What an Entertaining Football Game!!

We don’t do a lot of NFL on this site but yesterday’s NFC Championship was absolutely one for the ages. Seattle pulled off an improbable win over Green Bay during the last 5 minutes of the game and the first possession of overtime.

My boy was “sick” yesterday so I took one for the team and stayed home from church to watch what was a very boring first 3 quarters. However, the game got awesome at the end of the 4th period. The rest of my crew was home by then and we all watched the finish of what has to be one of the most historic playoff games ever. It was wildly entertaining and reminded me why I love sports. You just never know. It’s not scripted, it’s raw, it’s emotionally powerful and you are watching some of the greatest athletes on planet Earth play for a chance to go to the biggest sporting event on Earth. (Some may argue that’s actually the World Cup and not the Super Bowl)

I don’t have a stake in either team but was still glued to the TV. You have to love the passion of Seattle Seahawks fans. They are insane. I know the 12th man thing gets old but you’d be hard pressed to name any other professional franchise and town that goes that bonkers for a game. It’s like a college atmosphere, but with 50 year old rich dudes cheering as passionately as college kids. You just don’t see that much more these days at the pro level. And for those of you that are MLS fans – you know it’s not abnormal for Seattle to pack 60,000 into the same crib for their soccer team.

The other reason I am so entertained by Seattle is they have a player on their team that I consider to be the most compelling figure in the NFL – Richard Sherman. I did not see him in any post game interviews yesterday but his rant from last year is still one of the best ever. Though the Erin Andrews clip got all the attention, his interview with Ed Werder of ESPN just a minute later was a lot more entertaining. That’s where he dropped the classic “Crabtree is mediocre at best” and followed it with a wink. A lot of people thought Sherman was just another loud mouthed NFL guy going off. I find the guy compelling because he is not that at all. I believe he is from Compton, CA, attended Stanford and excelled academically, and ends up being one of the best corners in the game. He is very bright and I’m always interested to hear what he has to say. Kind of like I love listening to Charles Barkley. Here’s the clip from last year:

 

A few take-aways from yesterday’s game:

• Russel Wilson played terribly up until the end
• Beast Mode’s run where he tells the team not to celebrate yet was awesome to watch.
• How unreal was the 2 point conversion after that TD that put Seattle up by 3?
• I was then amazed that Green Bay was able to overcome the shock and actually go down and tie the game.
• The final bomb by Wilson was ridiculous
• Green Bay obviously settled for far too many field goals
• The Packer player that botched the on-side kick is taking all the heat. However, I said this out loud when it happened – I thought the Green Bay player should not have taken a knee after the interception. Not sure he would have gone to the house but he seemed to have a lot of running room in front of him. That could have nullified everything that happened thereafter.
• What’s crazy is the least talked about play of the game might have been the most incredible – the fake field goal for a TD earlier in the second half by Seattle. It’s very subtle but notice as well how the Seattle player does an Aaron Rodgers “Discount Double Check/WWF wear the belt” celebration!
• How bout the clip of the Seattle player cruising around on the police bike. Just a great win for that entire city:

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