Oh god here come the hipsters :)

Reminds me of what Molly Ivins said about Bill Clinton:

"If left to my own devices, I'd spend all my time pointing out that he's weaker than bus-station chili. But the man is so constantly subjected to such hideous and unfair abuse that I wind up standing up for him on the general principle that some fairness should be applied."

I hope the Seahawks get their asses kicked. If for no other reason than to piss off all the people flying their 12th man freak flag around.

And when the Bronco's kick their ass next Sunday I'm going to point out that fact on every Slog post for two weeks.

Sherman is indeed awesome, and you citizens of Seattle probably want this more than we do here in Colorado, and thus if there were any justice or mercy in this world, your lot would win. Alas, it's not to be. Broncos 17-10.

You'll fit right in, Paul. Without fair-weather fans, the Seahawks would have no fans at all.

dick sherman aside, what's not to like?

russell wilson is a serious christian, married, respectful to his elders, and undersized - america likes shit like that, don't they?

anything can happen in a football game. guys can tear their ACLs & MCLs stripping the ball from a reciever on the 1 yard line and have it completely missed by the refs.

if the fickle finger of fate goes seattle's way, and their defense can hurry manning, pick him off once or twice, there's no reason they can't win.

hawks, 27-17.

of course, i can also see it being 21-0 broncos in the 1st quarter.

@8 "dick sherman aside, what's not to like? "

Dick Golden Tate, for one.

Paul, they don't hate the Seahawks as much as they really hate Seattle and the people who live in Seattle and its environs. But most of all, there is real hate for Seahawk fans.

@9: oh, yeah. he is a dick. i like sherman so much more, and of course mrs. solomon refers to him as "my boyfriend". but i doubt most 'murkins even know who tate is, much less his BS stroll into the end zone.

@8, you're doing it wrong

1st quarter SEA 0, DEN 21
2nd quarter SEA 7, DEN 21
3rd quarter SEA 14, DEN 21
4th quarter SEA 28, DEN 21

Lynch gets one beast mode run where he carries like half the Broncos sideline over his head and physically picks up a Broncos safety, to wield as a cudgel, beating the out of his path. Sort of like how every time Sauron swings his sword in Fellowship of the Ring a dozen humans and elves go flying a twenty yards. Wilson will throw some ridiculous touchdown pass where you were 100% sure he wasn't just going to get sacked, but that he was going to get his spine blasted clean out of his flesh and through his uniform, but he slipped away.

If you want maximum "Kiss our asses, America," justice: That final touchdown is Sherman with an 80+ yard interception return for a touchdown off of Peyton Manning.

I may be a Giants fan but holy crap do I want the Seahawks to win. Also, it will keep reminding Peyton that his little brother Eli remains the superior quarterback, with two Super Bowl championships to Peyton's one.

Out backwater disterict against the leastern establishment. It's like the hunger game.

Go Seahawks!

Go Cascadia!

Remember when the Stealers were a big favorite? It was almost as though the fix were in. The ref'ing needs to be fair for the Seahawks to win. This post really sucks.

Broncos, schmoncos. What have they got beside some old guy that throws a lot of touchdowns? Also, their mascot is a pony. And their team color is orange. So, yeah, not gonna happen, Denver.

Broncos for the loss.

They already have retail pot shops, we only have medical ones

May the odds be always in the favor of your local sports franchise.

@ 12, holy shit, that's a hot wet dream.

To most of America, the face of the Broncos is that nice, polite white Southern boy who does all those funny commercials.

The face of the Seahawks is that angry, boastful black thug who scared that pretty blonde TV reporter.

So yeah, these results aren't too surprising.

I've hated the Bronco's with a deep, searing hatred since they beat Greenbay in 1997-1998.
Suffice it to say that I hope the Seahawks wipe the FLOOR with Denver.

how much do i want to wear a seahawk jersey that says 'thug' on it ? HOW MUCH ?

As much as it costs at the customized jersey store, Riz.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Paul should stay away from writing anything, anything at all about sports (and tech). It makes no more sense than Peyton Manning blogging about female 19th century poets. Just stick to your strengths.

@6 is stupid.

Seahawks 31, Broncos 21 ...eat it, haters!

I really think it's the Bible belt, the flyover states & the east coasters who are now freezing - and who swelter in their swamp-like humidity in the summer - that are jealous of us, of our progresive lifestyle & of our mild weather. Go Seahawks, GO Richard Sherman, lead us to the promised land, hallelujah!!!

What bigyaz @ 20 said.

People do not like the Seahawks for two reasons.

A. No one ever saw or heard from a Seahawk fan until the last few years.

B. A big part of Seattle's defensive strategy is to cheat by holding and interfering with passes to "feel out" how much the refs are willing to call, and then commit as many fouls as they think they can get away with.

The staff and players know that ref will not see every foul and they will not call them if they see them on every play (especially in playoff/Super Bowl situations), due to the "politics" around officiating. At its basic level, it is cheating.

Now, people are going to respond to this idea very negatively, but Seattle's own defensive coordinator already said this is what they do, and they lead the league in holding/pass interference penalties, which should tell you something.

Anyway, if you guys had been watching Denver games this year, you would notice that the typical way it goes is Denver stays competitive through the first half, either keeping the score close or holding a small lead, and then they come out in the second half and blow the doors off, scoring multiple touchdowns.

Do not be surprised to see something like 10-7 Seattle at the half, but have the game end up being 24-17 Broncos.

@29 I've lived in the northwest longer than the Seahawks and I've seen the sunshine patriotism of the team's fans through it all. Paul is a perfect example of the local variety of the species.

@28 if you understood football you would see how dumb your comments are -- the vast majority of NFL teams concede short outs and the like: they play off receivers and figure to hold them to short gains. The Seahawks don't: they play press coverage on every pattern, and man to man coverage on the outside, which means that the cover guy HAS to be in the receiver's pockets to be covering properly. This means they had BETTER be drawing more interference/illegal contact/holding penalties than other teams, but it also means that opposing QBs are held to lower completion rates. Both things are true. This does not constitute "cheating", this constitutes "winning". You seem to have confused the two.

You also seem to suggest that other secondaries don't sneak these penalties by, which is idiotic. Surely that's not what you meant to say.

@30: Do you seriously think Seattle is the only team that plays press coverage?

Dude, before you tell other people they do not understand football, you should try it yourself. Every team plays press coverage at times.

There is a difference between coverage and holding/pass interference, which is why the latter two are penalties which give the offense an automatic first down, and pass interference is a spot foul.

There is no debate here, really. Seattle's own defensive coordinator said what I said, that they "test" officials early to see what they are calling that day. To those of us who have been closely following football and its rule/culture changes for the last 20+ years, that is essentially coach speak for "we are going to hold and interfere until they start calling enough to make it no longer worthwhile."

Now, perhaps we disagree on what is "cheating." I feel intentionally fouling players with the knowledge that the refs will not see/call them all to be cheating. Others like you feel differently, that it is just part of the game, and breaking the rules is all part of it. To each their own.

It certainly is a winning but risky strategy right now, and nowhere did I say other teams do not try it as well. But it is Seattle's bread and butter, and no one else does it as brazenly or as well as Seattle, that is for sure. It is about risk and reward, and right now it is more reward...it is no coincidence that the teams with the best winning percentages the last 20 years also seem to have the most holding/p.i calls go against them.

But beware the one play where the official decides to call it when the game is on the line. You may not be so happy about it on that day, and you will call for the head of the ref even though he was looking the other way all day.

@28: Bullshit that nobody has heard from a Seahawks fan until the past few years. Of course there are a lot of bandwagon fans this year (it happens everywhere), but the Hawks have had a dedicated fan base for decades -- even when they sucked.