The fourth quarter of the Super Bowl is home to some of the most tense moments in sports. Families gather to watch as the clock winds down play-by-play. In Super Bowl 49, the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks had all of America on the edge of their seats, myself included. On February 1st, 2015, I watched the most intense football game of my seven-year lifetime.
As I watch the Seahawks drive down the field with the clock getting closer and closer to zero, my heart begins to squeeze. I hadn’t seen a Super Bowl loss for the Patriots since I was three, and I didn’t want to relive that day again.
The Seahawks had the ball on their own 20-yard line with two minutes to go. With the Patriots in the lead by four, I had confidence in our defense to make the stop. The very next play, Marshawn Lynch, stiff-armed my dreams. A pass down the left sideline found Lynch right in the hands and got brought down at the Patriots’ 45-yard line. Curses are screamed at the TV as panic sets in. After the yelling dies down there’s a wave of silence that wipes over me and my family. I look at my dad, hands covering his face in stress.
Russel Wilson in shotgun throws a sucker punch right into my gut. Jermain Kerse on the Patriot’s five-yard line came down with a juggling circus catch. A catch so unlikely had just made me drop to the ground. At seven years old I thought the Patriots had lost. There was only one minute left in the game and the Seattle Seahawks were on the one-yard line.
As the Seahawks line up I can’t believe what I’m seeing. They are throwing the ball. My heartbeat is the only thing I hear. Wilson goes to throw and across the screen, I see Malcolm Butler about to make the most memorable interception in Super Bowl history. The two players collide, and my heart stops. Malcolm Butler caught the ball. Al Michaels, the broadcaster for NBC, is in hysterics. He screams “THE PASS IS INTERCEPTED AT THE GOAL LINE BY MALCOLM BUTLER!”. I can’t believe what I’m seeing. I jump up from my seat and scream. My mom is yelling and my dad smiles from ear to ear. Just 15 seconds ago I had it set in my mind the Patriots had lost, but Malcolm Butler did the impossible.
Malcolm Butler took over New England. Everyone in school talked about it for weeks. I made the photo of the interception my wallpaper for my iPod because of how amazing it was. Teachers took time to talk about it in class not caring about the class time that was being missed.
The play is still a memory I cherish to this day and will never be forgotten, as it is sealed in the hearts and minds of all New England fans forever.
