Are you backing the Broncos or supporting the Seahawks? Alex Ferguson makes the case for each.
It's the 2013 Super Bowl on Sunday, and you've got your beers bought and your place to go to watch the game (We've got it going on, on Sky Sports from SEVEN PM!!). But then you've got the big question: Who in the heck am I going to support?
If you're not a Denver Broncos or Seattle Seahawks fan, it becomes quite the dilemma. Our resident US sports guide Alex Ferguson makes the case for both sides.
Support the Denver Broncos!
When legendary Broncos quarterback John Elway finally got his Super Bowl ring at Super Bowl XXXII against the Green Bay Packers in one of the best Super Bowls of all time, NFL fans the world over (OK, not Green Bay Packers fans and Broncos-haters!) celebrated Elway finally winning one after a storied career that looked as though it would never happen.
Well, this year the Denver Broncos have another future Hall of Fame quarterback playing in a Super Bowl, and his name's Peyton Manning.
Although he's won a ring (Super Bowl XLI) already, his play this year has been incredible. He threw FIFTY-FIVE TOUCHDOWNS this season (an all-time regular season record), and had 5,477 passing yards. He's been almost exemplary, both in his play and his acts on the field. He makes the players around him play better because
he demands it. He's also worth supporting because if you like gentlemen, like L'Oreal (one of the brands that he actually DOESN'T endorse), he's worth it.
He'll make his receivers - Wes Welker, Eric Decker and Demaryius Thomas - better. And if they screw up they are guaranteed to hear about it. He'll hit his receivers with a mixture of short and long passes and turn the Seattle Seahawks secondary, which has styled itself the 'Legion of Boom', into the 'Legion of Doom'. Richard Sherman and his mouth will be turned into a non-event, because the Broncos have so many weapons, that the self-styled Superhero can't stop everything. And you know what? When the game's over, you'll be rooting for a guy who treats the opposition with the respect they deserve, and not turn it into 101 verbal volleys.
You should also support the Denver Broncos because their running back, Knowshon Moreno, cries at the National Anthem because he's so full of gratitude for what he's been given in life. On the field, Moreno has been given his football life back, after being pretty much thrown on the scrapheap. That's the recognition of salvation right there.
You should also support the Denver Broncos because their defence will make this game a hell of a lot of fun. They aren't particularly good on defence (19th in the regular season in terms of yards given up (27th passing and 7th rushing), but that means that Peyton's gonna have to come play, and that can only mean one thing: FUN.
Oh, and if you've been to Omaha, Nebraska or can't get enough of the Counting Crows song with the same name, then you should support the Broncos...you'll hear a lot of your favourite word on Super Bowl night.
Support the Seattle Seahawks!!
Forget Richard Sherman's mouthy antics AFTER he made his incredible play against San Francisco in the NFC Championship Game for a minute. The play itself was pretty incredible. Nine times out of ten most good corners don't make that play. Nine times out of ten San Francisco is playing in its second straight Super Bowl and looking for redemption. But he made it, and the rest is history.
Richard Sherman isn't the Richard Sherman that (some) of the media and your American cousin on Twitter has portrayed him. He's not a thug: he's decent, eloquent, and a damn good football player. Root for the Seahawks because you want to see Sherman stop Manning and the Electric Receiver Group. A Seahawks fan will be rooting for Richard Sherman to prove all the haters wrong.
Not only that, but their quarterback Russell Wilson can hurt you with his feet AND his arm. He's a leader of the new breed of quarterback who just finds ways to win....and has been heart-breaking opposition teams since his college days. Not only that, but who wouldn't fall in love with that stunning smile? And it's OK to root for him because he's one of the game's gentlemen, too...maybe the antithesis of his 'Legion of Boom' defence, which will rock the Broncos all night long.
They had the best pass defence during the regular season...and the best defence over all. That's another reason to support the Seattle Seahawks. You love defence. And Seattle's had the best one all year long.
And if you like a guy who quietly goes about his business off-the-field (he didn't really speak to the media on Super Bowl Media Day, which is actually quite funny if you bear in mind how many members of the media got their knickers in a twist about the 'situation') but is LOUD on the field, then Marshawn Lynch is your man. He's not called 'The Beast' for nothing.
He put up 1,257 yards on the floor during the regular season, and was the top RB in touchdowns, too (with 12). You'll be supporting him because he'll soak up the time to keep Peyton Manning off the field.
You should support the Seattle Seahawks because their fan-base is more fun. Sure, their marketing guys stole the '12th Man' moniker from Texas A&M university and 'War Eagle' from Auburn University, but hey, Paul Allen, who owns the 'Hawks, used to work for Microsoft. If there wasn't Linux, there wouldn't be Microsoft. Nothing's original, baby.
Another thing to support....
If you're supporting Denver, then why not put some money on it with Sky Bet? The Broncos are 4/5, while Seattle's a 21/20 'underdog'. Denver's a two-point favourite, by the way, if you think the game's going to be settled by less than a field goal.
But hey, if you fancy some alternatives to support, then
there are SIXTY-THREE Super Bowl options for Sunday. That's a lot of ways to win (or lose).
