Are you tired of seeing the Seattle Seahawks treated like an afterthought following a dominant Super Bowl win? Do you despise national media for fixating on the Los Angeles Rams, particularly after the Myles Garrett trade? Does it seem like no one seems to believe the Seahawks were that great and can still be great moving forward?
Don’t worry, for there’s at least someone out there for ESPN who’s willing to stick their neck on the line and tout the champs.
Kevin Clark recently talked about Seattle
on NFL Live, expressing his disgust, dismay, disbelief, and disillusionment over the lack of respect for the ‘Hawks!
“Normally, I would laugh at a ‘Nobody believes in us, I have a chip on my shoulder gimmick’ from a Super Bowl champion,” Clark said. “In this case, it is incredibly valid. The Seahawks are on the shortlist for most disrespected Super Bowl champions of my lifetime. I think the Eli [Manning] Giants are on that list, twice. I think the Von Miller/Peyton Manning Broncos are on that list.
“But it feels like the day after the Super Bowl, we started a new conversation about everybody but the Seahawks.”
Thanks for the shoutout, Kevin. I expect nothing less from someone who gave us one of the most accurate tweets ever:
Any perceived or actual disrespect of the Seahawks I think has a simpler answer than being tucked in the Pacific Northwest. For starters, Seattle is not a small market team for sports or media. That statement does not hold up to scrutiny, especially when by the end of the decade it could be one of the few cities with an NFL, NBA, WNBA, NHL, and MLS team.
When the Seahawks won the Super Bowl in 2013, they were one of the undeniable contenders entering the season. Their highly successful 2012 season and exciting talent at quarterback, running back, and secondary made them a potential force to be reckoned with. They also made the splash offseason move of trading for Percy Harvin, whom at this point was still a high-level NFL player. After they won the Super Bowl, there was talk of Seattle’s dynastic potential with an all-time great defense, a rising star at quarterback, a punishing running game, and zero cap worries. Oh yeah, and it was a team filled with attention-worthy personalities like Marshawn Lynch and Richard Sherman.
The 2025 Seahawks were a different story. Seattle had missed the playoffs three of the last four seasons, the 10-7 record was indistinguishable from its other recent years in terms of the teams they beat and the teams they lost to. Even if fans might have been high on the Seahawks at least making the playoffs, Vegas over/under win totals were consistently that of a non-playoff team. I suspect most Seahawks fans did not forecast the 2025 squad being Super Bowl caliber prior to Week 1, so forget about media outlets. A Super Bowl run with Sam Darnold? Pas possible. There’s a decided lack of brashness and drama with these Seahawks compared to the Legion of Boom years, and I think that greatly affects perception. And yes, Sam Darnold not being a flashy quarterback is another factor when you juxtapose him with, say, Russell Wilson for a Seahawks example, or Patrick Mahomes for the established elite.
I guess the only way to really get everyone’s attention and convince doubters the Seahawks are here to stay is to “run it forward,” as Mike Macdonald said.
