This article is sponsored by Fan Kave…
No doubt most of you will be coming together this Sunday in your living rooms to see if the Seahawks can punch their ticket to the team’s second Super Bowl appearance in history. Do you have everything you need for the biggest game of the year so far? Beer? Check! Pizza? Check! An ungodly amount of chips and pretzels? You bet!
Now what about a really cool way to cheer on the Seahawks and even talk a little smack to your friends who can’t make it to your pad this weekend? FanKave can help with that. The new iPad app is essentially an online hangout for Seahawks fans to come together and get fanatical either through text or crystal-clear audio while the showdown versus the 49ers takes place.
(There’s even a mute button in case that old college buddy you invited into your group, who now lives in the Bay Area, starts to get on your nerves with his incessant Kaepernicking jokes.)
There’s live play-by-play updates of the game, which is pretty cool if for some reason you can’t watch on TV but still want to follow the action. Another feature you might like is that you can update individuals plays from the play-by-play feed directly to your Facebook and Twitter account – perfect for bragging when Marshawn Lynch scores on the Niners defense.
Also, over on the right-hand side is a custom Twitter feed with constant updates about the game from the big-time NFL writers from around the country.
You can see a screenshot here.
You can download FanKave directly to your iPad by clicking here. They’ll also have NBA and college hoops in a few weeks, and the app will be available on iPhone and Android soon, so go check it out.
Doug Baldwin believes fans take the Seahawks/Niners rivalry a little too seriously...
Embrace this rivalry, it’s not a bad thing
This is one game both teams really want to win.
I get it.
But let’s take a moment to consider the bigger picture here.
ESPN’s Mike Sando wrote a Tweet today that perfectly sums up how a lot of fans feel:
I think the 49ers-Seahawks loser is going to feel worse than the winner feels good. Having to watch the other team strut during SB week.
— Mike Sando, ESPN.com (@SandoESPN) January 16, 2014
Mike’s absolutely correct. The fear of losing consumes a lot of people right now. Both in Seattle and San Francisco.
I bet there’s been quite a few sleepless nights this week on the west coast.
The loser not only gets to sit and watch their biggest rival in the Super Bowl. They have to hear about it constantly for two weeks.
They have to watch the excitement, preparation and anticipation of the game — all the while knowing there’s a good seven months before they can do anything about it.
And god forbid Sunday’s winner actually wins the Super Bowl. That would be unbearable.
Avoiding defeat on Sunday is probably more important to a lot of fans than actually winning the game.
Should that be the case?
NO WAY.
In fact it’s time to look at this game with a completely different perspective.
Seahawks and 49ers fans should be grateful they’re part of the best current rivalry in the NFL.
A rivalry which isn’t going anywhere.
Next year, we could easily see a rematch for the NFC Championship. Or at least another post-season get together.
Seattle and San Francisco are the two best teams in the NFC. They have young rosters filled with talent. They have fantastic coaches, backed up by skilled executives in the front office.
Only three years ago the NFC West was won by a 7-9 team limping into the post season.
Now the division is loaded. And two fan bases that have pined for success for decades finally get the spotlight.
San Francisco had to wait eight years for a winning season prior to Jim Harbaugh’s arrival. Seattle suffered two miserable campaigns as the Mike Holmgren era ended and the Jim Mora era never got off the ground.
It’s twenty years since the 49ers won a Championship. The Seahawks are still waiting for their first elusive title.
And in 2014 one of these teams that so craves success is guaranteed to be back in the Super Bowl.
But this isn’t a one-and-done, win-it-or-bust situation.
Next season they’ll slug it out all over again.
Losing shouldn’t be dreaded. It should be embraced as a distinct possibility. There’s a 50% chance of it happening.
Sure it’s a long wait until next season, but so what? You go again. This isn’t a short window for either team.
The fact both teams are so competitive will drive the other on. There’s no doubt that helped Pittsburgh and Baltimore win titles. When your closest enemy is so good, you seem to work that little bit harder.
In that sense Seattle and San Francisco are good for each other.
It gets nasty at times. The way the fans talk on Twitter and online — you can feel the hatred.
Just look at Doug Baldwin’s comments today:
“It gets taken out of proportion by the fans. Don’t get me wrong, it is a great rivalry, but the reason it’s a great rivalry is because it’s two good football teams that are playing against each other. I see all the time on social media… the fans going at each other when the players don’t even go at each other like that.”
I suspect over time we’ll begin to see a mutual respect develop between the fans. The rivalry will be no less intense, but they’ll realise neither team is going to back down — there’s always going to be another game.
Another opportunity.
In a few years time when these teams have met on several occasions in the playoffs, people will begin to appreciate that there’s nothing negative about this rivalry.
The road to finding that mutual respect begins this weekend, because someone’s got to lose. And people will have to deal with it.
If it’s not your turn this time, c’est la via.
The next chapter of Seattle vs San Francisco is already being written.
Expect it to be published in September.
This game is going to kill me. Not the result. I would be surprised if the anticipation allows me to live up until kickoff. I am literally having dreams about this matchup. Last night I dreamt of a Richard Sherman interception in the endzone to win it. This rivalry is everything I could ever hope for in the world of sports.
Also I’m not so much worried about having to, “hear about it constantly for two weeks.” I am much more worried about having to hear about it for the next 20 years, since they obviously have no problem bragging about things that happened nearly one-person-old-enough-to-drink ago.
How do 49er fans change a burnt out light bulb? They don’t, they just sit in the dark and talk about how good the old bulb was. Zing. Go ‘Hawks.
Try not to worry too much, Michael. It’s cool. This team isn’t going anywhere.
More excited than worried. Like I said, I’m having dreams not nightmares.
I was dreaming that for some reason I wasn’t at the game, and unable to watch the game, and thus was trying to use my NFL app to show me the score, and it didn’t have this weeks games showing.. kept showing scores from week 10. so then I tried the NFL redzone app and it wasn’t working either..
Talk about weird ass dreams.
I have one major disagreement, and this is something that has plagued Seattle sports for years:
It’s okay to lose, we’ll get ’em next time.
No. No it’s not. Not anymore.
I’m sick of Seattle sports perpetually coming up short. The Seahawks losing a SB to some shaky officiating and just not being tough enough. The Mariners blowing 116 wins by going down miserably in Yankees stadium and watching those fans laugh them out the building.
The passive-aggressive ‘oh things will work out eventually’ attitude has run its course. It’s time to do this thing.
“It’s time to do this thing” — I completely agree with this.
However, I do think this time is different Seattle. It’s not ‘OK’ to lose. But it’s not a window waiting to be slammed shut like XL, with all of the teams stars being finished within 2-3 years. This is a young, incredibly talented team that probably hasn’t even peaked yet.
So while we’re all desperate to finally win that elusive title, it’s not win this year or bust. It simply isn’t. This team will get more than one shot at this.
I don’t mind loosing to a superior team. You reload, get better and come back next year.
Lets just hope the refs do there job, and let the teams do there jobs. The refs should not determine the out come of this Game. I have seen no evidence that this will happen (St Louis rams game. refs let that game get away from them.)
All so, Lets Pray the Seahawks team and spectators keep there cool, no stupid penalty.( keep your helmets on, let the smack talk go in one ear and out he other, don’t let the pressure get to you)
This will be along off season if it becomes a what if end to the season.
Lets hope the fans keep there cool. After the game lets not see cars set on firer, fisticuffs, and other such stupidity. Have some class.
For the love of God, please learn to differentiate between “there” and “their”.
I just spoke with God and he says he actually doesn’t care. So their!
They’re you go!
In Seattle we have thought before that our team will be good for a long time. I remember the 2001 Mariners, and not wanting to trade any of our minor league players away so we could have a dynasty. But, despite our high hopes they crumbled and have been bottom feeders ever since. After our Super Bowl we had high hopes, and then we had a few tough years. I would love to have a dynasty, but I can not proceed with the idea we will be great for a long period of time. This team is young, but is also going to go through a lot of changes over the next few years due to salary cap reasons. So, I am very hopeful about this game, and I feel pretty good where we are right now.
I don’t know, our cap situation is pretty grim. This FO has overpaid a lot of players and it is going to hurt this off season not having that extra rollover.. Also, the last couple drafts have pretty much stunk, while I don’t think the door is closing shut, it won’t be as wide open as it is right now.
The last couple of drafts have stunk?
2012 — Irvin, Wagner, Wilson.
In all fairness Rob, while 2012 was a fantastic draft, Carp has been a compelte wash and 2013 has yielding not one contributing player- including Percy Harvin- so while we had some cornerstones we have also had some real duds
This wasn’t exactly a team that had many open positions, in fairness.
Michael Bowie? Luke Willson?
Michael Bowie has been hit and miss in spot play and Luke Willson has contributed nothing truly significant in the form of Wright, Sherman, Sweezey, or Wagner. Let’s not split hairs here, maybe Bowie pans out and then we have a serviceable gaurd. Awesome, but let’s not be so eager to argue that we have had like 4 straight A+ drafts. Come on. I stand by what I said. We have draftd some great players but we have also missed. I would way Kearse who was a 2012 UDFA has contributed more than Bowie OR Willson- SO FAR.
I have to agree with you – being a Seattle sports fan is a difficult thing! Last year, when I had lower expectations after the Falcons game, while disappointed I was really proud of the team. I will be proud of the team this year, but oh the expectations! Please win this game! I am okay with whatever happens if they make it to the big game, because the refs will screw us, but just once, can we do the unexpected, shut up the doubters and the haters and yell and scream with joy?? Can this team really leave no doubt? Go 1-0?
If we get beat by a better football team on Sunday I can live with that. If we lose because of officiating we may never ever win a Super Bowl. Yes we are young and should be good for a long time but shit happens. I have been a fan of the Seahawks since their very first season, 37 years ago. Twice in our team history we have made it to this exact point, HFA in the NFC Championship game.
Let this game be determined by the players on the field, not the officials.
Go Hawks.
The 49ers had there shot last year. It is our turn now.
Yes this is our window for next few years until Russell Wilson expects a big paycheck ala the Ravens (where are they). I say win it all now!
Why in the world would our window be closed once Russell gets paid? I find this to be a ridiculous notion. Here’s why:
1. The narrative of Joe Flacco’s contract single-handedly dismantling that team is simply not true. The real problem with that team was that it allowed itself to get way too old for sustained success (a trade off that obviously worked wonderfully for that one season). Who did they lose from that squad because of money that would have been a difference maker for them this season? Ray Lewis retired, Ed Reed is washed up and should have retired. Paul Kruger was overpaid by Cleveland and left town, but the Ravens probably would have been smart enough to stay away from that contract even if they had cap space to spare. At any rate they replaced him with Dumervil, who had 5 more sacks than Kruger this year and earns $11.5MM less guaranteed money over the span of his contract than Kruger. Sure Dannell Ellerbe and Bernard Pollard got lumped in their as “major losses” but both are more role players than real difference makers.
2. Did the window for the Pats or Broncos close because they are paying top 5 cap hits for their QB’s? Sounds pretty ridiculous, since it is quite the contrary and one of those two will be in the Superbowl in a matter of weeks. Having a “Franchise QB” is what defines your window, and paying him is simply part of the deal.
3. Will paying Russell Wilson big bucks allow us less money to spend elsewhere? Of course it will. Is this a huge problem that will close our proverbial “window”? Absolutely not. It is pretty well proven by now that Pete and John like to maintain a youthful team, and they have more than proven their ability to build through the draft and other bargain oriented avenues. With the rookie wage scale in place the cheapest players on the planet just so happen to be the players that PC/JS would prefer to be on their team anyway. Keep the core together, and fill the other spots with cheap (but not necessarily less talented) players from the draft/bargain bin.
Just for the sake of discussion.
1. Regarding Flacco’s salary, two things have occurred. One is that 20 milion a year is tied up regardless of his performance. The other is that the team will have to be rebuilt mostly through draft players instead of free agents. That is a good thing in my opinion as I like the home grown alternative. However assuming he would have made 12 million anyway, that would leave 8 million for free agents. Not a lot. I think I talked myself out of his salary being that important to them. More important would be his performance over the next five years. Speaking of which…
2. The Broncos and Pats both have world class quarterbacks who have consistently had great seasons and made the playoffs. There used to be 5 QBs that I would say that about. Pretty soon I may have to add Wilson and Kapernick to the list. Anyway, given an average team both Manning and Brady can make them a great team. So that is one of the big differences with paying them, the ability to take an average team and elevate them to more than one and done in the playoffs.
3. Wilson is being paid so cheap right now. If he were to get 20 million a year then that would affect our abilities to hire 2-3 great free agents or retain 2-3 great home grown draft picks. Would you really want to lose Tate, Baldwin and Harvin? Thats one trade off for 20 million. How about Thomas and Sherman? same effect. We don’t have unlimited money. Our drafting has been hit or miss, just like other teams. Yes we had a lot of drafting success early, but now that the team is mature it is harder to draft for them.
Overall – I don’t want to appear to negative. I just think it will be harder when Wilson gets full pay.
PS Watching Boldin go from the Ravens to San Francisco left a bad taste in my mouth!
and look at what Boldin did for the Raven’s last year, and what he has done for the 9rs this year.. I’m sorry but with the Cardinal’s record… no boldin = no playoffs for the 9rs this year. And if you look at how close the Ravens were to making the playoffs.. he could have easily swung two games their way, just like I think he swung a couple games the niners way.
All do to Flacco getting paid more than he is worth.
I must say, why would any of us anticipate that Russell Wilson will break the bank with his contract? This franchise is production based, and while he wins and has a nice touchdown accumulation, has anyone seen the kind of dominant QB performance from him on a regular basis that would indicate that such a contract is required? He has become the quintessential game manager and he is indeed a winner. He will not make stupid and costly mistakes that will hurt his team, but he has given any indication recently that he can take the team on his back and singlehandedly lead us to victory. In fact I would dare say that Richard Sherman has singelhanded lead to us to victory more than Russell Wilson. If we are worried about ANYONE’S contract breaking our bank, I would say it is Sherman. At least if we are paying for superstar talent and results on the field. Not potential and game managing skills.
And hey don’t get me wrong, I am by no means a Russell hater. I have been a huge RW3 fan since Jump Street- I wanted him to start over Flynn since he was drafted. But I feel that he is by no stretch of the imagination our best, or even most valuable player. I feel that currently, via the tried and true eyeball test, he is A. playing below his perceived and established skill level, B. the league has figured him out to an extent, and C. his confidence is next to shot. Anyone watching can see that something has been significantly wrong lately, and it’s not all about him lacking a true WR weapon. They were doing fine before against teams like SF and NO. Anyway, I love RW3 but there are probably 2 or 3 other players I’d rather see get paid large to keep in town
So what you’re saying is we should ignore all other games of this year except the last 5, and determine he’s a gamemanager? Brilliant.
Ah, the classic ‘we have a defense and run game and qb is struggling yet we are winning so he must be a gamemanger’ argument.
I love it.
We couldn’t run against New Orleans the first time around. Russell shredded them and we waltzed over them.
We couldn’t run in Carolina, yet Russell had an excellent day passing despite horrendous protection.
This team doesn’t dig out of 21-0 hole against TB without Russell. Nor do they win in Houston without his ability to scramble.
It’s a convenient narrative to call him a game manager, but game managers don’t make the improv plays he does. Nor do they pass as efficiently as he does. He ranked in the top 5 in YPA in 2012 and 2013.
There’s no denying he’s in a bit of a slump, and we can argue why exactly that is, but this rationalization that “see, he’s not that great” is kneejerk, and frankly, incorrect.
Actually Houston should’ve beaten us quite honestly on that last drive, but I remember a player intercepting a pass and returning it for the game winning touchdown. I don’t remember who exactly but I remember him being someone important. If you take away your two examples that you cited you will see failry average play compared to other $20 million QB’s. The evidence is quite clear that he is good, sometimes great, but is mostly just pretty good. The original point was that Russell doesn’t rate a Tom Brady/Drew Brees contract. There are other players who have more game changing impact plays and talent than Russell Wilson. But some people are honks, some people said that Matt Flynn would go down in the annals as a “Seahawk Quarterback”. RW’s body of work is not overly spectacular. We disagree, quite simply.
Couldn’t agree more with your sentiments Rob. Having said that, I hope we embarrass San Fransisco really really bad this Sunday.
Yeah, Baldwin is a Standford guy. He probably has friends that are 9ers fans. lol.
Sometimes the journey is just as much fun as reaching the destination….
I would like to win the SB this year, but I am not sure if winning it for, say, 4 years in a row wouldn’t dampen my enthusiasm. Anyway, I’ll worry about that after we win this year.
I think we are at least as good as any of the remaining teams, but the best team doesn’t always win.
Full of cliches, but I think they apply.
They told Dan Marino he would be back after his first try at it…. well, he never made it back…. it’s time to not accept any excuses.
Sorry to say that whether we accept any excuses or not will have zero effect on the outcome.