I’ve come up with a phrase or two over my ten years of publishing my thoughts online that I particularly enjoy. One of those is “comprehensive ass-kicking,” used to describe, well, comprehensive ass-kickings.
I’m pretty sure the Super Bowl is the classic example of one.
Man, that was ugly. I missed the opening 12 seconds, as we were hosting friends and there were kids running around and we lost track of time. I raced downstairs, kicked on the TV, and looked at the clock. “Cool,” I thought, “I didn’t miss anything.” Then I saw the score. 2-0, Seattle. Wait, what?
I also missed most of the third quarter as we were saying our goodbyes and putting the kids to bed. So I missed Percy Harvin’s back-breaking kickoff return to start the half.
In other words, I pretty much missed the two most important moments of the game. And when I was watching, I was putting away some quality beers with alcohol contents in the 7-10% range, so my view of the game may have been impaired.
Not a bad game to miss the details of.
I never saw that result coming. If there was going to be a blowout, surely it was going to be Peyton throwing for 500 yards and eight TDs, right? But, he looked awful in the biggest game of the year. Again. Seattle overwhelmed the Denver line, the Legion of Boom manhandled the Broncos receivers, and Peyton never looked sharp when he did have time. It’s not all Peyton’s fault, and he doesn’t deserve all the blame. It is, though, another pretty weighty piece of his evidence for those who argue he isn’t the greatest QB to play the game.
Seattle, in many ways, reminds me of the early Belichick-era Patriots. They are not loaded with superstars. Marshawn Lynch is a great back, but I doubt many people would put him in the top five in the league. Russell Wilson isn’t an imposing quarterback like Andrew Luck, nor a game-breaker like a healthy RGIII. But that dude finds a way to make big plays over-and-over. Richard Sherman gets most of the attention on defense, but that side of the ball is loaded with great players the average fan can’t name. Just one of those teams with a bunch of guys who are put in the ideal position by their coaches and turn into a roster that is better as a whole than its parts are individually. It will be very interesting to see how they handles success, as they have the parts and salary structure to keep being good for awhile if everyone remains committed.
Congrats to Seattle. I don’t think any city/franchise “deserves” to win when they’ve waited years to do so. But it was cool to see Seahawks fans hugging each other after the game. It’s funny how sports does that to us.
And I hope that Peyton comes back for another season. Not because he can’t stand going out like that, or because he’s obsessed with adding a second Super Bowl ring. No, I want him to come back because he was brilliant this season. Even in an era where the passing game rules, and guys like Aaron Rogers, Drew Brees, and Tom Brady have done ridiculous things, and Matt Stafford and Andrew Luck seem poised to push the game forward again, Peyton is still the pinnacle of the modern pro quarterback. I want to keep seeing him sling it around and making defenses look silly as long as he can do it.
Now on to college hoops and the wait for pitchers and catchers to report…