Wildcard:

It’s been a weird season to be an NFL fan living Down Under. The sport’s always had a profile in AUS & NZ but mostly in a ‘why the hell does the game take so long’ kinda way. Or an inherited-through-sports-movies way. Those of us that get up at 5am on Mondays to cram in as much NFL Redzone as possible (with another game live on freeview and at least 2-3 windows open on bigjoeslivestreaming.co.vw – not a real website btw) are a rare breed, one that lives secretly in the underground, lurking in the tunnels beneath cities frantically updating our fantasy teams and pretending we’re listening to Kendrick on our headphones when it’s really Bill Simmons’ latest Patriot-heavy ramblings with Cousin Sal or some other Gary Gambler.

But then Jarryd Hayne happened and the eyes of Australia were upon a five-win team of NFC battlers, dragging kiwi media bemusedly along for the ride. Never before has there been more regular season coverage of the sport here and never before have there been so many ignorant mistakes.

Now, though, we come to the Super Bowl. Number 50, as it is. The one time that NFL atheists will cast aside their doubts and aspersions to worship at the altar of good ol’ American pageantry. Everyone knows someone who says they’ll only watch it for the half time show. Well, the half time show is Coldplay so there’ll be plenty of time to restock the fridge between the middle quarters. Coldplay is a band that reached their modest creative peak about 10-15 years ago – too old to still be cool and too recent to have graduated to legacy act status. Of all the terrible decisions made in behalf of this sporting organisation (and there are many – we might save concussion for another Summer Series entry)… this may be the worst.

Eh, I’ll probably need the HT exercise anyway. Mostly I’m just bloody excited for this game (12.30pm on Monday 8th February in NZ). The Denver Broncos against the Carolina Panthers, the two finest defensive teams in the competition this year and you know what they say about Defence and Championships. They win them.

We also have a fascinating contrast in the quarterbacks. Peyton Manning could walk into a kindergarten and start kicking children and the commentators would still find a way to spin it into a yarn about how great he is. He’s had an abysmal season and lost his starting spot for a late chunk of it, only to come back strong off the bench in the last game of the regulars and lead them through the playoffs, past his old nemesis Tom Brady, and into the Super Bowl where at a month under 40 years old he’ll become the oldest starting QB in SB history. Competing with him is a player that has always been pretty great in how well he’s been able to do enough of everything to consistently make plays, yet he’s never gotten the credit he deserves. Partly because Cam Newton hasn’t played on title contending teams up until now. Partly because he’s young and full of joyful energy – which certain types confuse for arrogance and apathy. Thankfully that’s all over now, Super Cam is heading for a Super Bowl appearance and he’s surely about to claim the fabled MVP award.

The coaching duel is a great one, the extraordinary linebacking staffs on display are too. As will be the bellowing fans aware that these next two weeks (less than that now) are the absolute best, the pinnacle. I only wish my own team was there…

Do-Do Doc:

For a casual NFL fan like myself, the two big yarns of the NFL this season have been Jarryd Hayne and the Carolina Panthers. With all due respect to Hayne, this the Super Bowl and the Super Bowl devours anything in its path in terms of narratives, controversy or any major event from the season of which Hayne's journey was one. I'm a humble as bro kiwi so the whole Super Bowl extravaganza idea has me in awe, oh and grateful that I'm not American.

As the Super Bowlorama kinda wraps up the NFL coverage with your preview (??) to come, I want to finish up Hayne's 2015/16 season with an American perspective: oh Hayne, the Hayne-plane rugby guy who thinks he can play NFL.

And to think that some out there are disappointed?

I've stumbled across many stories, thoughts, opinions etc about the Carolina Panthers in my internet travels in the past six months and one idea stood out as perhaps the reason for the Panthers' swift rise #Family. Coach Ron Rivera has created an environment, developed a culture (shout out to the NZ Warriors one time) so deeply entrenched in the players, which when combined with the MVP-calibre talents of Cam Newton produces a fairly special footy team.

And then there's Peyton Manning, former Indianapolis Colt Peyton Manning. I don't really care for Denver Broncos so much, I don't dislike them, nor do I like them. I do like the Panthers though and that's the key to success in watching major sporting events involving two 'neutral' teams; find an angle roll with it. This can even be done during the game and there'll be an event, minor or major that turns you towards supporting one team over the other.

The Super Bowl, so American that I almost hate it.

Wildcard:

The Panthers are either a team that you love or hate, it seems. I also happen to love them, so that's all good there, but there are those people who don't rate Cam Newton because he isn't a 'typical' quarterback, or they don't care for their defensive intimidation tactics or the general feeling of arrogance that some people have. I mean, I'm not a huge fan of Cam dabbing in the opposition end zone for a full 15 seconds or whatever after a TD either, but I don't let that get in the way of a player who is genuinely brilliant and a genuine top bloke at the same time. To me they're a team full of energy and they aren't afraid to enjoy what they do, which is not only refreshing but it's also a large part of how they were able to start with 14 straight wins.

Odell Beckham Jr., however, might point you in the direction of some waving baseball bats in warmups and some dirty hits from a certain Josh Norman. That side of things is there for sure. This is a sport that glorifies ruthlessness and violence so that's no shocker, not everyone is like Andrew Luck who congratulates guys after they sack him.

Speaking of sacks, that's the matchup to watch here. The Panthers' O-Line has done a great job all season, full of talent, while Cam Newton well he can run with a set of road cones blocking for him, he's that good of an athlete. Fast, rangy strides and the strength to bust a tackle or six. He'd make one hell of a league player if he wants to do the Reverse-Hayne. Meanwhile the Denver Broncos just squeezed their way past the New England Patriots on the back of a completely badass pass rush. That's what the experts say is how you beat the Pats and when you have Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware (a good Cowboys lad he is) then that recipe is always there. They constantly put pressure on Tom Brady and in the process were able to turn him from arguably the greatest of all time into just another Brandon Weeden. Of course, you can only limit a guy that good so much and it was only by the hair on their necks and a failed two-point conversion that they survived but that was how they did it.

Now they get Cam Newton, who will duck and dive his way out of the pocket if he needs to, it's a completely different ask. Someone a lot closer to the way Russell Wilson does things and I dunno if you remember two Super Bowls back when the Broncos were torn to bloody shreds by the Seahawks and Wilson. In fact I'd argue that the Panthers defence has surpassed the current incarnation of the Legion of Boom too and that's gonna make it one tough ask for these Broncos. The closest thing to the biggest matchup disaster they've had in years.

However the Broncos have this knack of winning games in which they don't play that well. And if there's a defence better than Carolina's then it's this one from Denver. For a team with 14 wins this season (including the playoffs), the Broncos have only won three by more than a touchdown. The Panthers on the other hand have 11 of them. There's a lot to be said about a team that finds a way to win close games. The Panthers are the favourites for a reason but this game is anything but a cashed bet.

That's about all you can ask for at this stage of the season. Bloody love it.