Superbowl matchup made in heaven?

Woo hoo, Seahawks....ok and if for some reason the Panthers pull it off, I'll....blog about that later. But in the AFC: go Steelies!

Photo from Seattle Times. Credit: Laura Stockler. "Twelfth Man" is the name given to Seahawks fans. I say these guys qualify...

UPDATE: 22 January, 4th quarter... I am peeing my pants as you read this--the Steelies are in the Super Bowl and the Seahawks are on their way...OH MY! This is madness!

"Daayum that superglue stuff really works!"

Normally I don't give a rip about the Superbowl, really, I mean, honestly. I'll go watch it if people ask but I have never had an emotional investment in anything more than getting beer and wings at the party and/or sports bar. But this year? Hyell yeah!

As the clock winds down on this NFC league championship game, I reflect on how I remember Seattle before the NFL even knew that it was a viable city worthy of an expansion team. My guys were Steve Largent, Jim Zorn, Kenny Easley, Jacob Brown, Dave Krieg, Curt Warner (of Penn State) and I remember Manu Tuiasosopo coming to our elementary school. I had the calendars, the garbage can, the pennant, the toothbrush holder, the activity book...thank goodness I was a tomboy because I bet my 'Hawks memorabilia from childhood would fetch a pretty penny on ebay (hmm...). Oh yes, and "Raider Busters" (sung to the theme of "Ghostbusters"), as a theme song for archnemesis Oakland.

Now, for me the Most Interesting connection is that while my eyes were opened to the world of the NFL growing up, the Pittsburgh Steelers were somehow always part of the picture. I believe these were the days when it was either the Steelers or Cowboys in the Superbowl and such. These images have rendered a soft spot I've always had for the "Stillers". Recall days of Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, Joe Green, Lynn Swann...am I dating myself here? And constructing my own thoughts on the mystery of why they only had the logo on one site of the helmet. I believe there is even a jersey I bought at some garage sale in 4th grade. Wow, I WAS a tomboy.

So, I can't think of a better team to win the AFC and I'm totally excited for Steelers fans everywhere. Because I kind of am one myself. Still, for this Superbowl matchup I will not stray from my Seahawkian roots, and all the years of that Kingdome, Bill the Beer Man, the conference switch, the uniform change and the loss of those classic silver helmets (but this new "Seahawk Blue" is kind of growing on me), and the era of broohahhaha about the new stadium and who was paying for it, and whether the team would just be sold and taken to somewhere like Topeka. Thank you Paul Allen for co-founding Mircosoft and ponying up with some of that hard earned cash to keep the team in town.

And to that, dear readers, I must also underscore that the matchup excites me because, unlike P-burgh, Seattle does not have a tradition of pro sports teams winning ANYTHING. Except for basketball, and those have been isolated bursts. One NBA championship in 1979 and poof! Dry spells in the 80's and 90's. Case in point: the Seahawks have SUCKED for as long as I've known. OK, so there were those few years of almost making conference something-or-other, but they always dawged it in the end.

Then, the slow fires of pro sports victories seemed to ignite in the mid 90's, when all of a sudden there was Major League Baseball in Seattle in OCTOBER (it was like what, the Mariners are still playing? Oh, wait they are still? Like they beat the Yankees in the playoffs? Where's the bandwagon, let's jump on!). And then late spring and summers all of a sudden brought this new team attached to a league called the WNBA and before you know it WOMEN were playing pro basketball. Who'd ever heard of such a thing? A few years pass and oh they keep winning more, hmm, they're pretty good, and woah, hang on? Whoosh, they just took the 2004 league title.

So, there may be things on the horizon to add to the SuperSonics (1979) and Storm (2004) championships, or at least the frenzy that surrounds the Getting There. As far as I know, there's no 'curse' legend that I'm aware of (sorry, Philly), but rather a lack of mojo. On a side note which is quite unfortunate but true, there are some sportsfans and spectators out there who claim that the WNBA title doesn't 'belong' in the annals of the city sports championships likely because because 'W' and 'slightly smaller fan base' equate to 'well that's not REAL pro ball' but well,..those people are 'ay-wads' so we'll ignore them.

So it's a good time to be a sportsfan, not just in the Northwesty mode but in general. There's way more choice of sports entertainment than ever before, and you don't have to rely on one team to make it or break it. You don't even have to know who all the teams are. And heck if sports are more Interesting than fretting over possible federal tracking of everything you google.

Ah, final seconds of this 4th quarter and...game over. Cheers to the Panthers for a good match. I imagine that Superbowl Fever is hitting Seattle as we speak and no one really knows what to do, save for those who are transplants from NFL-traditional zones, because they are so wigged on adrenaline, nonfat triple shots, and beer. I bet they're hitting Pioneer Square, tapping the kegs, and will be murmuring about it steadily while pretending to get work done over the next two weeks. And why not. These 2005 Seahawks seem like the 2005 Penn State team--a bunch of good guys who gel as a team, are not egomaniacs, show up for work, give to the community, and just keep on smiling that they win game after game. Come to think of it, that pretty much describes this year's Steelers team too. It's a win-win situation. I'd even say a super Bowl indeed.