In the history of the United States, Sunday has traditionally been the day for church, a time for those of a Christian persuasion to rest, reflect and worship.
In the last 50 years that’s changed. The church has lost some of its grip on Sunday, being forced to share the day with the NFL. Much of the nation has traded its pews and hymnals for couches and television remotes.
I’m hesitant to compare football in any way to religion, despite the fervor with which some approach the sport. But watching the Seattle Seahawks’ game against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday was a spiritual experience. It’s hard not to think some higher power intervened in Seattle’s 10-9 wild-card playoff victory over Minnesota on Sunday at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
“Thank you, Jesus!” Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman bellowed during his postgame press conference.
It felt like there was more than a touch of divine intervention on Seattle’s side Sunday.
How else to explain Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson’s crazy play early in the fourth quarter? Sure, Wilson is known for his ability to improvise something from the direst of circumstances. But when the ball was snapped 15 yards past him, even the most devout of followers would have struggled to believe Wilson had the power to slide and corral the ball, get back to his feet, scramble away from the oncoming defenders, and deliver an awkward pass to Tyler Lockett for a 35-yard gain to set up the game’s only touchdown.
Which deity aligned all the circumstances perfectly for the Seahawks to pull that play off?
How else to explain the improbable events at the game’s end? Minnesota kicker Blair Walsh had the easiest of 27-yard chip shots to win the game. Walsh had made all three of his field goals earlier in the contest, including two much more difficult kicks from 40-plus yards. Did a hand from above reach down to help usher the field-goal attempt wide left?
“God showed us tons of grace,” Seahawks strong safety Kam Chancellor said while being interviewed on the television broadcast. “We stand committed, love one another, and we’re just keeping the faith alive.”
For most of Sunday’s game it seemed Mother Nature was the supernatural being who was going to have the final say in the result. The historically cold temperatures — the minus-6 degrees at kickoff tied it for the third-coldest game in NFL history — favored the home side. Minnesota, which was slapped down by Seattle 38-7 five weeks earlier when it was a relatively balmy 36 degrees at TCF Bank Stadium, was the beneficiary as Seattle’s offense seemed incapable of handling the harsh conditions.
Wilson’s passes sailed high in the chilly midwest air. The receivers’ freezing hands had difficulty gripping the ball. Even the Seattle’s equipment couldn’t handle the conditions, as the Seahawks’ headset radios malfunctioned, forcing Seattle to burn timeouts as the play clock wound down.
The weather was the price Seattle paid for starting the season 2-4, thereby having to hit the road for the playoffs, and it seemed the collection date had arrived on those debts.
But, at least on this day, the power of the spiritual was greater than the power of the temporal.
The key aspect of any religion is belief. Wilson, who’s renowned for his faith, talks about his belief on a regular basis, and he was at it again following Sunday’s game.
“We kept believing in one another,” Wilson said. “The commitment to each other, the commitment to play for 60 full minutes, the mental fortitude it took to come into a tough environment, it wasn’t easy. But that’s playoff football, anything can happen, and we kept believing in one another.”
Wilson’s words can often seem rote and repetitive when they’re heard each and every week. But they sure felt appropriate Sunday.
Seattle now heads to Charlotte, N.C., next Sunday to take on the NFC’s top seed, the Carolina Panthers. The same Carolina Panthers who finished the season 15-1 and beat the Seahawks 27-23 at CenturyLink Field when the teams met in October.
But Seattle will head to Carolina with no fear. The Seahawks are on a roll, having won seven of their past eight. They have the playoff experience from having reached the Super Bowl each of the previous two years. They even have confidence from having had the Panthers beat in Week 6, only to succumb to the type of dramatic fourth-quarter collapse Seattle has since stamped out of its game.
And now the Seahawks head there with the knowledge that someone up above is watching out for them, too.
Check out Nick Patterson’s Seattle Sidelines blog at http://www.heraldnet.com/seattlesidelines, and follow him on Twitter at @NickHPatterson.
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