[Sport] Superbowl XLVIII

After watching Scotland lose their first match of the 6 nations yesterday afternoon, I was hopeful that the second sporting event of my day would provide a closer, and more entertaining contest. Superbowl 48 featured the two top seeds, and arguably a classic match up. The Denver Bronco's record setting offensive unit, helmed by one of my favourite quarterbacks to watch, going up against the tough, hard-hitting, take no prisoners defensive force of the Seattle Seahawks, led by the 'Legion of Boom'. It had all the makings of a great game, and was certainly hyped up to the nth degree before the actual game. But was it actually any good? Spoiler alert - no.

This should have been a great game. Instead it was incredibly one-sided. (Credit: news.sportslogos.net)

The game started with Denver receiving the kickoff. Then their first play from scrimmage happened, and the nightmare began for the Broncos. As Peyton Manning walked forward to the line of scrimmage to audible the play, the centre snapped the ball over his right shoulder. Cue panic, the ball being chased into the endzone, and a safety for the first play of the game which became the fastest score ever in the Superbowl. If you weren't cheering for the Broncos then it was pure comedy; if you were (like myself) then it was beyond belief. There were some upsides though - Peyton Manning's face was priceless!

Peyton Manning's face as the botched snap sailed past him was the highlight of the night. (Credit: buzzfeed sports on Twitter)

From there it just went downhill for the Broncos. They didn't seem to be able to get anything going on offense, and their short yardage, high percentage passing game which paid dividends all year just wilted in the face of the Seahawks elite defensive players, who were on top of the Bronco receivers all game long. Which led to the inevitable - Peyton Manning playoff turnovers. Two of them to be precise, which led to a field goal and a touchdown. The Broncos failed to score at all in the first half, which was unheard of all season. That's how bad it was.

Then it got even worse. They kicked off at the start of the second half, only to see Percy Harvin scream past all of the the orange jerseys on his way to a kickoff return touchdown. That seemed to take the wind out of their sails, and by the end of the third quarter they looked beater. Yes, they scored a touchdown to at least get on the board, but it was answered straight away, and the defence just seemed powerless in the face of Russell Wilson and the Seahawks receivers. Their tackling was incredibly poor , and they fell apart. It was the biggest loss for many years (possibly the biggest ever), and frankly embarrassing for the Broncos.

This is pretty much how it went for the Broncos all night. The Seahawk defenders were all

over their receivers and running backs, giving them no room to move. It seemed like there were 

twice as many white shirts as orange on the pitch. (Credit: fansided.com)

I might have made it sound as though the Broncos lost the game, but to be honest, that's not the case. They didn't help their own cause, but the Seahawks took the game by the scruff of the neck right from the start. They looked composed and confident, and they stuck to their game plan. Which worked to a tee. It was notable that Russell Wilson looked the more comfortable of the two quarterbacks, and if I was watching blind and had to pick the veteran and the second year guy, I would have got them the wrong way around. He was incredibly impressive, and what's great is that he'll be around for a long time to come. My MVP would have been Percy Harvin though - he only made four or five contributions to the game, but they were backbreaking.

So it turns out that the old saying is true - defence wins championships! In this case very convincingly. Congratulations to the Seattle Seahawks on the first Superbowl win. Given what transpired last night, I'm sure it won't be their last.

Russell Wilson hoists the Lombardi Trophy aloft. He's now got as many Superbowl rings as Peyton Maning,

who's generally considered to be one of the best of all time. How long until Wilson is considered the same way? (Credit: nfl.com)