Denver had Manning. Seattle had destiny.

With this season, there seemed to be an inevitability about the whole thing.

During the season, it almost always seemed  the bounces went Seattle's way more than they otherwise might (Haters complaining about refs, notwithstanding.)

Before it started, I had no idea who was going to win.  Both teams had great strengths; both teams had some glaring weaknesses.

Injuries during the game would be amplified: injuries to Seattle's secondary late in the game made no difference.

Richard Sherman became a latter-day Joe Namath.  Payton Manning put me in mind of Rick Mirer.

I was concerned that there would be a lack of production by the offense: I anticipated Dr. Manning reprising the role of Dr. McDreamy in an operating room.  I bought into the hype of his stats.

The Legion of Boom has been outstanding all season long... but I thought Manning might make them "average" and a lack of Seahawk offense could be just enough.

Or not.



How many times had we heard the "veteran, been-there-before" shtick in discussions of the teams generally and quarterbacks specifically, with obviously, once again, the wrong NFL MVP versus the Young Guns of the Seahawks and their lack of experience.

It would seem that Seattle has forever removed that part of the equation from pre-game discussions.

The battle of defense over offense?  At this point, that perspective seems as settled as the Pythagorean Theorem.

Seattle played brilliantly.  Carroll unleashed the Harvin, who showed the promise he was brought in to show. With a blinding speed that left the Broncos stunned… and who slammed the coffin door shut while locking it in place.

If they weren't dead at the half, Harvin buried them alive.

In this interview, speaking for many Denver fans:



Pete Carroll took a diverse group of throw-aways, never-weres, and weren't-supposed-to-bes and made them the best in football.  He took a QB who needs taller guys to reach to the top-shelf in the kitchen, and engineered an offense that wasn't nearly as flashy as last year's and which, statistically, nosed downward in the last half of the season... causing part of my concern.

In the almost 4 decades I've been a Seahawks fan from the city of my birth, (A city unrecognizable from when I lived there) we've put up with everyone from Jack Patera and Jim Zorn to Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson.

It was so bad, that German engineers volunteered to help them out.



It's been a long ride, and I can now tick this off my bucket list.

Congratulations to the entire Seahawk organization, from security guards to groundskeepers to trainers and equipment managers to cooks and dishwashers and everyone in between.  You have done the state proud, and once again, made Portland feel inadequate.

Thus ends the nonsense from the haters of the 49ers and the Broncos, the playground taunting the insecure so favor... the ending of the "how many rings do YOU have?" mantra as if, obviously, that kind of "I got picked last on the playground a lot" tripe actually mattered.



Seattle Seahawks, Champions of Super Bowl XLVIII.

You done good.

My concerns for next year are based on salary caps and issues related.  Can Seattle keep this team together?