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The first play of Super Bowl XLVIII broke the Denver Broncos' back: a mistimed snap ended up as a safety for the Seahawks on the very first play from scrimmage, marking the fastest-scoring play in Super Bowl History. So what exactly went wrong? Peyton Manning says it was because of the noise.
"We were using the snap count on the play and due to the noise no one could hear me," Manning told reporters. "I was walking up to the line of scrimmage to sort of make a change and get us on the same page and then the ball was snapped," he added.
The odd thing is that Super Bowls, are usually not as loud as regular football games, mostly because it's not a true home game for either team. Seattle's CenturyLink Field is generally among the loudest in football and their "12th Man" crowd has been credited with unnerving more than a few offenses. Only they had to share the spectacle with the Broncos fans, and a lot of corporate folks who have no rooting interest.
"There’s not a lot of crowd noise. People mostly sit on their hands, outside of the fans that buy the tickets for the team. It’s kind of a corporate get-together." Ron Jaworski, an ESPN analyst who was the quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles, told The New York Times, which reported on the "quiet" Super Bowl phenomena late last month.