Peyton Manning Gets His Super Bowl 50 Fairy Tale Ending
Lady Gaga kicked off Super Bowl 50 with a glorious rendition of the National Anthem, and then Denver defeated Carolina 24-10, putting the kibosh on the Panther’s days of dabbing for the season.
To the delight of Colorado fans, Cam Newton’s storybook run was trumped by Peyton Manning’s epic fairy tale ending. A better script has never been written for an athlete on the final fumes of an illustrious career.
With the quarterback uncertainty that hung over Denver like a smoggy Encino sky, it seemed unfathomable that the arm of a banged up 39-year old veteran could carry his team to the football Promised Land. Then actually win.
Denver didn’t just win. They beat a 17-1 Panther offense that was number one, led by the NFL MVP. And the Bronco’s didn’t just beat Carolina, they blindsided the controversial blue gum chewing Cam Newton and all of his unmerry men with their number one defense, defense, defense.
All season I have never seen Cam Newton so frazzled on the field. It was as if he had caught the bug that two weeks ago took down Tom Brady and his equally unbalanced Patriots.
For all of the play film the Panthers studied prior to this showdown, they could not protect their prized possession from seven sacks, and two forced fumbles, both of which very costly, courtesy of Bronco linebacker, Von Miller, the Super Bowl MVP.
The Broncos defense made the Panthers seem pedestrian – especially Newton who completed 18/41 passes for 245 yards. Their special teams were anything but, and their offense was held scoreless in the 1st and 3rd quarter.
The Bronco’s were also in good hands with field goal kicker Brandon McManus’ foot. He was perfect tonight, going 3-3, and without the extra cushion of a TD late in the 4th quarter, the Broncos still would have won.
What I love about this win aside from Peyton’s lovely part of the story is Denver GM John Elway’s foresight in hiring Wade Phillips as his defensive coordinator.
Phillips, watching NFL games from his living room couch last season because he couldn’t get a job, has turned this Denver defense into one of the all time best and for that he was awarded Assistant Coach of the Year.
Kudos to Gary Kubiak, of course, in his first year as Denver’s head coach, for keeping it all together during some very trying times. Having to manage the ego of a Hall of Famer playing second fiddle to a lanky, back-up quarterback who after some early success, could not hold down the fort, Kubiak kept his team in contention.
Now the million-dollar question is whether we’ve seen the last of Peyton Manning in an NFL uniform. I pray that he takes his second Super Bowl ring that matches his kid brother, Eli, and happily rides off into the sunset.
If any of his players see him snooping around the practice field next season, they owe it to him to say, you had an amazing career, thanks for the memories, keep walking, there’s nothing left for you here.
Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports
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suekolinsky
Sue Kolinsky is a writer/producer whose career began as a waitress in Manhattan. After a cynical remark got her fired, she took her humor to a place it would be appreciated – The NY Improv, which is where she launched her 20-year stand-up career. After much time spent performing at clubs, colleges and numerous tours with the USO, along with appearances on The Tonight Show and Bob Hope’s Young Comedians Special, she replaced her microphone with a Mac computer and began writing and producing TV. She has written on “Brotherly Love,” “Sex and the City,” and “The Ellen Show.” In 2001, She got a call to be a producer on the groundbreaking reality series, “The Osbourne’s.” She had no idea a new phase of her successful career was about to unfold. After garnering her first Emmy nomination, she went to produce a new MTV show called, “Newlyweds,” a reality series that documented the early-married life of Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey. In 2009 she landed a job as supervising producer of the highly touted culinary competition series, “Top Chef.” She eventually became co-executive producer, garnering two more Emmy nods. Adding to her many hats, Sue also co-hosted a morning radio talk show with Steve Mason, on NY’s iconic WNEW. Having the dubious honor of going up against Howard Stern, the show was cancelled after sixteen months, but her partnership with Mason paid dividends. When he returned to his prior radio sports talk gig in LA, he gave Sue a featured segment on the show. Sue’s love of sports surfaced at the age of 10 when her older brother turned her on to baseball, and her hero, “The Say Hey Kid,” Willie Mays. While she still followed the Giants, her uncle’s box seats at Shea Stadium made her a Mets fan, and to this day, she’s still chasing the high of ’86. Sue’s love of writing about sports began as a daily analysis of the World Series on Facebook. Due to popular demand, she has created this blog. As if that’s not enough she just completed producing the past season of Last Comic Standing, and is writing an animated feature. Sue lives in Long Beach, California with her husband and two grown dogs.