Read it Here First: Last Year Was a Fluke!

I'm not sure how to break this news to Seahawk nation, so I'll just have to tell it straight.

Last year was a fluke. A red herring. A mirage.

And in the desert of Arizona this night, the Seahawks proved that no matter how good and real it may look at times, a mirage is just a figment of the imagination. And like dehydrated and hallucinating travelers, lost in the desert called the NFL for over 30 years, Seahawks fans have been thirsting so long for a championship caliber team, that they're starting to see things that aren't there, and believe in things that are not real.

I know I was. Until today, that is.

With a chance to clinch the Division Crown, and make a legitimate run toward home field advantage, the Seahawks sleepwalked into Arizona, and lost a game that they should have won easily. In the spirit of Christmas, the Green Bay Packers did their part by gift-wrapping a victory over the Niners, and all the Seahawks had to do was play four quarters of mistake-free football. They didn't.

And speaking of the Season for Giving, the Seahawks fumbled the ball four times, losing three, and only managed one questionable interception on the other side of the ledger. In a game where both the head coach and the defensive coordinator promised less conservative play calling, the defense managed ZERO sacks and ZERO interceptions against a rookie quarterback, and the offense failed miserably on 3rd-and-makable distance all day.

And when they needed 20 yards on a critical 4th down play with under a minute to play, they picked up 19 and a half.

This year's version of the Seahawks does not have the same heart, efficiency and sense of urgency as last year's, and there's nothing like December games to reveal a mediocre team tying to pass itself off as a contender.

While there's still time, Seahawks fans, cross off those plane tickets to Miami from your Christmas list, as the Seahawks will not be returning to resolve the unfinished business from last February. As a matter of fact, this team seems more suited to reprise the perennial one-and-done playoff performance that those in the Pacific Northwest have come to know all too well, than to make another deep run into the playoffs and return to the Super Bowl.

And please don't accuse me of jumping off the band-wagon or being a fair weather fan. I've been behind this team from day one. I'm just sharing a little "tough love" with my fellow fans, to save them from suffering from four more weeks of disappointment and anguish, like the three hours wasted watching this match-up with the Cardinals today.

And since Seahawks nation is still smarting after this painful loss, I'll wait a few more weeks before breaking the news to you about Santa Claus.