Okay, so here is yet another angle on the game. This is an inside look, right on the Seahawks sideline, while the game is in progress.
You see Carroll cheering his players on, getting excited, and trying to make determinations. Reacting to the miracle play, when Jermaine Kearse somehow brought down that completion.
And, of course, the play. The one that will likely forever define this Super Bowl, and will surely be debated for a very, very long time among sports fans, and particularly Seahawks fans. I am afraid that it will be the yardstick for poor play calling at the most inopportune time by which all other such mistakes are measured.
You see Russell Wilson going over to the sideline, and he and Carroll talking in somber terms, just trying to get clear on what exactly happened.
It also shows Marshawn Lynch as he walks off the field, and that was particularly interesting. I have to admit that it kind of made me change my opinion a bit about Lynch. I really do not know what to make of the guy, honestly. Sometimes, his antics seem childish and immature, such as grabbing his crotch, and refusing to talk with the media. But when he actually does talk, he usually sounds a lot more thoughtful than he is portrayed by the media. Case in point, when asked right after the Super Bowl ended - as the Seahawks were evidently walking back into the locker room, in fact - if he was felt betrayed or slighted. And he responded in the negative, reminding the questioner that football is a team sport.
That was an impressive answer, and it showed maturity and a sense of unity with the team.
However, the video made me wonder a little more about Lynch, and where he is with the team, exactly. As he walks off the field for the final time during the actual game, he walks right by coach Caroll. He never directly looks at Pete Carroll, and Carroll gives him more of a sidelong glance than anything else. But Lynch has a strange smile on his face.
Maybe it's just me, but that moment looks pregnant with meaning. I am not one of those conspiracy theorists that believe that the league, or Carroll, called a pass play in order to prevent Lynch from getting the Super Bowl MVP honors. However, Lynch is definitely smiling, and Carroll definitely sees it.
It certainly seems odd that Lynch would be smiling, both during and after the game, given that he and his team have just lost the unique opportunity to capture two Super Bowl titles in a row. Granted, he acknowledged, when asked if he felt outraged, that he was not, because football is a team sport. But seemingly taking some measure of pleasure in the pain of his teammates does not seem particularly sportsmanlike to me.
Also, I have to say that Doug Baldwin of the Seahawks also did something that, to me, was actually probably more disgraceful during this Super Bowl. After catching a touchdown pass in the first half, he "celebrated" by squatting down and pretending to take a dump, with the ball coming out as....well, you can guess. He defended his decision by saying that it was aimed at one guy in particular, and that that guy knew who he was. But to celebrate in such a disgusting, distasteful manner before a national television audience (even though NBC, to their credit, did not show it) is rather ridiculous, and paints Baldwin in a bad light. Totally unnecessary and, frankly, he should have known better.
In any case, the only person that comes to mind that might - might - know what Pete Carroll is going through right now would be Scott Norwood, the placekicker for the Buffalo Bills on that fateful January day in 1991, when he had an opportunity to kick the winning field goal in Super Bowl XXV against the New York Giants, but missed by two feet. He was considered - still is considered by some people - to have been the goat for the Bills loss in that Super Bowl, which was, of course, the first in a string of four consecutive Super Bowl losses for Buffalo. Norwood might know what Carroll is going through, although to his credit, Carroll also knows what it is like to win a Super Bowl ring, which Norwood and those Bills of the early nineties never had the privilege of feeling.
In any case, this Super Bowl was so fascinating, that I have spent much of the week watching and rewatching the sideline videos, and postgame interviews and, of course, the play itself that decided it: Butler's interception that iced the game for the Patriots.
So, here are some other links to some interesting sites regarding the Super Bowl:
Super Bowl 2015: Onfield sound of Patriots freaking out, Seahawks hanging heads following goal line pick (Video) Print Nick O'Malley | nomalley@masslive.com By Nick O'Malley | nomalley@masslive.com Follow on Twitter on February 04, 2015
http://blog.masslive.com/patriots/2015/02/super_bowl_2015_patriots_seaha.html
Hear what Pete Carroll said on Seattle's final Super Bowl drive
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/hear-what-pete-carroll-said-on-seattle-s-final-super-bowl-drive-191219576.html
Marshawn Lynch Hung Out With Snoop Dogg After the Super Bowl
http://www.onenewspage.com/video/20150203/2513921/Marshawn-Lynch-Hung-Out-With-Snoop-Dogg-After.htm
Marshawn Lynch Caught Smiling After Super Bowl Interception (Photos) by JOSH DHANI on WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2015:
http://footbasket.com/nfl/marshawn-lynch-caught-smiling-super-bowl-interception-photos/
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