24 Hours After for this Seahawk Fan

Okay...It's almost been 24 hours since what was supposed to be the greatest comeback in the history of mankind.

32 seconds. 32 ticks of the clock. That's it.

The Seahawks had done it. Down 20 points in the 4th quarter, and yet they made the improbable comeback and taken the lead.  The game was won.

But it wasn't.

Because the Atlanta Falcons ended up driving down the field and kicked the winning field goal within those 32 seconds.

The reason why this one felt so sickening is I'd been here as a fan before. You see, the 2011 Texas Rangers were one pitch, one strike away, from winning the world series. One strike!!! That's all that was needed. One strike for the first World Series ever for the Texas Rangers.

But they never got that strike.

The St. Louis Cardinals would win the game and go to win the series. And the Rangers haven't been the same since. The players that made up the strength of the team have been mostly traded away. Who knows if and when the Rangers will ever be that close to winning the World Series ever again.

That's the thing about sports. You never know. There are so many variables - injuries, trades, declining talent, other teams improving. When you are fortunate enough to be that close, you have to take full advantage because you may never get there again.

That's what was so sickening about yesterday's loss to the Falcons.

But all is not a loss.

Here's what I take away as a fan from yesterday's loss.

• Had the Falcons lost the game in that fashion, I'm not sure if the Falcons ever recover from a loss like that. Their coach and quarterback were already under massive pressure because of their inability to win a playoff game. But to lose a game like that? After being up by 20 going into the 4th quarter? That would have been absolutely devastating to the coach, Matt Ryan, and the team. 
• The Falcons are an aging team. Their are at the declining end of the bell curve in terms of age and talent. For those reasons, I am happy for the Falcons that they won the game. That's the kind of Christian football fan I am. 
• This season for the Seahawks reminds me a lot of Ben Rothelisberger's 2004 rookie season for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers were young and with Ben Rothlisberger, building off that rookie season they strung together a decade of excellent football teams, and they are still not done. I think that's what's ahead for the Seahawks.
• Had someone told me at the beginning of the season that the 2012 Seahawks would finish the season making it to the second round of playoffs after the years of Tavaris Jackson and Charlie Whitehurst at QB, I would have jumped on that. 
• Russel Wilson is a leader. That one player in a position like the QB makes that much of a difference and he's just getting started.
• And that's a great way to describe the upcoming seasons for the Seahawks, 2012 was just the beginning because we're just getting started.

So look out NFL, NFC! The Seahawks are here for years to come!