Super Bowl 50 From South-East Melbourne

One good thing about the Super Bowl this week is that it starts at 10.30am AEST, and I have the day off work. There was a tired few months’ worth of Monday mornings when I was getting up at 5 or 6am to watch the free-to-air coverage of the NFL before I went to work. I’d do some exercises while I was watching – it sometimes took 10 to 15 minutes to get the body to move, but then my routine for the first half would be something like:

·         5 minutes of jogging on the living room rug (or ‘shuffling’, as my wife calls it);

·         50 reps on my weight – I only have one – 25 on the right, and 25 on the left;

·         100 star-jumps;

·         air-cycling, about 50-60 cycles of the legs;

·         30 stomach crunches; and then

·         jog/shuffle until the quarter ends.

And then at the half-time break I’d shower, dress, and get my coffee. My memories of the NFL season are therefore full of dawns and tired, seldom-used muscles. And the 49ers being unable to score – we got a lot of coverage of the 49ers this year in Australia with Jarryd Hayne sitting on their bench. I’m a 49ers fan so I like seeing my team, but I would have preferred to watch them more two or three years ago.

I would prefer Denver to win, but I have no problem in Carolina doing so. It’s mainly because I want Denver quarterback Peyton Manning to win another Super Bowl before he retires and gather more support to his side of the Manning v Tom Brady debate. Sure it’s his teammates that are carrying him over the line, but it’s hard to get traction against the Brady boosters while he has three more championships. I like Manning more than I like Brady and the Patriots. Carolina quarterback Cameron Newton will have other seasons left, and therefore other opportunities to win the Super Bowl.

But that’s a bit unfair to Cam. There is a lot to like about Newton as well – he’s one of the most fun quarterbacks to watch, as shown by his flip touchdown earlier in the season.

 

And it’s pretty hard to get into the Super Bowl, so you never know, this may be Newton’s only chance. So if the Panthers roll over the Broncos like they have rolled over many teams this season that is OK with me as well.