When the Seattle Seahawks take the (possibly frozen) field against the Denver Broncos in Met-Life Stadium on Sunday for the NFL’s Superbowl, there is going to be bedlam.
Most of it will be directed at Richard Sherman, the young and very talented Seahawks cornerback, who has generously fulfilled America’s need for a baddie to go up against Peyton Manning, Middle America’s super-hero.
In last week’s NFC Championship game one of the “semi-finals” that determines the Superbowl combatants – between the Seahawks and their hated arch-rivals the San Francisco 49ers, Sherman reached athletically to bat away a last-minute pass aimed at the 49ers’ star wide reciever Michael Crabtree in the end-zone, the ball falling into the hands of a team-mate.
Instead of a potential winning touchdown for San Francisco, it was an interception, Seahawks ball, their narrow lead preserved and their ticket to New York (actually the stadium’s across the river in New Jersey) stamped.
But it’s what happened after that has America all agog. Sherman pursued Crabtree and gloated, helmet-to-helmet. Crabtree shoved him away, Sherman was given a penalty – and later fined – for “taunting”, which is frowned upon in the modern NFL (even if it happens almost constantly).
Shortly after the game concluded, Sherman was collared by FoxSports’ touchline reporter Erin Andrews for a live interview. Clearly still wired with adrenalin, he unleashed a rant of self-justification and disrespect for Crabtree, occasionally ignoring Andrews completely and speaking directly to the camera.
Sherman’s taunting and rant has divided America into those who love his cocky, brash and outspoken style, and those who think he’s a bragging narcissist with no conception of basic sportsmanship. The latter group are in the clear majority, and likely to give Sherman a notable reception at Met-Life.
The debate has been intensified, somehow, by the fact that Sherman is black and hails from the notorious Compton district of Los Angeles. However he’s an eloquent, thoughtful writer on the game, and he freely admits his brashness is designed to draw national attention to himself and his team, who are adored in their home area but were largely ignored throughout the US until they reached the Superbowl. Sherman’s also a communications graduate from Stanford, one of America’s top universities, so he knows how to play the media.
But it also works because Seattle’s opposition in the Superbowl is Denver, led by the great quarterback Manning. Actually his second name has almost become redundant in America, everybody knows who you mean when you refer to Peyton.
Manning has returned from multiple neck surgeries and being written off by his long-time employers, the Indianapolis Colts, to set all sorts of records for passing this season with Denver.
He’s just about been elevated to the sainthood as a result, even if as he himself often points out – the rules have been changed so often in the modern NFL’s passing frenzy to make such rules-smashing inevitable. Peyton is the antithesis of Sherman. For a start he’s white, and dresses off-field almost like a Midwestern preacher, in staid suit and tie, while Sherman is all dreadlocks and attitude.
Manning never gloats, boasts or taunts anyone, he simply runs to whoever has caught his pass for a touchdown and bumps helmets with them. When approached by touchline reporters seeking immediate reactions after games, he either waves them off or says something praising his team-mates or downplaying his achievements.
Thus with America’s ever-present need to have a goodie and a baddie, the meeting of Broncos and the Seahawks has been set up quite well. And while Manning and Sherman may come into direct conflict, it’s the overall battle of offense and defense that is the fascinating match-up.
The `Hawks have the best defense in the land, the Broncos by far the best offense. The perennial clich is that good defence beats good offense, especially with championships on the line, but the NFL has been tweaking for years to undo this truism.
The key actually might be Seattle’s offense, which has misfired throughout the playoffs. Power back Marshawn Lynch is the `Hawks most important player not their flashy quarterback Russell Wilson because if he can grind out yards and keep Manning off the field for long periods, then they can neuter the Broncos attack.
That’s what happened in Peyton’s last Superbowl, when his Colts lost to New Orleans in 2009. The Saints’ varied and inventive offense dominated second half possession, and Peyton eventually forced a throw for an interception that was returned for a touchdown to effectively finish the game.
The other factor is the weather this is likely the first Superbowl to be played in sub-zero temperatures due to the decision to take the game into the country’s biggest market instead of the usual Florida, California, Arizona or indoor stadium venue. And Manning, who has played much of his career in indoor stadia, is thought to be vulnerable in cold weather.
But if Seattle can’t control time of possession against Denver’s defense, which has improved greatly in the last month, then Peyton will pick them apart, no matter how much talking Sherman does.