Are you excited?
We sure are!
Before we get to the big game though, I recently got together with a few of the greatest sports mind I know for a little PRE-FUNK SUPER BOWL PARTY where we discussed what we think will happen during the most anticipated football game since Super Bowl 49!
It's the....
SUPER BOWL 50 ROUND TABLE
Round Table Participants:
Dustin James: Mr. James has been a hardcore NFL fan for well over 20 years now. He runs TheUltimateSportsBlog.com with his spare time and likes freshly made donuts and zapping flies with his electric fly swatter.
Todd Bergman: Mr. Bergman is a celebrated online celebrity. He used to be the author of a weekly MMA column titled "The MMA Soup" which has been on hiatus for a few years now. It's not a coincidence that MMA's popularity started to dwindle once Bergman retired the Soup. He happens to be a fan of the Carolina Panthers and romantic comedies.
Steve Cook: Mr. Cook is a constant contributor to TheUltimateSportsBlog.com and really needs no introduction, but he gets one anyway. Cook is a big time sports fan who loves all sports equally. He spends his spare time fighting off women with a stick and using Kentucky Wildcats fans as target practice.
Jeremy Lambert: Mr. Lambert is also a constant contributor to TheUltimateSportsBlog.com. He also happens to be a big time fan of the Carolina Panthers and chocolate milk. He's been writing about sports for well over ten years, which makes him smarter than you.
Wyatt Beougher: Mr. Beougher is a well respected online columnist for 411mania.com. He has been a sports fan for as long as you have been alive, which makes him more than qualified for this. In his spare time, he likes taking nature hikes and pushing little kids into swimming pools.
1. Are you looking forward to this year's Super Bowl?
Dustin James: Yes. It's the Super Bowl and I always get excited for the Super Bowl because it's the freaking SUPER BOWL! You could have the Jacksonville Jaguars playing the Detroit Lions and I would be somewhat excited for it. The Super Bowl is always the last football game of the year and any football fan soaks it all in before we go into that horrendous six-month period where we have no football at all. Plus, the whole thing is like a holiday and I absolutely love holidays regardless of how ridiculous they are (looking at you Valentine's Day).
Todd Bergman: Of course I'm looking forward to the Super Bowl. It's something that I generally enjoy watching each year and this year is special because I've been a fan of the Carolina Panthers since they began play in 1995. It's going to be a fantastic match up of two great teams that endured a physical and long NFL season.
Steve Cook: I always get excited for the Super Bowl these days. Back when I was a kid the game was usually a blowout and anticlimatic. Those Cowboys teams were great for starpower, but the AFC teams at the time just couldn't match up. The NFC seemed to dominate for years and the game became a slog to get through. Once the Patriots got good, the Super Bowl games got closer and more exciting. There's still an occasional dud, but recently the Super Bowl has often been among the best games of the year. You got the #1 seeds from the AFC & NFC this year. They haven't faced off. Two big time quarterbacks. Two great defenses. The ingredients are there for a memorable game.
Jeremy Lambert: Yes and no. I’m always excited for the Super Bowl because I love championship games on every level and there’s no bigger game in football. The Panthers are playing, which makes me extremely excited and even more nervous. I’m writing this on Monday and I’m already sweating, thinking about this game. I can’t imagine how I’m going to feel on Sunday. My girlfriend can’t stand to be around me on Sunday’s because the Panthers take priority. Now they’re about to play in the friggin Super Bowl. She may as well move out for 24 hours on Sunday.
Wyatt Beougher: Actually, I am. I'm still salty about the officiating shenanigans that knocked my Bengals out of the tournament, but seeing the Steelers lose to ol' Noodle Arm a mere eight days later took most of the sting out of the that, and then watching the Denver defense absolutely annihilate Tom Brady gave me hope that the coverage leading up to the Super Bowl would be more than just the Peyton Manning saga ("Will he or won't he retire?") Obviously, the joke was on me, because that's pretty much all that I've seen online and in the snippets of ESPN that I can actually stomach, but hey, this season has allowed me one of the rarest of opportunities - to publicly admit that I was wrong! Little known fact - Ultimate Sports Blog's resident Hot Take-r (-er?) Jeremy Lambert once blocked me on Twitter because I wouldn't stop harassing him about how Cam Newton was just going to be the next Jamarcus Russell. We've since mended those fences, and I can honestly say that I couldn't be happier to have been proven so completely wrong by Cam this year. When the Panthers starting rattling off wins early in the season, I chalked it up to playing a weak schedule, but then they kept winning...and winning...and winning...and I started paying more attention to them (being assigned to a project in Louisiana, where Panthers games were often shown because they play in the same division as the Saints made that easier than at any point since I dropped DirecTV and Sunday Ticket), and as much as I was impressed by how much Cam was able to do with such a (relatively) talentless supporting cast around him, what really stuck out to me was how much joy and enthusiasm Cam has for the game. I'd spent his first four years in the league saying that he was too intent on "growing his brand" and "being an icon" (things he said prior to his rookie season) and not focusing on football, leaving me blind to the fact that he had matured. And yet, in spite of that maturity, I would put Cam up against any other player I saw this season as being the player who has retained the most glee at actually living out a fantasy that I think all of us entertained at one point or another in our younger days. So yes, even though I still wish it was the Bengals representing the AFC in this year's Super Bowl, and even though the "all Manning, all the time" attitude has made me loathe any sort of Super Bowl-related coverage, the combination of an extremely good defense and a pretty solid one, along with a player who I will freely admit that I love watching play, I am still very much looking forward to this year's Super Bowl.
Steve Cook: I always get excited for the Super Bowl these days. Back when I was a kid the game was usually a blowout and anticlimatic. Those Cowboys teams were great for starpower, but the AFC teams at the time just couldn't match up. The NFC seemed to dominate for years and the game became a slog to get through. Once the Patriots got good, the Super Bowl games got closer and more exciting. There's still an occasional dud, but recently the Super Bowl has often been among the best games of the year. You got the #1 seeds from the AFC & NFC this year. They haven't faced off. Two big time quarterbacks. Two great defenses. The ingredients are there for a memorable game.
Jeremy Lambert: Yes and no. I’m always excited for the Super Bowl because I love championship games on every level and there’s no bigger game in football. The Panthers are playing, which makes me extremely excited and even more nervous. I’m writing this on Monday and I’m already sweating, thinking about this game. I can’t imagine how I’m going to feel on Sunday. My girlfriend can’t stand to be around me on Sunday’s because the Panthers take priority. Now they’re about to play in the friggin Super Bowl. She may as well move out for 24 hours on Sunday.
Wyatt Beougher: Actually, I am. I'm still salty about the officiating shenanigans that knocked my Bengals out of the tournament, but seeing the Steelers lose to ol' Noodle Arm a mere eight days later took most of the sting out of the that, and then watching the Denver defense absolutely annihilate Tom Brady gave me hope that the coverage leading up to the Super Bowl would be more than just the Peyton Manning saga ("Will he or won't he retire?") Obviously, the joke was on me, because that's pretty much all that I've seen online and in the snippets of ESPN that I can actually stomach, but hey, this season has allowed me one of the rarest of opportunities - to publicly admit that I was wrong! Little known fact - Ultimate Sports Blog's resident Hot Take-r (-er?) Jeremy Lambert once blocked me on Twitter because I wouldn't stop harassing him about how Cam Newton was just going to be the next Jamarcus Russell. We've since mended those fences, and I can honestly say that I couldn't be happier to have been proven so completely wrong by Cam this year. When the Panthers starting rattling off wins early in the season, I chalked it up to playing a weak schedule, but then they kept winning...and winning...and winning...and I started paying more attention to them (being assigned to a project in Louisiana, where Panthers games were often shown because they play in the same division as the Saints made that easier than at any point since I dropped DirecTV and Sunday Ticket), and as much as I was impressed by how much Cam was able to do with such a (relatively) talentless supporting cast around him, what really stuck out to me was how much joy and enthusiasm Cam has for the game. I'd spent his first four years in the league saying that he was too intent on "growing his brand" and "being an icon" (things he said prior to his rookie season) and not focusing on football, leaving me blind to the fact that he had matured. And yet, in spite of that maturity, I would put Cam up against any other player I saw this season as being the player who has retained the most glee at actually living out a fantasy that I think all of us entertained at one point or another in our younger days. So yes, even though I still wish it was the Bengals representing the AFC in this year's Super Bowl, and even though the "all Manning, all the time" attitude has made me loathe any sort of Super Bowl-related coverage, the combination of an extremely good defense and a pretty solid one, along with a player who I will freely admit that I love watching play, I am still very much looking forward to this year's Super Bowl.
2. Super Bowl commercials. Still a thing or yesterday's news?
Dustin James: Yesterday's news. Even though Super Bowl commercials still get a lot of hype, they have been highly disappointing for awhile now. Back in the day, the commercials were so amazing and new that you couldn't risk missing any of them or you wouldn't understand what everyone was talking about the next day. These days though? We get maybe 4-5 REALLY GOOD commercials that bring us back to those days, while the rest of them are just stupid movie trailers that we've already seen 15 times or car commercials that have been running for 9 months now. Can we please go back to the days where the commercials would have you laughing hard enough that it would last into the next commercial break? Those were the days.
Todd Bergman: I believe that they are still a thing. There are some commercials that still have their first airings during the Super Bowl and that makes it special. Certainly the internet has taken away a great deal of the surprise when it comes to the commercials but the Super Bowl is truly one of the only shows that you watch from start to end and even during the commercials. While you didn't ask for it, I'm going to tell you that I have two favorite commercials of all time. That being the Cat Herder commercial (aired in 2000) from the now defunct EDS company and the Don Cheadle voiced Roman Numerals NFL commercial which aired in 2002. Nothing today has that feel but we are sometimes surprised by a movie trailer or Doritos commercial.
Steve Cook: I haven't cared about the commercials since I was a kid. Occasionally there will be something that catches my fancy or makes me laugh, but commercials are pretty low on the list of reasons to get excited about the Super Bowl. But when I go to Super Bowl parties I notice that most of the other people there, who happen to be the less dedicated football viewers, still care about the commercials and get excited about them. By the end of the night they're disappointed and say that the commercials were better x number of years ago. Then the next morning will have all the articles & TV spots about the commercials, not quite as much as there will be about the game, but still a damn good percentage. I'd like to say they're yesterday's news, but there's too much coverage of them to suggest that.
Jeremy Lambert: I’d say that they are a thing of the past, but a lot of people still like them and tune in the game strictly for the commercials. Personally, with the Internet and social media, commercials aren’t all that appealing to me. If I miss one, I can watch it a minute later online.
Wyatt Beougher: Personally? Yesterday's news. I watched last year's Super Bowl with my best friend, and while we talked through the commercials and paid them almost no attention, our wives were the complete opposite. Now, admittedly, in spite of both of our wives claiming to be diehard Steelers fans, the truth is that neither one of them has any inkling of what is actually happening on the field, and they mostly zone out when we start discussing offensive formations and disguised blitzes. I realize that my best friend, our wives, and I are proving the stereotypes, but I can imagine that there are just as many guys out there who still care about Super Bowl commercials as there are women, and just as many women who actually care about the game. That said, if people weren't watching the Super Bowl commercials, they'd almost certainly decrease in value, and tons of "pop culture" websites wouldn't post recaps and embedded YouTube clips of the commercials as they air.
And while we're on the subject, I will tell you the one commercial last year that got my best friend and I talking - Budweiser's "proud to be macro" commercial, where a company who just spent the last handful of years buying up craft breweries basically just said that they were proud to be a terrible bottle of ill-tasting swill and denigrated the hard work of all of those brewers out there striving for more than just mass-produced mediocrity. The only other company I can think of that so openly insults the intelligence of their consumers is WWE, and it's unfortunate that the latter company's toy deals likely prevent them from accepting Budweiser as an official sponsor, because the two companies belong together.
Steve Cook: I haven't cared about the commercials since I was a kid. Occasionally there will be something that catches my fancy or makes me laugh, but commercials are pretty low on the list of reasons to get excited about the Super Bowl. But when I go to Super Bowl parties I notice that most of the other people there, who happen to be the less dedicated football viewers, still care about the commercials and get excited about them. By the end of the night they're disappointed and say that the commercials were better x number of years ago. Then the next morning will have all the articles & TV spots about the commercials, not quite as much as there will be about the game, but still a damn good percentage. I'd like to say they're yesterday's news, but there's too much coverage of them to suggest that.
Jeremy Lambert: I’d say that they are a thing of the past, but a lot of people still like them and tune in the game strictly for the commercials. Personally, with the Internet and social media, commercials aren’t all that appealing to me. If I miss one, I can watch it a minute later online.
Wyatt Beougher: Personally? Yesterday's news. I watched last year's Super Bowl with my best friend, and while we talked through the commercials and paid them almost no attention, our wives were the complete opposite. Now, admittedly, in spite of both of our wives claiming to be diehard Steelers fans, the truth is that neither one of them has any inkling of what is actually happening on the field, and they mostly zone out when we start discussing offensive formations and disguised blitzes. I realize that my best friend, our wives, and I are proving the stereotypes, but I can imagine that there are just as many guys out there who still care about Super Bowl commercials as there are women, and just as many women who actually care about the game. That said, if people weren't watching the Super Bowl commercials, they'd almost certainly decrease in value, and tons of "pop culture" websites wouldn't post recaps and embedded YouTube clips of the commercials as they air.
And while we're on the subject, I will tell you the one commercial last year that got my best friend and I talking - Budweiser's "proud to be macro" commercial, where a company who just spent the last handful of years buying up craft breweries basically just said that they were proud to be a terrible bottle of ill-tasting swill and denigrated the hard work of all of those brewers out there striving for more than just mass-produced mediocrity. The only other company I can think of that so openly insults the intelligence of their consumers is WWE, and it's unfortunate that the latter company's toy deals likely prevent them from accepting Budweiser as an official sponsor, because the two companies belong together.
3. If you could pick anyone you wanted to perform during the halftime show. It would have to be....
Dustin James: Eminem. It would never happen in a million years, but that would be awesome. Since I can't have Tupac or N.W.A. for obvious reasons, let's put Eminem out there to talk about how much he hates his mom, his ex-wife, loves drugs, hates gay people, and things that make his pee pee go "DOING DOING DOING DOING".
Todd Bergman: That would have to be the Foo Fighters. The halftime show now is nothing more than a let's get some random band out there so we can attempt to draw in the 10 people not watching the show. Outside of probably Scott Rolen (Cook knows what I'm talking about) no one is excited about Coldplay. I have heard that they are trying to put Beyonce in there just so guys like myself don't go to the bathroom during the show. If you will remember correctly, Beyonce was the single factor in the downturn of the San Francisco 49ers franchise from a couple of years ago. Had she not blew out the electricity with her "jelly" then the Ravens would have not gotten the amount of rest needed to withstand the 49ers late comeback in that game.
Steve Cook: Metallica, along with being my favorite band, would have made sense for Super Bowl 50 halftime on multiple levels. They're San Francisco-based, they're old enough at this point to fit in the age bracket of your typical Super Bowl Halftime Show performers and they're a great live act. The downside would have been that they only would have had enough time to play Enter Sandman and maybe one other song, or would have had to do some crappy medley cutting out the best parts of their songs, so maybe it's for the best. They'll be on a show celebrating the night before the Super Bowl and will have more time to do their thing there.
Jeremy Lambert: Taylor Swift. I love Dustin’s choice of Eminem, but I’m actually thinking realistic here. Swift is the biggest act in music, is TV friendly, has catchy songs that everyone can dance to and enjoy, and knows how to put on a show. She’s also friends with just about every celebrity on the planet and could bring them on stage for cameo performances. It’s a no brainer.
Wyatt Beougher: Johnny Cash. That's my standard answer for anything, but Cash was an icon of American music and would've reached a far greater swath of diehard NFL fans than someone like Katy Perry. If we're limiting this question to performers who are still alive, then it's equally as easy - Foo Fighters. Dave Grohl has been a part of two of the most influential rock bands of the last two-plus decades, yet both Beyonce and Bruno Mars are getting ready to perform at the Super Bowl for the second time in the past four years and Grohl hasn't been invited even once? That's not a knock on either of the other acts, and I realize that pop music probably better fits the demographic of people who watch the Super Bowl (and only the Super Bowl), but surely one of the best American rock bands of the last two decades deserves a shot as well?
Steve Cook: Metallica, along with being my favorite band, would have made sense for Super Bowl 50 halftime on multiple levels. They're San Francisco-based, they're old enough at this point to fit in the age bracket of your typical Super Bowl Halftime Show performers and they're a great live act. The downside would have been that they only would have had enough time to play Enter Sandman and maybe one other song, or would have had to do some crappy medley cutting out the best parts of their songs, so maybe it's for the best. They'll be on a show celebrating the night before the Super Bowl and will have more time to do their thing there.
Jeremy Lambert: Taylor Swift. I love Dustin’s choice of Eminem, but I’m actually thinking realistic here. Swift is the biggest act in music, is TV friendly, has catchy songs that everyone can dance to and enjoy, and knows how to put on a show. She’s also friends with just about every celebrity on the planet and could bring them on stage for cameo performances. It’s a no brainer.
Wyatt Beougher: Johnny Cash. That's my standard answer for anything, but Cash was an icon of American music and would've reached a far greater swath of diehard NFL fans than someone like Katy Perry. If we're limiting this question to performers who are still alive, then it's equally as easy - Foo Fighters. Dave Grohl has been a part of two of the most influential rock bands of the last two-plus decades, yet both Beyonce and Bruno Mars are getting ready to perform at the Super Bowl for the second time in the past four years and Grohl hasn't been invited even once? That's not a knock on either of the other acts, and I realize that pop music probably better fits the demographic of people who watch the Super Bowl (and only the Super Bowl), but surely one of the best American rock bands of the last two decades deserves a shot as well?
4. True or False? This will be Peyton Manning's last NFL game regardless of the outcome.
Dustin James: Kind of a trick question here. Nice job by the person who came up with it. Anyway, I don't think this will be Peyton's last season. From all accounts, the guy thinks he still has it for some reason and I'm betting he comes back next season win or lose. Long-time readers of the blog know that I'm not a fan of Peyton Manning at all. While I respect the guy's football brain, I've been burned by him too many times in the past and I just can't stand him for that reason alone. I'm sure he's a fine human being and everything, but I don't care. Until he retires, I will continue to hate Peyton with a passion. I do think he's done as far as being a good NFL QB. Statistically speaking, this version of Peyton is the worst QB to ever play in a Super Bowl. Wrap your head around that one. Manning has the NFL's best defense behind him and he's actually been a good enough game manager these last few weeks and that's what has resulted in the Broncos Super Bowl run. I think the Broncos brass knows that Peyton is done and they could move on from him after this season, but as far as Peyton is concerned....I think he goes one more year. I honestly feel like he'll go out in the same fashion that Brett Favre did (I'm retired, wait nevermind I want to play, no actually I think I'll retire, etc.) because Peyton isn't happy unless he's making my life miserable for some reason.
Todd Bergman: True as I believe that "The Sheriff" will ride off into the sunset regardless of the outcome. Manning's body is breaking down at a fast rate and there is nothing more for him to prove when it comes to being an NFL player. If you are to believe the Indianapolis Media then Peyton will be coming back to town to become the New GM of the team in the next year or so. I would envision that when he retires, he will become something like a special assistant to the GM this year and then when Grigson and Pagano don't get along again this year, Peyton is handed the position of GM. I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing for the Colts but my beloved city of Indianapolis wants #18 back in any capacity that they can get.
Steve Cook: True. Even before he told Bill Belichick it was probably his last rodeo, I've had the feeling since late last season that Peyton's time was coming to an end. I think a large part of why he got his job back from Brock Osweiler after missing some time due to injury was that Broncos management knows Peyton's almost done. John Elway had the perfect ending to a career, he'd love for Peyton to do the same. I'd be shocked if this wasn't his last game, and fully expect to see Peyton Manning in the broadcast booth with Jim Nantz next season.
Jeremy Lambert: True. There’s no chance he plays another game if the Broncos win and if they lose, why would he bother trying again? He’d be 1-3 in the Super Bowl and getting to the big game three times in four years would be very tough, especially at the level he’s playing at. He’s had a hell of a run and Super Bowl 50 will be a fitting end.
Wyatt Beougher: TRUE At this point, Manning's arm is held on with dental floss and good intentions...well, and HGH if you believe the stories, which is another reason that I think he retires after this season. If the Denver defense can win him a second Super Bowl, I think there's a 100% chance he retires; if Cam can overcome, then I think it drops to probably 90%. Manning already has one Lombardi to his name, and there's no way he's even sniffing Brady's four, so I think he contents himself with a slew of seemingly unbreakable records and retires. Not only does it mean he doesn't have to continue to sully his legacy by throwing five-yard duck passes, but it also should deflect any remaining attention away from the HGH allegations.
Steve Cook: True. Even before he told Bill Belichick it was probably his last rodeo, I've had the feeling since late last season that Peyton's time was coming to an end. I think a large part of why he got his job back from Brock Osweiler after missing some time due to injury was that Broncos management knows Peyton's almost done. John Elway had the perfect ending to a career, he'd love for Peyton to do the same. I'd be shocked if this wasn't his last game, and fully expect to see Peyton Manning in the broadcast booth with Jim Nantz next season.
Jeremy Lambert: True. There’s no chance he plays another game if the Broncos win and if they lose, why would he bother trying again? He’d be 1-3 in the Super Bowl and getting to the big game three times in four years would be very tough, especially at the level he’s playing at. He’s had a hell of a run and Super Bowl 50 will be a fitting end.
Wyatt Beougher: TRUE At this point, Manning's arm is held on with dental floss and good intentions...well, and HGH if you believe the stories, which is another reason that I think he retires after this season. If the Denver defense can win him a second Super Bowl, I think there's a 100% chance he retires; if Cam can overcome, then I think it drops to probably 90%. Manning already has one Lombardi to his name, and there's no way he's even sniffing Brady's four, so I think he contents himself with a slew of seemingly unbreakable records and retires. Not only does it mean he doesn't have to continue to sully his legacy by throwing five-yard duck passes, but it also should deflect any remaining attention away from the HGH allegations.
5. The winner of the Super Bowl will be.....
Dustin James: Carolina. I don't think this game will be as bad as the Denver/Seattle game from a few years back, but I feel like it will be strikingly similar. The Broncos are a mess on offense and they are playing a team that's been on fire on the defensive side of the ball. Sound familiar? Denver's defense is better now than it was when the Broncos played the Seahawks in the Super Bowl a few years ago and that's the only reason I'm giving Denver a shot in this game. My prediction is 27-10 with Manning looking like a dumpster fire and Denver fans jumping off a cliff. Otherwise known as THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!
Todd Bergman: Carolina Panthers (24-21). It will be a close hard fought game with Graham Gano securing the game late in the 4th with a 30 yard field goal. Gano will then ease the butt cheeks of Carolina fans as he will not boot the ball out of bounds on the kickoff like John Kasey did during Super Bowl XXXVIII. Cortland Finnegan continues his streak of success against Peyton Manning by picking him off to end the game.
Steve Cook: My first hunch after the championship games were over was that Carolina would win this thing going away. They've been on a roll all season and have looked especially impressive for a game and a half in the postseason. The Broncos haven't looked as good on offense, but their defense has been superb. If anybody can stop Cam, it's the Broncos. That being said...I don't think it's going to happen. Panthers win their first Super Bowl, but it'll be a lot closer than the Broncos' last appearance.
Jeremy Lambert: Really tough for me to pick against Carolina even though I’ve done so pretty much all season. I’m a sports pessimist who doesn’t believe his team will win until the game is officially over. And even then I’m skeptical. The Broncos have a great defense, but Carolina’s is just as good and if it comes down to a quarterback making a play, I have more faith in Cam than Peyton at this point in their careers.
Wyatt Beougher: Defense wins championships, and there was no better defense this season than that of the Denver Broncos. That said, I'm still going with the Carolina Panthers, just because everyone has been counting them out all season and all they've done is continue to prove their doubters wrong. I don't think Cam has a career day, but he will still create enough havoc to allow guys like Greg Olsen, Jonathan Stewart, and yes, even Ted Ginn Jr to propel his team to the win.
Steve Cook: My first hunch after the championship games were over was that Carolina would win this thing going away. They've been on a roll all season and have looked especially impressive for a game and a half in the postseason. The Broncos haven't looked as good on offense, but their defense has been superb. If anybody can stop Cam, it's the Broncos. That being said...I don't think it's going to happen. Panthers win their first Super Bowl, but it'll be a lot closer than the Broncos' last appearance.
Jeremy Lambert: Really tough for me to pick against Carolina even though I’ve done so pretty much all season. I’m a sports pessimist who doesn’t believe his team will win until the game is officially over. And even then I’m skeptical. The Broncos have a great defense, but Carolina’s is just as good and if it comes down to a quarterback making a play, I have more faith in Cam than Peyton at this point in their careers.
Wyatt Beougher: Defense wins championships, and there was no better defense this season than that of the Denver Broncos. That said, I'm still going with the Carolina Panthers, just because everyone has been counting them out all season and all they've done is continue to prove their doubters wrong. I don't think Cam has a career day, but he will still create enough havoc to allow guys like Greg Olsen, Jonathan Stewart, and yes, even Ted Ginn Jr to propel his team to the win.
6. The MVP of the Super Bowl will be.....
Dustin James: Recent history says that the MVP of the game will either be a QB or a wide receiver (13 of the Super Bowl MVPs since 2000 have been a QB or a WR) with a slight chance of a linebacker winning it. Considering I think defense is going to rule this game, I'm going with a defensive player. Luke Kuechly. Come on down and accept your MVP award!
Todd Bergman: Ted Ginn. I believe that Cam will have an outstanding game and could be considered the MVP but as per the Super Bowl tradition, someone else will win the award. Ginn will join the ranks of Ottis Anderson, Larry Brown, Desmond Howard and Dexter Jackson as Super Bowl MVP's. Just for the hell of it, I'm going to predict that Ginn has a punt return touchdown and receiving touchdown in the game.
Steve Cook:
Steve Cook:
It's Cam's year. I suspect that next year will be about people tearing him down, because people always get torn down after they get built up. But what better way to end this NFL season, a season that's been dominated by Cam Newton, than by him winning the Super Bowl MVP after leading the Panthers to victory in the Super Bowl? The only better way would have been forcing Roger Goodell to hand the Lombardi Trophy to the Patriots after he spent the off-season trying to tear them down, but that ship has sailed.
Jeremy Lambert: Luke Kuechly. He’s going to have a ton of tackles since Manning loves to utilize short routes over the middle and he might even have another interception. It’s going to be a defensive struggle so I may as well go with the best defensive player on the field.
Wyatt Beougher: Again, I don't think Cam Newton has a career day here, but I do think he'll have a pair of touchdowns, one rushing and one passing, and that should be good enough to pick up the MVP in what will likely be a low-scoring, defensive battle.
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