The Seattle Seahawks will continue their quest this weekend to bring the city of Seattle its first championship sports team since 1979 when the Supersonics won the NBA finals. For the first time since the 2005-2006 season, where the team made their lone Super Bowl appearance, the Seahawks are back in the playoffs as the number one seed meaning that all of their playoff games will be played at Century Link Field.
The New Orleans Saints will come to Seattle for the divisional round of the playoffs. In their last two meetings, the Seahawks have walked away with the victory. The most recent game was earlier this season when the ‘Hawks dominated 34-7 and Seattle’s fans set a Guinness World Record, making Century Link Field the loudest outdoor sports stadium.
Prior to that game, both of the teams met in a playoff game during the 2010 season where the Saints were coming in as the defending Super Bowl champions and the Seahawks became the first team in history to make the playoffs with a losing record at 7-9. With the game in Seattle, the Seahawks managed to pull off one of the biggest upset victories ever by defeating the Saints 41-36. It was during this game where the famous play known as the “BeastQuake” occurred. The 67-yard touchdown run caused the crowd to cheer so loudly that it registered on the Richter scale.
On Saturday, when these two teams meet once again, both will be playing for a right to compete in the NFC Championship game next weekend. The Seahawks are just two wins away from reaching the Super Bowl after having one of their most exciting seasons. In case you haven’t been keeping up, let’s take a quick recap:
This season is quarterback Russell Wilson’s second year in the NFL. Last season he won the starting job over a guy making sixteen times as much money and led the team to an 11-5 record and one playoff victory before losing to the Atlanta Falcons in what was almost an amazing comeback victory. This year the team came in with high expectations and did not disappoint starting off 4-0 including a dominating victory over their rival, the San Francisco 49ers. Following their victory over the Saints, the team was 11-1. The Seahawks finished the season 13-3, the same record they had in the 2005 season when they went to the Super Bowl.
Over the course of the year, the Seahawks played dominant football and became favorites to win the championship. However, you never know what the playoffs will have in store. If the Seahawks win this weekend, they will either face the Carolina Panthers or have another rematch with the 49ers to decide who reaches the Super Bowl.
Along with many other people in Seattle, I am hoping to see the Seahawks hoist the Lombardi Trophy this February. But first I will be tuning in this weekend to watch their first playoff game.
