Win or lose this afternoon, it’s been a great ride.
Now that the Seattle Seahawks have one Super Bowl trophy in their possession, some Seahawk fans, the 12th Man, might be able to admit to a little less nervousness about this afternoon’s game, Super Bowl XLIX — 49 for non-Roman numeral readers — against the New England Patriots. Last year, any nervousness evaporated in the opening seconds of that game as the Denver Broncos’ first snap sailed into the endzone.
We’re mature fans now, accustomed to success. Combine that with our Northwest cool attitudes, and we’ve got this. We’re confident. We’re ready for a matching set of Lombardi trophies, bookends for a library that includes “The Collected Speeches of Marshawn Lynch,” Volumes 1 through 12 and “Holy Catfish: Steve Raible and the Art of the Catchphrase.”
OK. Who are we kidding? Of course we’re nervous. We were nervous for a good part of the season, especially when the Seahawks were 3-3, and we weren’t feeling that much more confident at 6-4. But with each win after that our confidence grew as did our enjoyment in the season.
Yet, our spirits may have been at their lowest after the first three quarters of the NFC Championship game against the Green Bay Packers on Jan. 17. With a fourth and final interception of a Russell Wilson pass with 5:08 left in the fourth quarter and the Packers leading 19-7, you could forgive even the most ardent 12 for saying, “Wait until next year.”
That was before the comeback, a reversal of fortune equaled in Seattle only by the Mariners’ 1995 Division Series against the New York Yankees.
In that final five minutes and in a handful of plays in OT, the Seahawks showed why they’ve earned the loyalty of their fans. A fake field goal turned into a touchdown pass. Richard Sherman gingerly holding an injured arm to his chest but using the other to bring Packers down. Marshawn Lynch ending a Beast Mode run by stepping and turning across the goal line. A busted two-point conversion play that sent Wilson scrambling and lobbing a successful pass into the endzone. In overtime, Wilson finding Doug Baldwin on third and six. And finally, after the duo of Wilson and Jermaine Kearse had combined for four interceptions in the game, Wilson keeping his faith in Kearse and winning the game with a perfectly placed pass expertly cradled by Kearse as he was brought down in the endzone. Oh, and as the Seahawks celebrated their second NFC Championship in a row, Michael Bennett borrowing a Seattle police bike for a celebratory ride and Wilson shedding tears that haven’t been seen from a Seattle athlete since Joey Cora.
So, it sounds contradictory, but we’ll be watching the game with a odd mix of nervousness and confidence. The nervousness comes from knowing that, deflated balls or not, the New England Patriots have charted as difficult a path this season as the Seahawks and have to be considered formidable. The confidence comes from knowing, now that the 12th Man has seen everything from the Seahawks, we can expect anything, including a second Super Bowl win in a row.
Enjoy the game.
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