On Feb. 7, 2016, the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers will take the field in Santa Clara, California, I will be waiting for the half-time show and the rest of America will enjoy the actual football game. But what’s this… I hear whispers of gold? This year we have not JUST a Super Bowl we have the “Golden Super Bowl,”
While no one knows just how fantabulous Super Bowl 50 will be, what we do know is that it is already rather unique, take the name — the NFL dumped the typical Roman numerals in honor of its semi-centennial anniversary and this year even I have to admit some of the factoids and morsels are worth a Top List
So as I wait for Beyonce and others wait for next month’s pregame coin toss, here are 10 things that highlight this year’s UBER special and gilded matchup:
- This will be the only time in NFL history that the game’s two starting quarterbacks were the No. 1 picks in their respective drafts.
- Newton is 26. Manning is 39. That’s the greatest quarterback age difference in Super Bowl history.
- Super Bowl 50 marks the first time that a given draft’s first two picks will go head to head in the February Classic (Cam Newton and Von Miller, 2011).
- On Feb. 7, Denver’s Kubiak will become the only NFLerto have played and coached for the same squad in the Super Bowl.
- If the MVP race goes as expected and the Panthers claim the title, Newton will become the first signal caller in historyto have brought home the Heisman, National Championship, NFL MVP and Super Bowl trophies.
- Carolina has a chance to go 18-1 this year. Only a few teams in NFL history have done so, and Panthers coach Ron Rivera just happened to be on one of those clubs (the 1985 Chicago Bears).
- If the postseason is included, the Panthers currently have a .500 all-time record (175-175-1). If they win this year, the Santa Clara victory would bump the franchise up to a winning record for the first time since 1998.
- When the team steps on the field in February, Carolina will be the first NFC South franchise ever to play in more than one Super Bowl.
- Ronald Reagan was president — and Cam Newton wasn’t yet born — the last timea Heisman-winning signal caller played in the Super Bowl. It was January 1984 and Jim Plunkett was competing in Super Bowl XVIII.
- After going 7-8-1 in 2014, Carolina is the first team in 12 years to clinch a Super Bowl berth just one season after putting up a sub-.500 record. The last squad to do so? The Panthers in 2003.
Thanks to my pals at the Huffington Post for the inspiration