The bright lights, the spectacular halftime show, and the biggest names in football make up one of the greatest events in all of sports — the Super Bowl. Surrounded by food, friends and great commercials, the Super Bowl is an event to remember, and this year’s game was no different.

Super Bowl XLVIII featured a matchup between the two number-one seeded teams, the Seattle Seahawks and the Denver Broncos. The first snap of the game was sent flying over Peyton Manning’s out-reached hands and into the end zone for a safety for Seattle. It would only get worse for the Broncos.

From then on, the Broncos looked panicked and completely unlike a Super-Bowl-quality team. By halftime, the score was a jaw-dropping 22-0 in favor of Seattle, and Peyton Manning’s team was performing uncharacteristically.

Yet with a half to go and Bruno Mars about to perform, it still seemed like there was hope. During the halftime show, there were not many high expectations for Bruno Mars’s performance, and there weren’t many expectations for Manning’s in the second half. 

The second half started poorly for the Broncos, with Percy Harvin returning the opening kickoff for a touchdown. After missing the majority of the season, Percy Harvin and the Seattle Seahawks defense stepped up.

Many people thought that the winner of the NFC West would end up winning the Super Bowl. As it turns out, that is exactly what happened. The tough Seattle Seahawks focused their game plan around their defense.

The Denver Broncos, however, focused theirs around their offense and their star Peyton Manning. As it turned out, assumptions that the cold January weather would negatively affect Manning’s performance would be correct.

It’s pretty embarrassing to suffer one of the worst losses in Super Bowl history, and what makes it worse is that Manning posted a 24.4 QBR in this year’s 43-8 loss. No one knows of Manning’s future, but it looks like the Seattle Seahawks have a bright one as their average age of 26.4 years makes them one of the youngest teams ever to win the Superbowl.

The Seahawks look like they will be a force to be reckoned with in the future, and it also seems Peyton Manning’s tenure in the league is beginning to run out.