Written By Ed Greene and Anthony Pugliese
The Sunday of all Sundays is upon us once again. Chances are even if you’ve been living under a rock, you’re aware of the event known as Super Bowl Sunday. But this is not just any game (it never is), nor is it just any other Super Bowl. Today the NFL and its grandest game celebrates a milestone; its golden anniversary. Yep, this will be the 50thSuper Bowl since the NFL-AFL merger, and how fitting is it that this year’s match-up is a battle of old-school versus new-school.
Like most football games, today’s game is all about the quarterbacks. The veteran, “The Sheriff” Peyton Manning is playing in his fourth Super Bowl as he leads the Denver Broncos against the newly crowned league MVP Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers. Peyton Manning is looking to become the first quarterback in NFL history to win a Super Bowl with two different squads. While the two QB’s figure to be the main attractions at Levi’s Stadium, both Denver and Carolina boast the number one and six defenses, respectively. Denver’s last Super Bowl appearance was one to forget, a beat down of the ages in a 43-8 loss the Seattle Seahawks at Super Bowl XLVIII. This is Carolina’s second invitation to the dance; their first appearance resulted in a close 32-29 defeat in Super Bowl XXXVIII to New England.
Denver’s NFL best defense will have their hands full as the Panthers were number one in the NFL this year in points scored per game. The Panthers also led the league in the turnover ratio finishing with a +20 ratio in the regular season, and a +8 ratio in the playoffs. We’re a complete team,” says Panthers wide receiver Corey Brown. “We play as a team. It’s not about one person. It’s not about two people. If one guy goes down, the next man steps up. We are a complete team.” The Panthers are indeed the more complete team, and need to continue to win the turnover battle in order to win this game.
The Broncos have seen their ups and downs this season, but one thing remained constant; strong defensive play. A complete team effort, however, is going to be needed in order to defeat the Panthers. “It means so much to us to get to the Super Bowl,” says Broncos cornerback Chris Harris Jr. “We put in so much work this whole off-season and during the season. I’m just so proud of our team. We stuck together all year. We stayed together as a team and that’s all that matters.”
One thing is for sure, the golden anniversary of the Super Bowl promises to be entertaining. Tune in as kickoff begins at 6:30 P.M. As always, if you are unable to watch stick to the Scrum Twitter account to get all your scoring updates.
