Pick-Six: Top stories from Super Bowl 50

When you’re celebrating 50 years of one of the biggest sporting events in the world, there’s bound to be all sorts of talking points in tons of areas. Super Bowl 50 was no exception, as the weekend gave people plenty to discuss before, during, and after the game. To commemorate the NFL’s biggest spectacle, I wanted to highlight the great Super Bowl weekend with the top stories from the last few days. 

6. Marshawn Lynch’s retirement announcement on Twitter

I really feel that this is one of the bigger stories to come out of this weekend, but given the timing of the announcement, it was thrown on the backburner. Marshawn Lynch has been one of the league’s biggest names in the last couple of seasons, and has become one of the most fun players to watch between his highlight plays and his antics on and off the field. People have been debating all over social media about whether his retirement announcement during the Super Bowl was to bring attention to him or to take attention away from the announcement (I believe it’s the latter), but either way, it’s a shame to see such a great character leaving the league after a successful career.

5. Super Bowl’s 50th Anniversary Celebration

The NFL did a great job of honoring the history of the previous 49 Super Bowls before the game with their video packages, the coin toss with NFL legends, and the celebration of all of the game’s MVPs on the field. It’s something you never see, and will probably never see again, and it was a special moment that I am proud to say I witnessed. You’ll never see guys like Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Emmitt Smith, and all these great legends conversing with modern day Super Bowl greats like Tom Brady, Ray Lewis and Eli Manning. It was a great moment, and it’s a shame that the crowd had to boo Brady, Lewis, and Deion Branch (who I really didn’t understand other than the Patriots connection) to ruin the mood. I really enjoyed all the festivities, and it made the game feel much more important.

4. Panthers’ poor performance after otherwise great season

Most football followers, including myself, expected the Panthers to come in and crush the Broncos for four straight quarters and solidify their great season. They were considered the best in the NFL all year for a reason, and I honestly was just hoping for a close, watchable game. But of course, in the Super Bowl especially, anything could happen. Carolina’s offense played horribly all game, giving up turnover after turnover and failing to gain any momentum. It was something no one had really seen all year from league MVP Cam Newton, and it just shocked the world. Denver’s defense was too good, and now everyone can debate whether the defense was that good or the offense was just that bad.

3. Halftime show celebrates past and present

I’ve talked to a lot of people about this one and gotten mixed reviews. Personally, I loved this halftime show. It had the biggest names coming together to celebrate the biggest game, and I think it delivered. I know not many are Coldplay fans, but I think their style of music really captured the feeling of what this Super Bowl was truly about, and adding in performers from Super Bowl’s past just added to it all. They separated the three well to give everyone the spotlight, and even paid homage to some of the greatest Super Bowl halftime performances with some fitting Coldplay music. It was one of the better halftime shows in recent memory in my opinion, and it was a great celebration of 50 Super Bowls.

2. Is Denver’s defense the best ever?

This one has so many different elements and I really think it could be the biggest storyline coming out of the Super Bowl if not for a certain Sheriff and his old age. This Denver defense singlehandedly carried the Broncos past a talented Patriots’ offense, and stuffed the best team in the league in the biggest game of the year. Denver’s offense was horrible this year, but it just proves how important the other side of the ball really is, and how defense wins championships. People will compare this team to the ‘85 Bears, but I think it’s tough to call this the best defense ever when the defense was really just Von Miller. The guy is an animal, and will most likely go down in history as one of the best defensive players the league has ever seen. Either way, this topic will be debated for days, weeks, months, or even years, and rightfully so.

1. Peyton Manning possibly going out on top

As someone who hasn’t been very fond of Peyton Manning over the last fifteen years, I will admit it’s tough thinking about how this could be the end for the legend. You can knock him all you want for his postseason struggles, his performance this year, the HGH allegations, whatever you want. However, you can’t take away what he brought to the league, and all the records he has set over his long and successful career. People love to hate success, and he is hated so much for how great he has been since he was drafted. As much as I hate to admit it, it’s always cool seeing a legendary player go out on top, and I’m hoping Manning retires so he can ride off into the sunset on a high note.