Super Bowl XLVIII – putting demons to rest?
The Seattle
Seahawks are back in the Super Bowl after an eight-year hiatus. Their
return has brought back memories for me as a Steeler fan. I was able to
go to the game in Detroit in 2006 and really enjoyed my time there
(helps of course when your team wins).
But after the game was
over and I was done taking my pictures and taking it all in, the very
NEXT thing I did was to seek out some Seahawk fans….to shake their hand
and congratulate them on a good game and a great season.
The
‘Hawks fans I met were obviously disappointed but seemed grateful for my
words and show of sportsmanship. Little did I know that the talking
heads of the sports media world were whipping up a manufactured
controversy which would howl like an Alberta Clipper for years to come.
I feel no need to burden the reader with the details of the same here
(I had done a rebuttal of a manifesto put together by a pair calling
themselves The Seahawk Boys – I provide the link at the end), but as
with any controversy many picked it up and ran with it. Never mind the
fact the whole issue with Super Bowl XL was largely overblown. Never
mind the fact the Seahawks made too many mistakes to overcome. Again,
people love controversy and conspiracies – real or imagined – and cling
to them.
Adding fuel to the fire in 2010 was the referee of the
game, Bill Leavy, admitting to “kicking” two calls in the fourth
quarter of the game. As expected, that story was also overblown. Never
mind the fact that Leavy was at Seahawk camp at the time and perhaps
sensed the proverbial “elephant in the room” and elected to say what
they wanted to hear.
Fast forward to now. Seattle is back in
the big game. While I may have Richard Sherman to thank in part, I am
not hearing a whole lot about Seattle’s last trip to the big one. I
have not heard any Seattle sports folks looking back and making snide
remarks about the officials….they seem uniquely focused on what’s ahead,
versus what happened in the past.
I take this as a good omen.
I had written years back about some fans’ insistence on clinging to
SBXL and squawking (pun intended) about how “the fix was in, the
‘Stealers’ needed help to win,” etc. I had stated how I hoped Seattle
could make it back to the Bowl and win it this time; and how that would
allow said fans to release some of their anger about the game in
Detroit, while finally putting to rest some demons that have plagued
them for so long.
I think it helps that no one on the current
Seattle roster were there in 2006. I think it will help that Seattle
comes in this time with a top-rated defense vs. a top-rated offense.
This might be the chance at long last for “Steeler Nation” to finally be
able to reminisce on SBXL without being made to feel guilty about it
out of turn.
On the flip side, someone brought up to me the
potential lead storyline to this game: About “golden boy” Peyton
Manning coming all the way back from the brink to win another title.
That reminded me of the leading storylines from eight years ago: Jerome
Bettis coming home to win a ring, Coach Cowher finally winning the big
one….
Uh oh….
The person I spoke to then suggested a
different ending that might be even better for me as a Steeler fan:
What if the refs make glaring errors (REAL errors vs. perceived ones) in
this game to allow Manning and the Broncos to win. Seattle fans will
have a brand-new controversy and focus for their disappointment and ire
and be even more likely to leave [Steeler Nation] alone. So instead of
putting old demons to rest, that would awaken all-new ones that would
quiet the old.
I asked “what about the other way?” What if a
key mistake by the refs directly allows SEATTLE to win the game? Then
those aforementioned fans would no longer have a leg to stand on
regarding “stealing one.”
Last year’s Super Bowl was lose-lose
for Steeler fans (their hated rival winning or another club getting
six). Perhaps this one is win-win after all. We’ll see….
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