Post game comments come in two flavors: those that are immediate, right after the event has happened when everything is still fresh in our mind, and those that formulate after a period of reflection. Maybe I’ll do the latter next week. For right now I feel the need to write something down for all the other Seattle fans and maybe for the few who frequent this site.

When the clock hit the 2:00 mark in the 4th quarter I turned to my wife and asked, “Did you ever think you’d see this in your lifetime?” Her answer was definite and sure: “No.”

I’ve always been a little bit more optimistic in my life as a Seahawks fan but even I did not envision such a butt-whooping as the ‘Hawks put on Carolina. Probably because, for as much as I like to formulate my own opinion I am still clouded by the input of others, namely the press and ESPN. And all week long all we heard was Steve Smith this, Steve Smith that, Steve Smith is impossible to stop and Seattle’s defense isn’t that good.

I got brainwashed.

But not to the point that everyone else did. No one really gave the ‘Hawks a chance in this game. Not the experts at Sports Illustrated, not the guys at ESPN, not the guys at CBS… This was Carolina’s game and Seattle might as well not bother showing up. But I wasn’t totally fooled by the hype. A few days ago I wrote:

The facts are: the deck is stacked against Caronlina. They lost their running back. They have one offensive weapon in Steve Smith. As good as he is I’ve never seen one wide receiver win a playoff game by himself. Even Jerry Rice couldn’t do that.

I picked Seattle. More weapons. A balanced offense that was on the verge of being a juggernaut, and a defensive unit that I felt was underrated, while everyone else said they were overrated for playing in a soft NFC West division. I just felt like they were going to focus their attention on Smith and force Carolina to beat them with someone else. And I thought they could get pressure on Delhomme with four down linemen because that’s what they have done all season.

Turns out I wasn’t far off the mark, was I? I hate it when people get all smart-ass on everyone and say “I told you so“, but now I know why they do it: because if feels good. Take that Peter King, Paul Zimmerman, Dan Marino, Tom Jackson, and the rest of you “experts.” You got it wrong.

As for the game itself, I was a nervious wreck the entire time. All butterflies and anxiety. I’d never seen this before. Last time the ‘Hawks played for a trip to the Super Bowl I was 13 years old and more interested in sledding out in the snow than watching football.

I thought the Lofa Tatupu interception was outstanding, but I didn’t expect any more from the defense. I loved Jerramy Stevens’ touchdown catch over the middle, showing why a 6′7″ tight end is so valuable. I love the way he has emerged for this team as a great receiving threat (he finished the game with 6 catches for 66 yards and the touchdown, pretty good for a tight end). Seneca Wallace catching that pass was awesome; bet Carolina didn’t see that coming. That was a nice reward for a guy that was used during practice to immitate Steve Smith, and who Holmgren said they “beat the hell out of him.” Darrel Jackson, aching back and all, was huge again. Most underappreciated wide receiver in the NFL.

Shaun Alexander was able to silence the critics finally. They were dogging him all week with the “Yeah, but he hasn’t done anything in the playoffs his entire career.” Now we can put those stupid, silly thoughts to rest.

And Matt Hasselbeck reminded us of the greats; of Farve and Elway. Farve because Hasselbeck looks like Farve in his prime, when Brett had complete command of Holmgren’s West Coast Offense and Elway because he scrambled again this week, at opportune times, killing the defense’s soul and sucking the heart right out of them. I used to curse Elway because he did this to my Seahawks, keeping drives alive and converting third downs with his stupid running ability. Now I’m praising Matt for doing the same thing. For all the talk about how Seattle wouldn’t be able to stop Steve Smith it was Carolina that proved unable to stop the best, most balanced offense in the NFL.

And the defense… I simply can’t say enough about how they impressed me. Even I didn’t expect that level of domination. That was as impressive a display of scheming, hitting and tackling as I’ve ever seen from a Seattle team. Folks said you couldn’t shut down Steve Smith, only contain him. They said, “he’ll get his catches.” I can’t remember which pre-game show it was, but someone said something to the effect of, “If you can hold him to something like 9 catches for 93 yards then you’re doing good.”

Final stat line proved different for Steve Smith: 5 catches, 33 yards. Evidently Seattle’s defense did the impossible.

As the game wore on all I could think was, “We have to score more points.” Even when the lead was 20 I felt it wasn’t enough. I was just waiting for Carolina to morph from Dr. Jekle to Mr. Hyde and start gathering miracle touchdowns off plays that we would be seeing on NFL highlight shows for the next two decades. But it never happened. The defense kept pounding Delhomme. And just when Carolina finally mounted a drive they forced him into an errant throw and Boulware picked it off for interception #3.

I simply cannot describe the joy I feel right now. This team did it. My team did it. On national TV, in the biggest game of the year to date, against a team that everyone else thought would win, against the unstoppable force Mr. Steve Smith, and they did it. They won.

No, they didn’t just win. They manhandled Carolina. They bullied them.

And they punched their ticket to Detroit for Super Bowl XL.

I love this game. I love this team. This is why it’s great to be a fan.