The Truth about Super Bowl XLIX

It’s 2 a.m. and I should be sleeping. I wish I were. Yet, the fever that has plagued me for days has intensified, causing my sleepless mind to wander on over to the memory of the Seahawk’s Superbowl loss.

It has been five days since the game and the vision of the end zone scramble, players falling, the ball…. – still clear. I remember my eyes roving over the players, my mind screaming “where is the ball?!” and the announcer’s voice breaking through the fog.

“OH MY GOD, IT WAS INTERCEPTED!”

I have no doubt my stomach felt like most 12’s. Nausea. Heartache. I calmly whispered, “No.” Where our house had been a maniacal thunderstorm of cheers and “SEA”, “HAWKS”, the ruckus in the neighborhood, suddenly it was a silent as the theatre after “American Sniper.”

I followed my whisper with the recognition, “Wow, that Patriot’s player just made a name for himself. Good for him. Wow. Damn. That was a good play.”

In all the hoopla over “the worst call – ever,” people have lost sight of what truly happened. To say that I am a Seahawks Fan is to understate the love I have for this game and this team. I stood there, in my living room, wearing my unwashed Hawks flannels and Kearse Jersey. I saw Wilson’s face, followed by the camera’s close up of Pete Carroll. I knew Coach was manning up to face the team and understood what was set before him in the locker room and the return home. I too wondered, as the announcers verbalized the question – why?

So here’s the answer.

The Seahawks lost because Malcolm Butler did his job and played Football. Because the game is about what every other game of ball is about. One team attempts to move and one team attempts to prevent movement.

If we truly love this game, we have to see beyond which team we wanted to win, even as a Hawks fan, and envelop the beauty of Butler’s play. He saw what was going down and played that ball. He secured the Superbowl (can you feel the adrenaline?) for the Patriot’s. He outplayed the best quarterback of the NFL, he took Lockett out (pass interference or playing the ball?), he did the job and owned that football. He outplayed one of the top NFL teams, their defensive coaches, their head coach – who would have won that game – and nailed that trophy for The Patriots, securing a ring for himself.

I can’t give you statistics, quote numbers, run a play. I’m simply a lover of the game because of the rush it gives me watching the action on the field. I know who’s good and who ain’t so good. I understand how the game works but I couldn’t be a play-by-play announcer. I can only imagine that our coaching team knew Butler was a rookie, had watched him play and just as the Patriots lined their defense against Beast Mode, our offense may have thought the little throw across that line was an easy in, against the less experienced player. Just a thought.

Congratulations Malcolm Butler. Job well done, man.

And Mr. Carroll, don’t feel too bad. Because, the loss really was my fault.

Ten minutes into the game my daughter realized I didn’t have the flannels on. I was mistakenly wearing jeans. And the only other time I’ve missed the start of the game with the flannels, the Hawks lost.

I whipped on the flannels and squelched the thought, “Damn, I hope this isn’t a sign.”