Seattle Seahawks: Fighting Dreams of a Super Bowl Win
By Todd Pheifer
Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
The Seattle Seahawks can win the Super Bowl. As in, this year. No longer is the franchise at a stage where the team is projected to be a major contender in the next season or two. The future is now.
Sometimes fans get a little nervous about confidence. The more confident you are in your team, the greater chance that a letdown could eventually occur. Still, there comes a point where the reality starts to set in and the excitement is hard to quell.
The Super Bowl is a genuine reality for the Seattle Seahawks.
Obviously this is not earth-shattering news. Seattle has not snuck up on anyone in 2013, and the hype started long before the opening kickoff in September. What has changed is the fact that the season is progressing rather quickly and many of the early obstacles have been overcome with relative success.
Back in September, and even in October, fans could argue that it was just too early to get excited. Truthfully, they would be right. You don’t proclaim that your 4-0 team is ready for the Super Bowl.
It is now almost mid-November, and we are no longer in the “early” part of the season. Seattle has had some shaky games, but they are 9-1 and have a very reasonable shot at running the table.
On paper, the Seahawks still have the formula for success. They have a special quarterback in Russell Wilson, a top-notch running game led by Marshawn Lynch, a quality group of receivers that is about to get even better with Percy Harvin, and a talented defense.
Sure, there have been issues with the offensive line, and Seattle has won a few games where they probably did not deserve to come out on top. And yet, Russell Okung and Breno Giacomini may come back just at the right time. Harvin could infuse an exciting level of energy into an offense that was already doing very well.
The master plan just might come together.
There is also the fact that the rest of the schedule shapes up very nicely for Seattle. Barring a major setback, the Seahawks are in the driver’s seat to finish the year with a record worthy of homefield advantage throughout the playoffs. The San Francisco 49ers and New Orleans Saints won’t be pushovers, but the ‘Hawks have shown that they have the resilience to win big games.
Through all this there is an ongoing sense of cautious optimism. Fans do not want to get ahead of themselves as they have been down this road before. The fans are loyal, but Seattle continues to be a city that is short on championship hardware. Unfortunately, the Emerald City does not have a long history of fielding teams that are perennial contenders. This year may be a unique opportunity.
Be calm, Seattle fans, but maybe you can start to dream of a Super Bowl win…just a little bit.