Less pumped this week than last?

I am.

I've waited most of my life for our first Lombardi. But I'm not getting the nervous energy one gets from a 4 pack of Redbull or an NFCCG match-up against our hated rivals. Instead, I am TOO calm about meeting Manning and Denver for our date with redemption.

I am watching the Denver / Pats game for the 3rd time as I type. I am seeing missed pick 6s and what should be a crumpled Manning. I want my anxiety back. I am content, in fact overwhelmed, by this feeling that victory is certain. I am so overwhelmed with this sensation, that I find myself underwhelmed.

Like many of you, I am not a new fan. I have been an addict since I was 5. I've seen most of the greats and I feel honored to have lived in this era of great football. Many people on this board despise my posts because I am a realist. I am the guy that will tell your wife she looks fat in that dress if she asks. I don't measure my words and wear my heart on my sleeve. I don't do the "Rah rah rah there's never been a better QB than RW" thing. So when I feel the calm that I am feeling today, I know it must be legit and based on years of studying the nuances of this wonderful game.

I don't see HTH Denver is going to pull out a win against us. I love Manning. I've loved the guy since he was a kid at Tennessee. He is arguably the greatest ever...but I don't think he will be able to contend with what we have to offer...at every level of our D. Manning can yell "Omaha" 50 times and look for his rub routes and little crossing routes all day. Instead of success, he will find heartache. By the 3rd, his receivers are going to have little itty bitty gator arms...and if you know Peyton, you know how frustrated this will make him.

Manning is great and the consummate pro, but I've seen him get more pissed than rattled. Most QBs make mistakes when they get rattled, Manning makes mistakes when he gets pissed. I don't want to jinx us by offering the score I am feeling. But if I am correct, this will not be "one for the ages". I'll leave it at that.

Anyone else feeling this sense of calm that only comes with the certainty of domination? It's unsettling. But in a good way. GO HAWKS!

Precisely how I feel. I spent so much emotional energy the week, the day, the hours, the minutes all the way to the last second when the Immaculate Deflection occurred, that I cannot possibly get that hyped up again. Don't get me wrong, I am JACKED that we are in the Super Bowl more than most know, but the NFCCG against our most bitter rivals was a HUGE emotional drain for me. I don't have anywhere near the same feelings about the Broncos as I do the 49ers.

All that's left is this very strange, very profound sense of calm and confidence.

Just wait. It's like a bye week. The nerves will start to kick in, come next Saturday night, early Sunday morning (game day). And you will puke on your neighbor's lawn.

There's no doubt I will definitely start to feel the nerves and anxiety as the game draws closer...

Thanks Aros. You and I are on the same page. So pumped was I last week that I was getting emotional and had to look away when Paul raised the flag. Against Carolina, I was there with my gramps and son and my eyes actually welled up in tears (thanks again for SOS, Paul...I love you). This time I was wiser and knew to look away. LOL.

But this? I sure as hell hope the team isn't as comfortable as you and I.

I feel that we already played and beat two teams that are better than the Broncos - the Saints and then the Niners.
That is how little respect I have for the AFC this year. A broken, battered Patriots team was nearly the AFC champion.

What makes me jittery are my own thoughts about the team getting caught up in the spectacle and not treating it like
"just another game" like Bradshaw advised Wilson.

However, nothing in this teams DNA will allow them to play anything other than one game at a time and so they play
every game like it is a championship matchup.

nategreat":1qtnjzmc said:

Just wait. It's like a bye week. The nerves will start to kick in, come next Saturday night, early Sunday morning (game day). And you will puke on your neighbor's lawn.

Click to expand...

I hope you're right, bro. There's no truer emotion than fear and I live for that rush. Like many of us, I wanted the season to end exactly how it did. I am surrounded by 9er fans and have been most of my life, here. I think Aros might agree that the emotion from last week was actually built up since opening day of this season. Is was almost too much and I waned to smash my phone (and the caller) every time a non-Hawk or casual fan tried to call me (I had to leave it on for my Hawk bros). I was like "ARE YOU &*&^% NUTS...DO YOU REALLY THINK I'm GOING TO ANSWER YOUR CALL". I was concerned for the wife's sanity...but only during commercial breaks, lol .

This week I'm less pumped, because of the bye week for me. Thank the lord, because my nerves can sure use it after Sundays game.

Riley12":2wjd3m7u said:

I feel that we already played and beat two teams that are better than the Broncos - the Saints and then the Niners.
That is how little respect I have for the AFC this year. A broken, battered Patriots team was nearly the AFC champion.

What makes me jittery are my own thoughts about the team getting caught up in the spectacle and not treating it like
"just another game" like Bradshaw advised Wilson.

However, nothing in this teams DNA will allow them to play anything other than one game at a time and to play every game
like it is a championship matchup.

Click to expand...

Every time this thought pops into my head, I pull up the little *dialogue between ML and Sherm from that SoundFX thing. That was just incredible. What a team.

*if anyone is unfamiliar with this, please ask. It just blew me away.. ; )

I definitely feel nervous because it's a chess match with Peyton and if we guess wrong just once we may lose but I am confident Earl, Wagner and Sherman won't guess wrong.

Probably because it would emotionally almost hurt worse to lose to the Niners in the NFC Championship AT HOME than it would to lose the Super Bowl vs the Broncos on a neutral field.

Throwdown":107ag6da said:

This week I'm less pumped, because of the bye week for me. Thank the lord, because my nerves can sure use it after Sundays game.

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Actually, it's the bye weeks that stress me most. No wonder I'm spent...3 bye weeks in ONE season?

Yeeeeyow. < Just came out, I don't know what it means but rolled with it. Trying to stay in the moment" and all that. ; )

The Denver Broncos are that boring type of team. No show or excitement.. trust me, I live in denver.

The Outfield":38rdow7h said:

Probably because it would emotionally almost hurt worse to lose to the Niners in the NFC Championship AT HOME than it would to lose the Super Bowl vs the Broncos on a neutral field.

Click to expand...

Definitely a factor. No question.

Steelers, 9ers...same sh*t. Hate 'em much more than what would be accepted as rational or healthy.

I've come to the realization that I've just witnessed the best game in Seahawks history. The Super Bowl will be a bigger game for sure, but it will be hard for it to be a better game.

Feel the same way, well except that I can't stand Manning.

I am enjoying the calm before the storm. I've had enough of this vs that for a while. I'm staying off the other team's boards, ignoring what is said by the trolls coming here, not watching the tv coverage, etc. I just don't need it this time around. The week building up to the niner game I wanted everything I could soak in, let the hate build even more. I just wanted them to feel bad, to have their hearts broken so I could laugh at them. Now, it is time to enjoy what will happen. We made it here, the final game of the season, all is good.

I'm getting a lot done work wise, I'm enjoying the lack of stress. It is sit back and wait time.

Last two games have sucked me dry emotionally and vocally. There is a sb party on offer at a house with a fuzzy movie screen. I'm thinking of pocketing cab fare, food and booze offerings, and staying home with my new 60" samsung. Then I can indulge in my sick habit of putting certain critical plays on slow motion so I can properly see who is going where.

I feel more confident of a win this week, but I'm more pumped, not less.

It's a bye week, that's the biggest reason I'm not as excited as last week.
I'll get more and more excited as the game draws closer

The upcoming game is on my mind a lot, but I am also quite calm and feel confident. My logical side tells me this team has won relatively easily very few times and this will be no different but as I go through matchups and the like I keep thinking Hawks will win comfortably. I know my heart and blood pressure would appreciate that LOL. I do think the biggest matchup may well be our team's d-line vs. their o-line. We don't need to sack Manning a lot but I think we do need to hurry him up and make him be Checkdown Charlie as often as possible IMO. I'm waiting for the Fearless Prediction thread and an accurate weather report before I decide for sure if I'm going with nail biter or comfortable win.

And honestly I am not sure I will be more nervous next week than I was last. I suppose that's cuz it was the Whiners that were our Hawks' opponent.