawks. The big playmakers for Denver such as Wes Welker, Eric Decker, and Julian Thomas were all shutdown. Even the Broncos Demaryius Thomas had a somewhat pedestrian game. Broncos Tight End Julian Thomas was shutout and did not even have a reception. In the end the Seahawks defense was too fast, too physical and too dominant for the Broncos and Manning to handle. The final score was 43-8. The Seahawks had a chance to put up 50 points on the Broncos, and even shut them out. The score showed how much better of a team the Seahawks are than the Broncos. The Seahawks were prepared on all levels. LOB brought the heat and frustrated Manning´s historic prolific offense making them look like a pee-wee football team.
The analysis of the game should be how much better the Seahawks defense was than how bad Manning played. People are crucifying Manning now since he lost the Super Bowl for his second time. The last time he lost was in 2009 vs. the New Orleans Saints and another short quarterback named Drew Brees. The fact is the Peyton is still one of the greatest quarterbacks in the NFL, he just happened to face the best defense the league has probably ever seen. These Seahawks are up their with the 1985 Bears who won the Super Bowl and only lost one game. The Seahawks are solid and deep all around. They have two all pros in the secondary in Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman. The linebackers Bobby Wagner, KJ Wright, and Malcolm Smith are also big time playmakers, and the defensive line is aggressive in applying pressure with guys like Cliff Avril, Michael Bennett, and Red Bryant. The Seahawks defense outplayed and outmanned Manning (see what I did there?).
From special teams, offensive production, and defensive pressure and intensity, Seattle brought the rain. The Seahawks and their fans have been waiting a long 38 years to celebrate, and today they will have a parade in Seattle fit for a World Champion. The crazy thing is that this team will still be in tact next season and have a ton of young studs under contract for pennies on the dollar. The Seahawks hope to make this Championship parade a continuous thing and they will have a great chance to do so for the foreseeable future. Today 700,000 fans came out to support and celebrate the Seattle Seahawks and their Super Bowl win. There are more fans in attendance than actual residents of the city of Seattle.
Seattle Seahawks World Champions, saying that never gets old.
