Seattle roars into 1st Super Bowl

As the lead quickly grew so did the noise, deafening enough to carry from here to Detroit, where the Seattle Seahawks' name can now be painted upon Ford Field.

Any Super Bowl is sweet for a city, but perhaps never more than the first one.
"It feels good," defensive end Grant Wistrom said, "to bring them something they've always wanted."
Seattle (15-3) joined the Super Bowl club Sunday, with a roar and a romp in its 34-14 victory over the Carolina Panthers (13-6).
Thirty years, they had waited here. Through thick and thin, fog and rain. Through Jim Zorn and Steve Largent and all the others who never quite made it. The stars were finally aligned Sunday.
"They were," team owner Paul Allen said of an enthralled home crowd, "out of their minds out there tonight."
"A great atmosphere," Carolina quarterback Jake Delhomme said. "If you were on the other side."
Aligned, too, were the Seahawks. Shaun Alexander, with his 132 yards rushing and two TDs just a week after a concussion.
"If you don't think big and dream big," he said, "you can't get there."
And Matt Hasselbeck, with his two TD passes and precise 20-for-28 completion percentage.
"I'm kind of at a loss for words right now," he said.
And, most of all, the Seattle defense. Its handiwork was extraordinary. Carolina had 36 yards rushing, and did not score an offensive touchdown until 5:09 was left. In the Panthers' first nine possessions, stretching late into the third period, they had three first downs.
The Seahawks applied constant heat on Delhomme and intercepted him three times. They held Steve Smith to five catches and 33 harmless yards -- and three receptions came late.
"They played the perfect game," Carolina cornerback Ken Lucas said. "We got embarrassed tonight."
Smith had been the terror of the postseason with 22 catches in two games, but was shackled by an array of coverages and double teams, and the fact the Carolina ground game could not help take some of the burden.
Smith's one moment of daylight came on a 59-yard punt return for a touchdown in the first half -- Carolina's only points until the last meaningless minutes.
Nick Goings had his bell rung on a tackle late in the first period. He had started for the injured DeShaun Foster at running back. But Goings was gone for good, having gained 2 yards.
That left Jamal Robertson, who had 14 carries in the regular season.
"When it rains it pours," Smith said of the first quarter. "That about sums it up."
Carolina
0
7
0
7
--
14
Seattle
10
10
7
7
--
34
Sea--Stevens 17 pass from Hasselbeck (Brown kick), 5:31.
Sea--FG Brown 24, 2:23.
Sea--Alexander 1 run (Brown kick), 14:53.
Car--S.Smith 59 punt return (Kasay kick), 9:05.
Sea--FG Brown 39, 4:03.
Sea--D.Jackson 20 pass from Hasselbeck (Brown kick), 11:09.
Sea--Alexander 1 run (Brown kick), 6:00.
Car--Carter 47 pass from Delhomme (Kasay kick), 5:09.
A -- 67,837.
Car
Sea
First downs
11
27
Total Net Yards
212
393
Rushes-yards
12-36
51-190
Passing
176
203
Punt Returns
1-59
2-7
Kickoff Returns
7-143
2-51
Interceptions Ret.
0-0
3-67
Comp-Att-Int
15-35-3
20-28-0
Sacked-Yards Lost
2-20
2-16
Punts
7-34.7
5-38.8
Fumbles-Lost
1-1
0-0
Penalties-Yards
5-57
7-63
Time of Possession
18:09
41:51
Rushing -- Carolina, Robertson 4-19, Delhomme 3-15, Goings 5-2. Seattle, Alexander 34-132, Hasselbeck 6-27, Morris 7-24, Strong 4-7.
Passing -- Carolina, Delhomme 15-35-3-196. Seattle, Hasselbeck 20-28-0-219.
Receiving -- Carolina, Robertson 5-37, S.Smith 5-33, Carter 2-88, Proehl 1-19, Mangum 1-10, Hoover 1-9. Seattle, D.Jackson 6-75, Stevens 6-66, Engram 3-34, S.Wallace 1-28, Hannam 1-7, Jurevicius 1-6, Strong 1-3, Alexander 1-0.
Missed field goal -- Seattle, Brown 49 (SH).

Super Bowl gets two deserving teams

Burning questions Sunday on the NFL playoffs:
Q . Will Detroit have the two best teams in Super Bowl XL at Ford Field?
A . There is no doubt that Seattle is the best team in the NFC, and there is no doubt that Pittsburgh is the most deserving team in the AFC. Whether that makes the Steelers the best in the AFC doesn't matter. I'd take their players in a big game over any other team in the AFC.
Q . What did Seattle do to dominate the Panthers?
A . First, the roster they had at Qwest Field on Sunday was better than Carolina's. The Panthers had injuries at running back, and they got worse when Nick Goings went out because of an injury in the first quarter. Goings is their third-string tailback and had to start because of injuries to Stephen Davis and DeShaun Foster.
But that's not what won the game for Seattle. It's the way Seattle played -- not who didn't play for Carolina.
Q . Who was under the most pressure for Seattle?
A . Three people. One was Mike Holmgren, the coach. He won one Super Bowl as head coach in Green Bay. This is his seventh season in Seattle, and the Seahawks hadn't won a playoff game since 1984. He got that monkey off the franchise's back when Seattle beat Washington in the divisional round the previous week.
But the NFC Championship game was a lot bigger. He had to prepare a young team that was experiencing something new. They hadn't been this far. He had his offense and defense tuned perfectly to handle anything the Panthers threw at them.
Q . What about Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck? He stepped up in the clutch and didn't make any big mistakes. Did this game validate him as a Pro Bowl starter?
A . Yes. Winning counts more than anything, and Hasselbeck has been outstanding in two playoff games.
Q . Shaun Alexander set a franchise record for the playoffs with 132 yards rushing. Was the heat on him, too?
A . Yes, again. He hadn't had a big game in the playoffs before. Against Washington, he went out early because of a concussion. He carried the load against Carolina -- 34 carries, inside, outside, wherever they needed him. He produced.
Q . In the AFC, the Steelers did what Carolina could not do -- win three road games to get to the playoffs. What is the secret?
A . There is no secret. It's performance. In two years, Ben Roethlisberger has become a dominating big-game quarterback. The Steelers are relentless in every area. Their coach, Bill Cowher, settles for nothing but the best and it shows in how his team plays.
Q . What about the Broncos? Where did they fail?
A . Everyone waited for Jake Plummer to fall apart, and he did. But that doesn't excuse the defensive breakdowns. Cowher and his staff out-coached Mike Shanahan and his staff.
Q . What does it mean for Jerome Bettis to play in his first Super Bowl in his hometown?
A . It's hard to tell who's happier -- Bettis or the people who rooted for him to get there. Playing for a championship doesn't leave room for sentiment.
Q . Pick a winner in Super Bowl XL.
A . On the field, Pittsburgh 27, Seattle 23. Overall, I like Detroit as the big winner.