Feb 3, 2013; New Orleans, LA, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh reacts during the fourth quarter against the Baltimore Ravens in Super Bowl XLVII at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

This Super Bowl was just plain weird. I didn’t really care who won, but I’m glad San Francisco lost. I don’t like Jim Harbaugh and I don’t like San Francisco fans, at least not the ones I have had contact with. (You know who you are…)  Just kidding!  Seriously!  You’re great people, really…

First its time to talk some smack.  Since the Seahawks got totally screwed by the NFL with that early morning game in Atlanta I didn’t really have a dog in this fight (so much for journalistic impartiality). The way the 49ers fans thought they deserved to be in this game after the butt whoopin’ the Hawks dropped on them in Seattle was just ignoring the truth.  The Niners backed into this game by not having to face Seattle and they know it.  Sure they beat Atlanta…barely.  Try doing that at 0-dark thirty west coast time.  If not for San Francisco’s tie against the Rams the Hawks would have had your conference title and your home game and a bye week.  San Francisco is no longer the only elite team in the west.  They have company.  But I digress…

Did anyone else go get a pedicure during the national anthem? MAN that was long! Well done, but tooooo looooong.  And that whole halftime show was BOOOOORING. Sorry.  Beyonce is a lovely and talented singer/dancer but I think she sang the same word for something like 15 minutes! Besides that, it was like watching a 30 minute Bud Light commercial.  Where’s a good marching band when you need one?

The power outage was interesting. I’ve seen a quarterback change make a game turn. I’ve seen a snow storm make a game turn. But I’ve never seen a power outage totally turn a game around. The Seahawks should remember that trick next time they find themselves down by 20 at home. In the end, the 49ers got screwed by the refs on that last non-call for holding; so welcome to Seattle’s world San Francisco.  One wonders if they might have gotten “Bettised”; you remember the love-fest the league and network gave the retiring Jerome Bettis before the Seattle/Pittsburgh 2008 Super Bowl in which Seattle suffered a number of bad calls.  There is something especially heart warming to think the refs might have been “letting ‘em play” for Ray Lewis, a guy who plea bargained away a double homicide a few years back, getting 12 months probation instead of double life in prison.  (There I go digressing again!  Hmm, did I just stumble on another reason for not being excited for either team to win?).  Yes, getting hosed by the refs in the Big Game is great fun, and now the Niners know how it feels.  And so ends their 5-0 Superbowl streak.

But this Super Bowl week did have some redeeming value.  For instance, I didn’t know there was so much to know about deer antlers.  And the whole thing about too much power actually causing the lights to turn off???  Amazing stuff!  And what about the demonstration of injustice to women struggling with their weight everywhere when a Ravens cheerleader got canned for being 2 pounds overweight?  We haven’t heard the end of that one, hopefully!

Now it’s on to the NFL draft and next season.  I fully expect it will be the Seahawks and Russell Wilson who will get it done next year.  With his learning curve well in the past, Wilson will be unstoppable.  I wish I could have seen him in this game, but next year will be even more incredible.  Seattle was the team no one wanted to play the second half of the year.  Next year, it will be that way from  week one on because Russell is ready.  As for the rest of the NFC West, don’t get too excited.  You’re getting better, but as long as Wilson, Carroll, and Schneider are in the picture it’s going to be tough going to get past Seattle.

The Seattle Seahawks, whose success on Sundays will normally determine my mood for the week, finished with a 4-12 record. The Seahawks were a team that was supposed to compete for another NFC West title and secure a spot in the playoffs. Not even close. A gut-wrenching 16 weeks left fans questioning Matt Hasselbeck’s ability to stay healthy, Tim Ruskell’s ability to recognize talent, and wondering if this was the way a Hall of Fame head coach should end his career.

To make matters worse, we all had to watch a division rival enjoy a Super Bowl berth. And who are they matched up against? The Pittsburgh Steelers, which triggered bitter memories from a 2006 Super Bowl and what could have been. A definite lose-lose scenario for Seahawks fans.

The Seattle Mariners returned to mediocrity in 2008, leaving even the most optimistic fans hopeless. In the previous season, the Mariners finished with their first winning record since 2003, and were supposed to compete for the AL West division championship. Bolstered by the pitching additions of Carlos Silva and Erik Bedard, it appeared that baseball was on the rise again in Seattle.

Though optimism was high entering the season, the Mariners would quickly find themselves in the American League cellar. Underachieving the entire season, the Mariners left fans scratching their heads in the stands at Safeco Field. 100 losses later, Richie Sexson was washed up, the Bedard trade was a steal for Baltimore, and Bill Bavasi was a fraud as general manager.

The Seattle Supersonics, in what was most likely the most devastating sports story in 2008, left the city of Seattle for Oklahoma City. It was only appropriate that the team would leave during 2008, when the rest of the teams in Seattle were mediocre as well.

The Sonics had spent over forty years in the city of Seattle, and fans in the city had more than proven their support for the franchise over the years. The Sonics won Seattle’s first professional championship and were continuously successful up until a few years prior to their departure.

A lot of fans lost interest in the National Basketball Association entirely, scratching their heads at how a franchise can bolt from a proven NBA city after over four decades. Clay Bennett established himself as a spineless, selfish liar, Howard Schultz found a way to stab Seattle in the back, and local government tripped over their own feet (more than once). Regrettably, it was the fans who ultimately paid the price.

Professional sports in Seattle were atrocious, but collegiate sports were no better. The Washington Huskies football team finished the season 0-12 and head coach Tyrone Willingham was fired, and the Washington State Cougars finished 2-11 with victories against Portland State and Washington. Miserable seasons from both sides left the two programs at the bottom of the Pac-10. Although Washington State did find a way to defeat Washington in the Apple Cup, their season wasn’t much better than the Huskies 0-12 finish, giving up the most points in a single season in Pac-10 Conference history.

2008 was definitely a year to forget for Seattle sports fans. I apologize if my reminiscing about last year’s sports failures brought back unwanted memories for anyone. It was a year filled with mediocre professional and collegiate sports (including a few not mentioned), but there were a few success stories. Unfortunately, there weren’t enough successes to brighten my work weeks.

Seattle is a little overdue for a championship, isn’t it?

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