Joe Nicholson- USA TODAY Sports
If you happen to listen to the weekly radio program I co-host on WNST AM 1570 – Baltimore (Saturdays 9AM-12PM) with my colleague, the Creator and Developer of “The Sports Column,” Brett Dickinson and our other co-hosts, John Sears and Dan Radov, first I want to say, “I love you.” Second, you would know that I am picking the Seattle Seahawks to put the “hay in the barn” and win the 2013 Super Bowl over the Houston Texans.
Before you criticize either one of my selections, I want to talk about the Seahawks and why they are the talk of the town in the NFL. First and foremost, this team does not lose at home. At all. The tunnel of noise they have created at CenturyLink Field is truly magnificent and the way the fanbase treats the Seahawks as gods makes visiting teams want to sight-see as opposed to playing the football game.
What sets them apart from other fanbases is that they treat every game like a spectacle, not just the fact that they get louder than everyone else — they just broke the Guinness World Record for decibels reached in a professional sports stadium with 136.6.
According to The Seattle Times, the record was already broke in the first quarter when Michael Bennett sacked San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick with just over a minute left in the first quarter. The previous record was set during a soccer match in Istanbul at 131.76 decibels. As passionate as soccer fans are, the Seahawks fans broke the record with that one play at 131.9.
According to Bill Stewart (sound engineer with SSA Acoustics in Seattle), the record number of 136.6 came in the third quarter as the Seahawks defense once again prevented the 49ers from scoring on a goal-line stand.
I find it hard to believe the record wasn’t set when former Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander rose the “12th Man” flag. The place rocks… even for Seattle Sounders MLS games. You read that correctly.
The scary part about the Seahawks? They are missing one of their top corners in Brandon Browner. Their top pass-rusher in Chris Clemons. Newly-added wide receiver Percy Harvin is hurt. And they still wooped on the defending NFC Conference champions on national television. And Russell Wilson had a mediocre football game. The list goes on and on.I can’t rant and rave enough about what I like about this football team.
I am a native Baltimorean and this is a throwback to the 2000 Baltimore Ravens Super Bowl championship team. They have all the makings, but a better quarterback. They play physical defense, they run the football with Marshawn Lynch and they play special teams and they can occassionally bust out a 300-yard passing game.
Steven Bisig- USA TODAY Sports
I have never been a Pete Carroll guy, but I’d love to play for him. You can tell by watching him as he patrols the sidelines that not only does he love his team, but he loves the city and the game of football. His positive mentality was need for this franchise that suffered a long Super Bowl hangover before his arrival. Fans were asking for Matt Hasselbeck to make a return visit… just put that in your mind.
For me, the turning point of this team as a legitimate contender came in Week 1, yes, Week 1 in their 12-7 win over the Carolina Panthers.
You might be saying:
“Jeff, Week 1?”
“It’s only the Panthers… are you nuts?”
“They scored 12 points and were in a dogfight until the end.”
What some fans don’t realize is just how hard it is for a west coast team to travel to the east coast and win a football game when kickoff is slated for 1:00 PM. That’s the equivalent of playing at 10:00 AM Pacific. Do you think you could perform in peak condition at 10:00 AM? Most Americans can’t and that’s why I have the utmost respect for what this organization is doing.
They will go undefeated at home for back-to-back years and they will likely be a No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the NFC this season. Book it.
