The Seattle Seahawks Crush The Denver Broncos 43-8 To Win Super Bowl XLVIII [Video]

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NEW YORK (Associated Press) — The Seahawks pretty much ruined everyone's fun but their own.

Their safety 12 seconds into the game got everyone excited, but the only play that came close to matching it started off the second half — and Percy Harvin's kick return pretty much finished off the Broncos.

After that, there wasn't much left to do but hope for some good commercials, a strategy that yielded some nice moments, but nothing that you can't see on YouTube.

Here's a look back at the Super Bowl on Sunday night, from the transit gaffes to the commercials, halftime show and — oh yeah — the game itself.

RETRO BLOWOUT: It has been awhile since the NFL's championship game has been such an absurdly one-sided affair.

Football fans who remember the 1980s and 1990s recall watching teams — the Broncos often among them — get slaughtered on Super Bowl Sunday. In those days, it was pretty much a given that the big game would be over by halftime. Over the last decade, though, a series of fantastic finishes and improbable moments have gotten everyone accustomed to drama.

Not on Sunday night. The Seahawks' 43-8 win was a throwback, for sure. The only bigger losses were New England's 46-10 defeat to Chicago and Denver's 55-10 thrashing by San Francisco in 1990. The 35-point margin tied the Bills' 52-17 loss to Dallas in 1993.

MANNING AGONISTES: Peyton Manning always seems to be judged by the next game. Win one big game, and it's the next one just out of reach that really matters.

In the Super Bowl he never really had much of a chance. The game's first snap flew by his head before he could react, and the Seahawks had a safety and a 2-0 lead 12 seconds into the game.

"It's not the way you want to start a game," Manning said. "For whatever reason we couldn't get anything going after that."

Down only two scores, the Broncos could have made it a game, but Manning got hit as he threw, the ball fluttered into Malcolm Smith's grasp and the linebacker returned it for a touchdown and just like that, the Broncos were down 22-0 at halftime.

Oh, and then Manning got to watch as Harvin returned the second-half kickoff for a TD.

"To finish this way is very disappointing," Manning said. "It's a bitter pill to swallow."