What a day. I, like I’m sure every Seahawks fan across the country, am still in shock that we were able to climb out of the hole we were in only to have the season ripped away in about 30 seconds. This is a difficult article to write. I get emotional over sports. I have such a passion for the games and for the teams that I root for that a loss stings…especially a loss of this magnitude. I could write a piece about what exactly went wrong and who we could possibly blame for the loss. I could also write about the future and how bright it looks. Hell, I probably will end up writing something about both of those topics, but this is not the time. This is strictly emotions.
The truth is that the future IS extremely bright for this team. The Seahawks, in my opinion, will be robbed if they don’t have the offensive and defensive rookies of the year. But that still doesn’t help what happened today. While the future looks incredibly bright, we all bought into the success of this season. We all invested in this team that got hot at the right moment and rapidly became the team that NO ONE in the NFL wanted to play. And then our road woes hit in the first half and we were down by 20 points and needing pretty much a miracle to get us back in the ball game. Then something clicked. Russell Wilson and the rest of the Seahawks got back into the game and fought with everything they had. They took the lead with less than a minute left, completing (what would have been) the largest comeback in NFL postseason HISTORY! And then the defense got a little too loose, and with 30-some seconds left on the clock Atlanta got just into field goal range and nailed the game-winner and ripped the hearts out of all of us in just a matter of seconds.
I wish I could see the reactions of that fourth quarter throughout the city, but I can only imagine them all being exactly like the house I was at. When Marshawn Lynch ran that last touchdown in and we took the lead, complete pandemonium broke out. 10 men screaming and hugging each other. Then, just as quick as we gained the lead, it was gone and the clock had struck zero. You could have heard a pin drop in that house; everyone sitting in disbelief, holding their emotions in while they realized this incredible season was over.
I have my own opinion on many calls by the coaching staff that would have affected the outcome of the game, but I’ll vent on those another day. Russell looked incredible out there setting yet another rookie record and the defense stepped up when the offense got us back into the game. There was simply just a little too much time left on the clock at the end. It’s going to be a tough loss and it’s going to hurt for a few days. And it should. If a game like this doesn’t make you cringe, you’re not following the team very closely. Brock Huard said it perfectly in the 710 ESPN Seattle post-game show when he was explaining the feeling of overwhelming excitement and relief followed too soon by shock and disappointment. He said that it’s feelings like that in sports that make us feel alive. I couldn’t agree more. Sure the loss hurts a lot, but try and remember how crazy your heart was pumping, both when we took the lead and when that last second ticked away. That’s what it feels like to be alive. Everyone in Seattle knew they had a pulse when they were jumping around.
As I said earlier, I get emotional over sports. They are my biggest passion and I devote a lot of time and effort into following them and am pursuing a career related to them. That is why this is such a hard column to find the words for. While I look forward to thinking about the long-term future of this franchise, it’s going to be a couple difficult weeks of thinking “what if?” But that is what comes with the territory when we allow ourselves to get so enamored with our teams.
I tip my cap to the Falcons for one hell of a game, and I think it goes without saying that we are rooting for them to take care of San Francisco this upcoming week. This was a special season by the Seahawks and I am damn proud of them, but this is just the beginning of some very good times ahead! Our “rookie” quarterback is 24 years old. The Legion of Boom are all either 23 or 24 (minus Brandon Browner, who is only 28). We have a franchise running back who is only 26 years old. This team is set up for MANY years of success. But for now we have to sit back and let this season drift away and get ready for training camp in August.
Be on the lookout for more analysis on the Seahawks’ season from Seattle Sports Central including postings regarding the upcoming draft and talk of next season. We can now get ready to follow the story of our Supersonics coming home as well as gear up for spring training in about a month. Thanks for reading, and hey, Go Hawks.
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Paul Reindl
Latest posts by Paul Reindl (see all)
- 2013 Mariners Season Preview – February 27, 2013
- 2013 MLB Predictions – February 9, 2013
- Seahawks Postgame Reaction: An Emotional Perspective – January 14, 2013
