Yes, there was the obvious goal of winning the first Super Bowl title in franchise history, and there was of course the intriguing matchup not just of the league’s No. 1 offense and No. 1 defense, but two historically great units. Led by 2013 MVP Peyton Manning, the Broncos had the highest-scoring offense in NFL history, while the Seahawks led the NFL in total defense, scoring defense, pass defense and takeaways, part of a historic run in which they became the only team in the Super Bowl era to lead the league in scoring defense for four straight seasons.
But on top of all of that, the Seahawks knew they were playing for a city hungry for success. Yes, the Seahawks had shown a lot of promise in reaching the divisional round the previous season, but before 2012 they had posted losing records for four straight years, although one of those came with a playoff berth at 7-9. The Mariners, meanwhile, were more than a decade removed from their last playoff berth, and had finished with losing records in eight of their previous 10 seasons; for fans of college football, the Cougars and Huskies were both rebuilding after hitting historic lows in 2008; and of course, Seattle was only five years removed from losing their beloved Sonics. Even the Storm, arguably the city’s most consistent winner since their inception, were a combined two games under .500 over their past two seasons.
In other words, Seattle was a city aching for sports success, and the young, brash Seahawks, fresh off a 13-3 season and a thrilling NFC championship game win over the 49ers, arrived in New Jersey well aware of what a win would mean to their fans.
“They’ve been thirsty for a trophy, for a championship in the city,” receiver Doug Baldwin said days before the game. “They’ve been through some dark times. It’s going to be an exciting moment. To enjoy this opportunity not only with my teammates and my family, but with the city of Seattle, it’s going to be something special for us.”
Said defensive end Chris Clemons, “I want to see what that parade is going to look like.”
With the 10th anniversary of Super Bowl XLVIII upon us, we’re taking a look back at the Seahawks’ dominant 43-8 win over the Broncos through the words of the players, recorded in the moments after the game in postgame press conferences and locker room interviews.
Linebacker and Super Bowl MVP Malcolm Smith: “We feel like we play with a level of intensity that other teams have to match. We liked this matchup, we felt good coming into this game. We felt like they would have to deal with us.”
