Smithless in Seattle

What a day of football! The Pittsburgh Steelers blew by the Denver Broncos without batting an eye in the AFC Chamiponship game - silencing the crowd there in Denver. I watched some of that game because my brother-in-law had it on.

Everyone in the house was glued to the set to watch the NFC Championship game - the Seattle Seahawks versus the Carolina Panthers. I was pulling for the underdog, who I *thought* to have been Seattle, for a couple of reasons: 1) It would get on my wife's nerves that I would pull for a non-area team and 2) I liked watching Leroy Hill play at Clemson.

Well, the Panthers didn't even show up in Seattle. I really believe that the 12th man had a huge influence - that crowd was the loudest I can remember hearing in an NFL game. The double, triple, and quadruple coverage of Steve Smith left the Panthers "Smithless in Seattle" - except for his punt return for TD, which half of the Seahawks gave up running because of a flag thrown on the play - later retracted by the officials.

Great game, Seattle. I'm glad to see a deserving team head to the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history. I believe that Paul Allen has made the right move in giving so much support to his team - well done!