Meredith Farrell is a Sports Communications major at Marist College. She was a four-year varsity athlete at Trinity High School. Table Talk is her unique female perspective on sports.
The biggest game of the year, the best defense against the best offense, a comeback quarterback vs. the Legion of Boom; sounds like the best game of the year, right? Wrong. Super Bowl XLVII had all of the components needed to be one of the most exciting and competitive games of the year, but it was exactly the opposite. The first snap of the game set the tone for the entire 60 minutes. As the ball flew by Peyton Manning’s face causing a safety only 12 seconds into the game the Broncos were instantly in trouble. That moment marked the fastest score in Super Bowl history. The Broncos seemed to be doomed from that moment on, yet most of Manning’s believers were convinced that as long as the difference of score was only a few touchdowns, the game was still in reach.
The score at halftime is when the shock kicked in; 22-0. Many of us would have believed this score if we hadn’t been watching the game, only we would have said, “man the Seahawks just can’t get points on the board, huh.” The answer to this confusion is that we simply underestimated the power of defense. Defense wins championships and the Seahawks proved that this past Sunday. Personally, I recognized the strength of the Legion of Boom yet I didn’t think the Seahawks offense had the ability to put up championship numbers. However, that was irrelevant considering that the Seahawks’ defense contributed greatly to the team’s scoring, as well as the Seahawks managing to score in almost every possible way.
In the end the most talked about player of Super Bowl hype was unable to win his second Super Bowl Championship; in fact he was barely able to prevent himself from being shut out. Peyton Manning was named MVP of the 2013 season the night before the fiasco Super Bowl game, which begs the question, “How will he be remembered?” He will be remembered for the records he set this season rather than his wins and losses. The Legion of Boom was too much for the Broncos offense and Manning was simply unable to make the plays needed to win the game. The game was disappointing and boring. Dick Vitale said it best in his tweet posted during the Super Bowl, “Could we pls see a re air of DUKE-SYRACUSE. ? This is BORING { except if from [Seattle].” Sadly, he was absolutely correct. Personally, I would have much rather re-watched the Syracuse-Duke nail biter than the disaster of a game that was played Super Bowl Sunday.
The real story emerging from the Seahawks victory wasn’t just the successful defeat of one of the greatest quarterback’s ever, it wasn’t the pride behind the franchise’s first Super Bowl title, but something entirely unrelated to this year’s victory, future victories. The Seahawks are among the youngest Super Bowl Championship teams ever. Therefore, it is very possible that they will be in the Super Bowl mix for many years to come. This could just be the beginning of the Seahawk dynasty and as someone who was rooting against them throughout the entirety of Super Bowl XLVII, I must admit I am very curious to see what the legion of boom will continue to do as the team gets stronger over the upcoming years.
The Super Bowl is without a doubt the biggest American sporting event, but last night the largest sports event on the world scale was kicked off in Sochi, Russia. This year the United States is taking the 230 top athletes in their sports to the winter games. Some of these athletes are names you have heard over and over again while others you may not be aware of yet. Here are my Olympics 2014 Americans to watch for.
1. Mikaela Shiffrin- Alpine Skiing, USA
Many have called her the next Lindsey Vonn and with Lindsey sitting out the Sochi games due to knee surgery Mikaela may get her time to shine. The 18-year old skiing star made her debut at the World Cup when she was 15 as the youngest ever World Cup season titleholder. She is expected to become a crucial component of the Women’s Alpine Ski team.
2. Shani Davis- Speed Skating, USA
This is the speed skater’s third Olympics and he has two golds already. He is a top competitor in his respective races and with Apolo Ohno officially retired Davis is being viewed as the leader of the American Olympic Speed Skating team. He is now one of the older competitors and he has admitted that he remembers being the young guy chasing the old guys. Now it is his turn to be the one racing ahead of the pack trying not to get caught. A fun fact about this Olympian is that Frozone from the Pixar cartoon, The Incredibles, was inspired by him and his success. If he is able to win Gold again this year he will be the first male athlete to win three straight golds in any Olympic event.
3. Shawn White- Snowboarding, USA
White is easily one of the most well-known names on the United States Olympic Team this year. He is famous for his snowboarding skills and his fire red hair. This Olympics, though, White has two game-changing factors: a broken wrist and a new haircut. Yes folks, the locks are gone and he has joked that it has improved his helmet comfort while competing. On a more serious note the broken wrist was acquired due to dangerous snowboarding conditions in Sochi during practice runs and the courses have since been changed to get rid of the chance of other injuries. Not to worry, White’s wrist will not slow him down one bit. He will be snowboarding his signature half pipe with the goal of a third gold in mind. Make sure to pay extra attention to the names on your screen though because without is hair identifying him may be much more difficult than it has been in past Olympics.
4. Lolo Jones- Bobsledding, USA
Jones is a very unique Olympic athlete; she has competed in two summer Olympics as a track and field star, but after the 2012 Olympics she made the switch to bobsledding. Jones has proved herself to be an Olympic level bobsledder for team USA, but due to the fact that she only made the switch two years ago she is definitely someone to keep your eyes on.
5. Sarah Hendrickson- Ski Jumping, USA
Hendrickson has won a U.S. title, a World Championship gold medal, and a World Cup globe. This is the first year that women are allowed to compete in the Olympic ski jumping Event and Hendrickson is hoping to win the first ever gold in the event and based on her previous accomplishments she has a very good chance of doing it.
The Olympic events will kick off today. Whether or not you choose to follow every second of the Olympic games, all of us are routing for team USA. Currently team USA has been predicted to come home with the most medals, but Norway is favored to win the most golds. We will see if America is able to beat the predictions and overtake Norway for the top collection of golds.
America’s top chances for gold are predicted to be in men’s snowboarding half pipe, ice dancing, men’s speed skating, women’s snowboarding slope style, and men’s alpine skiing. Olympic gold medals will be top news for the next couple weeks so even if you don’t plan to watch the Olympics, be sure to check the medal count to see if team USA is able to overtake Norway.