The interview demands at a Super Bowl are unlike anything the Seahawks and Patriots players and coaches have ever seen.
Monday was “Opening Night.” An entire ballroom at the San Jose Convention Center was full of hundreds, if not thousands, of reporters.
From your local Seattle journalists to ESPN, even Jimmy Kimmel Live’s Guillermo and Inside Edition were asking questions. Bloggers and social media influencers had their chance to ask questions, too.
Save for some of the Seahawks stars like quarterback Sam Darnold and head coach Mike Macdonald, a lot of the players and assistant coaches were “fair game,” just on the ballroom floor, open for questions for a full hour.
PHOTOS | Seahawks fans show off their pride ahead of Super Bowl matchup
The questions ranged from what you’d expect on Super Bowl preparations to “favorite Nickelodeon show,” “Biggest financial flex,” or for Coach Macdonald (four times) if he would run the ball on 4th down with the Super Bowl on the line—in reference to the ending of Super Bowl XLIX.
Tuesday was a bit more subdued, but still featured nine Seahawks players at mini podiums, having to field some questions for probably the tenth time, and still getting the oddball outlier.
It’s enough to perhaps throw a team off its game. After all, they’re here to win it all, bring home the Lombardi Trophy, and a ton of effort is spent on those questions.
So, getting to the bottom of it, we asked Devon Witherspoon if it did, in fact, change anything.
“No.”
Right to the point. Just the way this team likes it.
ALSO SEE | Microsoft AI on Surface tablets to aid Seahawks coaches’ real-time Super Bowl calls
Mike Macdonald repeated his now-famous phrase from after the NFC Championship when he said, “We. Do. Not. Care.”
What does it really mean? This team cares about nothing outside the task at hand; their slogan worn on gear all season was “M.O.B.” or ‘Mission Over Bull****.”
That’s why they’ve won nine in a row.
That’s why they’ve got the chance to win a Super Bowl.
That’s this team’s superpower. There are plenty of additional things that could have thrown this team off its game.
From a potential sale, to the apparent departure of offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak to take over the Raiders.
This team is truly uniquely tied together.
They understand the difficulty of what they’re trying to do and that it will take everything they have to make it happen.
So as the week goes on, the interviews pile up, the Seahawks never lose focus.
They know the Patriots are difficult enough. Why let something else from outside the lines of the field get in your way?
MORE | Watch parties set for Sunday as Pioneer Square spots brace for lines and a fan rush
That’s the message Mike Macdonald has been preaching since his hire in early 2024, and the fact that it has paid off already is uncanny.
The game, this closely contested, will be decided by an “x factor,” something that can break it all down.
It can be an exclamation point like Rashid Shaheed’s kick return for a score against the 49ers or just the sheer will of outlasting the Rams in the NFC Championship.
Whatever it is, it won’t be distractions hurting the Seahawks.
Not on this night, not on this stage.
They’re locked in and about to give it their best shot to win the franchise’s second-ever Super Bowl.
