That game made me sad.

Is it possible for all 4 remaining teams to lose, instead of just 3? I think at this point I hate the Cards least. Go Cards.

yet dangled precariously over the abyss time and time again due to a makeshift offensive line and a pathological inability to defend tight ends.

I think you nailed it with those two factors. I wanted them to go all the way, but after watching their performances during the regular season, there's no way I would have put any money on them to make it to the Super Bowl, much less the NFC championship game. And they were lucky -- due to that missed close-range field goal by the Vikings -- to even make it as far as Charlotte.

They were painfully inconsistent, and yes at times brilliant. Losing to both the Cards and Rams at home? Yeech. It seems like their D would get a TD almost every game 2 yrs ago , but not this year.

@2: I probably hate the Cards least, too. My significant other knows even less about this sport than I do, but every time he sees or hears the words "New England Patriots", he mutters "Cheating cheaters" under his breath.

Spike, thanks for a brilliant season of writing. In a sea of mediocrity, you are a capable, witty, and stable flotation device.

18 absolutely entertaining games this year. Thanks Hawks! Thanks Spike! Next year's gonna be fun.

If Seattle had lost either of those games they would not have had home-field advantage against San Francisco in the NFC Title Game they won by Richard Sherman's fingertip en route to the Super Bowl.

A game that was, to me, far more exciting than that year's Super Bowl win over Denver.

@9- When games are as one-sided as that Super Bowl I have trouble enjoying them. I don't feel sorry for the loser of a tight match or even the team that is able to put up some points even though they're over matched. But when it feels like my team is teabagging a five year old I get vaguely guilty.

When games are as one-sided as that Super Bowl I have trouble enjoying them.

My feeling as well. I like a game that is well-played by both sides, close in points and, ideally, where "my" team wins. It was unfortunate the Hawks lost last year's Super Bowl but it was a damn exciting game (and you have to give Malcolm Butler credit for a superb, heads-up play), just like our win over Green Bay for the NFC championship.

This year, it's hard for me to imagine the Super Bowl being as thrilling as the Packers-Cards game this past weekend.

Was good to see Russell Wilson claw them back into it. He had me believing there was a chance for several minutes in there.

I'd like to thank Andy Reid for helping us win on Saturday, his time management skills are truly beyond compare. Time for Broncos/Patriots AFC title game version 3. Should be a good one.

DOUG: What are the odds the Seahawks win the Super Bowl now??

@12: I'll give you 8 to 1.

I'm pulling for the Panthers, because I like former Bears Ron Rivera, Greg Olsen, and Charles "Peanut" Tillman, and think they deserve a championship, and also because I want to see them beat the daylights out of the Patriots (assuming Denver can't manage it).

because I want to see them beat the daylights out of the Patriots

Or, as I call them, the Deflatriots.

@1 Nailed it!