Greenville, Va – The Seattle Seahawks advanced to their second Superbowl appearance in franchise history after winning the 2014 NFC championship over the San Francisco 49ers.

In a close battle that found the Seahawks trailing the majority of the game, it was their defense that stopped the 49ers on the last play of the game and punched their ticket to Superbowl 48.

As a Seahawks fan, this game had me on the edge of my seat for the entire matchup. Not only were the Seahawks playing for the NFC title, but they were also playing against their division rival – which meant that the steaks and tension were high.

The Seahawks, who were the NFC west champions as well, came into this game with a record of 14-3. They had the eighth-ranked offense and the league’s best defense. The 49ers came into this game with a 14-4 record, along with the eleventh ranked offense and the third best defense.

The Seahawks struggled to get anything going in the first half as they trailed 10-3 at halftime.

The second half went underway and the Seahawks went back to their roots by handing the ball off to Marshawn Lynch. Lynch had over 1,200 yards and led the league with 12 touchdowns during the regular season, as he had a big break away 40 yard run for a touchdown that tied the game.

The 49ers quickly answered with a touchdown pass from quarterback Colin Kaepernick to wide receiver Anquan Boldin to regain the lead. The Seahawks were able to cut their deficit to four at the end of the third quarter, but it was the Seahawks who took over the fourth quarter.

They scored ten points in the fourth quarter and were up 23-17 when the 49ers took the field for their last chance to win the game. The 49ers were able to march down to the 18 yard line after converting on a fourth down; where Kaepernick passed it to wide receiver Michael Crabtree, but All-Pro corner Richard Sherman tipped it in the air for linebacker Malcolm Smith to intercept it with 25 seconds left in the game.

This play effectively ended the game and sent the Seahawks to the Superbowl, where they went on to defeat the Denver Broncos 43-8 to win their first ever Superbowl.

The Seahawks’ legendary defense, known as the Legion of Boom at the time, showed up to play this game forcing three turnovers, two interceptions and one fumble along with two sacks.

This was the best time to be a Seahawks fan, because the franchise had a history of failure as this was only their second Superbowl appearance. They went on to appear in Super Bowl 49 and fell one yard short of winning back-to-back Super Bowls. The final play of that game was heavily criticized, because of Seahawks’ head coach Pete Carrol’s decision to pass the ball instead of handing it off.

The 2013 Seahawks team was so good that they were ranked the twelfth best team of all time.

This game was extremely fun to watch, regardless of whether someone is a fan of either team or not, so ESPN would not  be making a mistake if they choose to rerun this game on television.

“It was a really good game and it showed how legit the Seahawks defense was at the time, and I’m not even a Seahawks fan,” said my older brother, Jordan Gray.

“That final play, where Sherman tipped the ball away from Crabtree, was the defining moment that solidified Sherman and the Seahawks defense as the best in the league,” said my grandfather Frankie Tankesley.