Without a doubt the thin air in Denver affects teams, especially those going there the first time. A San Diego team that goes there every year cannot really be used as an example. And Baltimore is an outlier. I also think people tend to forget that Denver had that game won if not for a defensive brain fart.
Meanwhile the homefield in Seattle for the playoffs was not nearly the same as it was in the regular season. There was A LOT of SF red in the NFCCG, as rich Californians bought up tickets at the outrageous sums the regular Seahawks fans couldn't match. Therefore, the noise that hit 137 decibals against the Saints in the regular season never hit 115 in the championship game. That's one reason you saw a much more effective SF offense than the first time they met.
To my mind, Denver had their usual HFA in the playoffs and Seattle's was watered down. Couple that with the fact the Saints and Niners were better than SD and NE and there you go. The Seahawks were more impressive getting to the Super Bowl even though the Sea-SF game was closer than the Denver-NE game.
Without a doubt the thin air in Denver affects teams, especially those going there the first time. A San Diego team that goes there every year cannot really be used as an example. And Baltimore is an outlier. I also think people tend to forget that Denver had that game won if not for a defensive brain fart.
Meanwhile the homefield in Seattle for the playoffs was not nearly the same as it was in the regular season. There was A LOT of SF red in the NFCCG, as rich Californians bought up tickets at the outrageous sums the regular Seahawks fans couldn't match. Therefore, the noise that hit 137 decibals against the Saints in the regular season never hit 115 in the championship game. That's one reason you saw a much more effective SF offense than the first time they met.
To my mind, Denver had their usual HFA in the playoffs and Seattle's was watered down. Couple that with the fact the Saints and Niners were better than SD and NE and there you go. The Seahawks were more impressive getting to the Super Bowl even though the Sea-SF game was closer than the Denver-NE game.
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