.

Embarrassment, n.  A feeling of self-consciousness, guilt, or awkwardness.  The state of feeling foolish and/or confused in front of other people.

...

1.  I like Peyton Manning, and I believe that the sportswriter "champ vs chump" paradigm is --- > usually out of contact with reality.

...

2.  There is nothing embarrassing about losing, as such.  The San Francisco 49er's obviously have nothing to be embarrassed about.  In fact, they are not feeling embarrassed.  They are feeling like they want payback.

Neither is there anything inherently embarrassing about losing in a blowout.  If LeBron James beat me at 1-on-1, I wouldn't feel foolish.

...

3.  The Broncos' receivers, in the second half, started looking around for defenders as the ball was in the air, started blowing their routes, etc.  This was understandable.  It is also the definition of "having your will to win taken away."

Manning also lost focus in a manner comparable to that of his receivers.

When a team plays otherwise than with an implacable will to win -- a 49er-type snarling defiance in defeat -- it embarrasses itself.  This is why the Mariners generally, since Lou Piniella, have been an embarrassment.

Felix holds his head high, rising above the embarrassment.  He'll go into New York and shut the Yankees out, 1-0.  The Seattle Mariners as a team have not had this attitude.  The Chuck Armstrong legacy is that of financial strength and an embarrassing end product.

It embarrasses me to root for such a team.  

...

4.  The Broncos were sensational all year long, lighting people up, and then when it mattered the most, when they faced tough opposition, they backed down.  (They wound up completing 34 passes, but ... when was their initial first down?  When were their first points scored?)

During the year, they accepted the glory as the NFL's best offense -- the very State of the Art.  

They enjoyed being praised as the State of the Art, and did nothing to deflect it.  As we're typing, there's an NFL sound bite of them yelling at each other on the sideline, "We're the best ***** offense to ever play this game." They accepted the anointing as Historically Great, before the championship game.

Then, when the championship game occurred, they played otherwise.

Even more embarrassing, on The Day After, they are still protesting that they are a great team and that people should be praising them.  They're trying to salvage a legacy as the best offense ever.

.

Dr's Diagnosis

Yes, by any definition of the term, the 2014 Denver Broncos suffered one of the Super Bowl's greatest-ever embarrassments, maybe exceeded only by that of the Colts in Super Bowl III.  Not because they lost, but because they nodded, smiled, and waved to the world accepting the glory as All-Time Greats -- and then they had their will to win destroyed, in front of 110 million people.

That's not grounds for imprisonment, or banishment from the NFL, or eviction from the Hall of Fame.  What it is, is embarrassing.

.......

When the Seahawks beat down the 49er's in CLink early in 2014, it took San Francisco several weeks to overcome their confusion and embarrassment.  BUT!  Like Chuck Knox says, "When a MAN's butt hits the floor.  He Gets Back Up."

I'm not quick to blame a quarterback for a loss in a Big Game.  But in my opinion, Peyton Manning confirmed, in this game, that his makeup is different than that of Tom Brady or Joe Montana ... or, probably, Russell Wilson.

I don't care for Colin Kaepernick, but he's got the makeup you want.   HE is the one who is "classy in defeat," because his shoulders aren't slumped and his chest isn't collapsed.  My admiration for the 2013 San Francisco 49er's is vast.

When you accept a franchise QB like Peyton Manning, with his frontrunner, Older Brother, "bully" makeup, you take the good with the bad.  Sure, Peyton Manning has done a lot in the NFL.  His achievements did occur.  His 2013 season was a microcosm of his career -- a lot of flash and success, but without the heart of a champion -- and that's his legacy at SSI.

My $0.02,

Dr D