It’s that time of year again. Time for the hype, the high priced commercials that we all love, the way-too-extensive media coverage and the argu- ments over who will win. It’s Super Bowl season.
As Super Bowl 50 rapidly approaches, sto- rylines upon storylines will crowd the media regarding the Carolina Panthers and the Denver Broncos as both look to take home the Lombardi Trophy on Sunday.
Both the Panthers and the Broncos scored big wins to make it to the Super Bowl this year. The Broncos were able to beat the Patriots 20- 18 in a game that predominantly displayed the Broncos’ defense. Despite the Patriots’ late game comeback, the Broncos were able to hold out and move to their eighth Super Bowl in team history.
As for the Panthers, they made the Cardinals look like the Cleveland Browns rather than the offensively skilled team that knocked off the Packers the week before. In a 49-15 rout, the Pan- thers’ all-around dominance showed, leading them to only their second Super Bowl game in team history.
Both teams deserve to make it to this year’s big show, but not just because of their dominant play leading up to this point. The storylines surrounding both teams’ quarterbacks explain why Carolina and Denver deserved to be where they are.
Peyton Manning will be making his third, and possibly final, Super Bowl appearance. The 39-year-old was caught by NFL Network’s cam- eras, telling New England head coach Bill Belich- ick that it “might be his last rodeo.” However, when asked about his potential retirement, Man- ning refused to address the possibility.
If Manning is retiring, then he and his team deserve to be in the Super Bowl. The future Hall of Famer has had a storied career, winning five MVP’s and a championship with Indianapolis. He will make history come Sunday, as he will be the oldest quarterback to ever start a Super Bowl game. On Manning’s storyline alone, the Broncos deserve to play in the biggest game of the season.
However, their opponent deserves to be in this game a bit more than Denver does.
On the side of Carolina, Cam Newton has been making headlines all season. Finishing with the best record in the NFL (15-1), coming back from a car crash that could have potentially killed him and adding to the popularity of the dab with his infamous end zone celebrations, it’s hard to dis- like Cam Newton. However, he continues to be criticized as often as he is celebrated. According to Newton, it’s because he is a black quarterback and that scares people because they do not have any- thing to compare him to.
Whether that is true or not, the Panthers deserve to be in the Super Bowl. Newton has his chance to shut up the doubters as the rest of the team does. After a shoddy previous season, the Panthers bounced back to become the best team in the NFL; and now they have the op- portunity to prove that to the world.
Both teams will have flashes on Sunday. It will be a fantastic game and hopefully a much better one than the last Super Bowl the Bron- cos were in. The defenses of both teams will be strong, and the battle between the quarter- backs will be stronger.
The Panthers will stand tall on Sunday. With all the adversity that this team faced last season and to come back to multiple domi- nant performances both during the regular season and the playoffs, it is the Panthers’ time to shine.
Don’t call it a comeback.
