To me, the idea of a rivalry necessitates that both teams or opponents beat each other at a pretty even clip. They are each other's nemesis, and the games are always close and hard-fought. The Seahawks and Broncos have played each other a lot over the years and there's no love lost, amongst the fans anyway. I'm a little reticent to call it a rivalry though, and here's why.
In case you're not completely up on the history of the Seahawks, it bears mentioning that Seattle actually used to be a part of the AFC West, and thus faced off against the Denver Broncos at least twice a year from 1977 to 2001. I'd love to tell you that we dominated them every time but that would be a bit of a fib. Truth is, the Broncos used to be pretty good. In a couple of different eras. And they dominated the Seahawks. The Broncos won the NFC West in 1977, 1978, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1996, and 1998.
They went to the Super Bowl in 1977, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1997, and 1998 -- winning it all in '97 and '98. Soooo, well, they were pretty good for a long time when the Seahawks were unlucky enough to be in their division. The Elway era was not kind to Seattle.
The all-time series is led by the Broncos, 34-18. The Broncos are 21-5 at home (including a 31-13 trouncing of the Seahawks last season) and 13-13 on the road against the Hawks. In the preseason, the Broncos lead the series 7-1.
All that domination is about to change tonight. Mark my words. The Seahawks are on the cusp of a dynasty, and when we look back in 10 years at our 10 straight Super Bowl victories, tonight will be known as the seminal (teehee) moment in Seahawks history. The night they figured it out. Or maybe not.
Either way, preeminent Seahawks historian Johnny Peel has chronicled the top ten greatest Seahawks/Broncos games (that the Seahawks won, of course) and you should give it a read here. But first, here's a snippet from his story over at Field Gulls:
10. 12/13/87 Seahawks 28, Broncos 21
This one has special personal significance for me: My first Broncos game at the Kingdome. I was 12, I had a "Bronco-Busters" T-shirt, and I screamed so loud and so long that my voice was gone for the better part of the next week. The memory-burn moment for me? In a tie game late in the 3rd, CHUCK KNOX CALLED FOR A FLEA-FLICKER, and Krieg hit a wide-open Ray Butler for a 40-yard TD bomb. It was orgasmic, and the Hawks held on for a memorable win over the eventual AFC Champions. Without this win, Seattle also would have missed the playoffs for the 3rd straight season.
Check out the top nine now, and then check out Johnny's blog, Dave Krieg's Strike Beard.