THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: Now the Seahawks try to stay on top of the mountain

Being the champion is hard work.

No, really.

You think I'm joking, that there's a punch line coming.

Something like: "Brother, it was brutal. Winning the Super Bowl was tougher than a long day fixing a roof, getting hot tar on that shingle there, and on that one over by the chimney."

OK, I'm not quite serious. 

At least, not about working on a roof, middle of July in Macon, Georgia.

But in other ways, being a champion hits you with non-stop stress.

You want to take big strides all day and night like Muhamned Ali, making it clear who's the boss. 

At the same time, you truly want to show some humility, letting the world know that you're comfortable being just another guy at the dinner table — even if we know that you're not.

You spend every day caught in the middle.

And of course, you have to be prepared to keep on winning — or your life revolves around one shiny trophy.

Just that one.

ASK THE Seahawks about being on top of the world.

There are teams with talent and desire who want to kick you off the mountain, leaving you on the long list of teams who won a single Super Bowl and watched the next few on TV from the beach -- someplace in the Caribbean, far enough away from tourist spots that nobody will see you and ask about how it felt to win.

And lose.

The Seahawks know that story better than anyone.

They breezed to victory over Denver in the 2014 Super Bowl, and looked like a cinch for another when they were perched on the New England 1-yard line in the final seconds one year later.

Push it in for a TD, and bask in the blizzard of confetti.

Ah, the top of the mountain.

What a view!

But then ... they lost their balance and tumbled down.

Heartbreak.

Seattle can tell you all about winning the Lombardi Trophy, along with the puffed chests that go along with it.

The Hawks can wrap that up with a tale about crashing down the mountain when another Super Bowl seemed just a minute or so away.

It was destined to be part of the franchise legacy.

So.

Why throw a pass into traffic when you only need 36 inches?

Oh, my God.

WINNING Super Bowls back to back isn't impossible.

Obviously.

New England is one of the teams who've done it, and the Pats will be in Lumen Field tonight -- trying to stop the Seahawks from the start of a "two-fer" season.

The national media isn't quite sure about the Hawks, not about repeating at the Super Bowl nor even the NFC West, where the Rams have loaded up with future Hall of Famers.

On the other hand, the Seahawks are still a very good team.

"They have an unusual combination that can make them really, really special," said NFL writer/broadcaster Daniel Jeremiah. "They have continuity, which is tough to find, and yet they're still young.

"You don't find youth and continuity together very often."

Jeremiah thinks it's crazy to give up on the Hawks, but wonders — like a lot of us — if they will be good or great.

Even THAT question implies that the Seahawks are close to the top of the mountain.

The air is thin at that height.

Really, really thin.

EMAIL: [email protected]

Longtime journalist Steve Cameron writes "The Cheap Seats" three times each week for The Press.