Respect is earned, not given. But even so, the Seattle Seahawks, who finished the regular season with 13 wins and have advanced to Super Bowl XL with relative ease, are having a tough time garnering respect.
A cursory glance at the betting line indicates that the AFC's sixth seed, the Pittsburgh Steelers, are a four-point favorite over the NFC's top seed. The spread is simply a representation of the public's opinion, but it's quite obvious that they don't like the Seahawks to win the game.
Hidden up in the Pacific Northwest, the Seahawks have never really caught the attention of the masses. Just this year, their defense encompassed seven new starters, their defensive coordinator, Ray Rhodes, suffered a mild stroke, starting free safety Ken Hamlin was beaten into critical condition outside of a Seattle nightclub, running back Shaun Alexander set a new NFL record for touchdowns in a season, and he was also named the MVP of the league. If this was the New York Giants or the Dallas Cowboys, everyone would be dwelling on the adversity and the accomplishments, but in Seattle, they get their brief praise and everyone just moves on.
Last year, when Peyton Manning set a new record for the most passing touchdowns in a season, or even back in 2003, when Priest Holmes toppled Marshall Faulk's touchdown record, there was endless talk about the achievements. Not only that, the media tracked the week-to-week trails of these players throughout the season, projecting whether they would trump the benchmarks or not. Meanwhile, Shaun Alexander puts together one of the best seasons ever for an NFL running back with a rushing title, a touchdown title, and an MVP trophy, yet his time in the spotlight is ephemeral.
The Super Bowl is about storylines and quite frankly, the perception is that the Steelers are just the better fairy-tale.
There's the Bus, Jerome Bettis, who has yet to win a Super Bowl, trying to complete his quest for a ring in his hometown of Detroit. There's the promise, the one where Steelers rookie quarterback Ben Roethlisberger vowed to bring Bettis to the Super Bowl during the waning minutes of a painful loss to the New England Patriots in the 2005 AFC Championship Game. And there's Ben Roethlisberger, attempting to become the youngest quarterback ever to win the Super Bowl.
Even Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino had some words of encouragement for the Steelers and Ben Roethlisberger, when he advised him to cherish his championship opportunities because he may not get another chance.
But in the eyes of the casual fan, the Seahawks are short of stories.
Their postseason history is quite limited. They have only had seven appearances in 29 years and this will be the franchise's first-ever Super Bowl appearance. They have produced only one Hall of Famer, wide receiver Steve Largent, and even his retired number was unretired when Jerry Rice joined the Seahawks for what would be his final season.
They are just the unknown, small-town aggressor that is the mild obstacle keeping the protagonist from his glory.
But just because they won't make you feel all warm and tingly inside if they win doesn't mean that you should side with the other team.
The Steelers may be wearing their white road uniforms in an attempt to convince themselves that they are the underdog, but it is clear who the challenger really is.
The Seattle Seahawks and respect mix like Mondays and me.
"When I was a kid, if a guy got killed in a western movie, I always wondered who got his horse." — George Carlin
January 31, 2006
Jeff:
Seahawks 31-27 Steelers