On the one hand, the Super Bowl is just a game. On the other, it’s so much more.
When we look back on Super Bowl 50, all we’ll ever really talk about is the game and the plays that defined it, but in reality, those 60 minutes are just the icing on the cake; it would be nothing without the ingredients that built it.
When you reach this point in the season, the only way you can really look at things is through the big picture. How did they get here? What does it mean? Why us?
None of those questions can be answered in a single sentence, but once that final whistle blows, it won’t matter. Either you’re world champions or you’re not.
The Denver Broncos are ready for that moment to come. They’ve spent enough time game planning and talking to the media; the shine of Super Bowl week has worn off. Now, they just want to play the game.
Here’s how they’ve come to describe Super Bowl week, the anticipation and what it takes to get ready for the big game:
Gary Kubiak on how their previous Super Bowl experience help them:
“I think it helps them through the course of the week more than anything. On gameday, gameday is gameday. It’s another football game, obviously it’s a big game, but how you play that is a lot to do with your success. I think it helps them with this scenario, how to deal with these type of things, how to stay in their routine, how to get ready to play. So I think it’s more important from that standpoint.”
Kubiak on how he balances the players’ excitement and focus:
“Well the biggest thing I talk about, the thing that’s different about this game is normally on an NFL game day you go out and warm up, come into the locker room for about 10 minutes, you go right back out on the field. This game is different. You warm up, there’s a lot of down time between the start of the game and warmups, there’s a lot of activities, halftime is a lot longer, there are some things. We have talked about those things and how we’re going to try and adjust with out players and those particular situations. I think the biggest thing is trying to keep them even keel. There’s still going to play 60 minutes, the game’s not going to change. It’s just some of the things going on around the game that make you change.”
Owen Daniels on if he feels the pressure yet:
“I haven’t felt very much pressure yet. I have been trying to stay relaxed and enjoy everything. I am excited that it is Wednesday and that we are kind of in the normal routine, normal workweek. So that will be a good thing, to kind of get back into that routine. Like I was nervous for – I was nervous enough for all the games this year, so I am going to be calm and ready to go.”
Ryan Harris on enjoying the experience while preparing for the game:
“We’ve kind of been doing that all season. We’ve had a lot of big games and the last four games we’ve played have been playoff games for us. We’re going to have practice today and meetings today and our coaches aren’t going to coach us any less because we’re in the Super Bowl. We just stick to our routine and depend on our knowledge of the scheme and our game play and focus on executing.”
Chris Harris Jr. on if he’s feeling more excited for the game:
“Definitely, man. You definitely get ready to play. Bar end, even more focused. I’ve watched so much film and studied so much that I’m tired of studying them. I’m ready to play.”
Von Miller on missing the last Super Bowl:
“It’s another chance at greatness. It doesn’t come around often. We got another chance. Not only me, but (CB) Chris (Harris Jr.) and (DE Derek) Wolfe and all the guys that didn’t play in the first one. We’ve got another shot at it, so we definitely want to take advantage of the opportunity and be great.”
Demaryius Thomas on if his Super Bowl XLVIII performance will help him:
“It will help a little, but basically I’m trying to do the same thing except get a win under my column this time. I know what it takes to be successful in the game, but not on the winning side, but we’re going to do whatever we’ve got to do to get that win and I think the main focus is taking care of the ball.”
Danny Trevathan on what the team learned from Super Bowl XLVIII:
“I’m sure everybody took a little something from it but you have people that weren’t here so my job is to give them my interactions on what happened and what we can do to get better. Right now, I believe we have the best team I’ve ever seen. We’re focused, locked in. We’re not focused around what’s going on but we’re focused on getting this game and making it the best game we’ve ever had.”
Trevathan on if the Super Bowl loss motivates him:
“It pushed me that season. Last year I was injured, so it really motivated me a little bit more. This year, it’s Super Bowl 50, it’s the Gold Bowl. I’m trying to make my name out here and I can make or break my life right here. I know what it means to this team, organization and everybody who deserves it. I have the utmost respect for everybody on this team so my job is to make sure I put together my best game so we can go out there and win this.”
Louis Vasquez on the difference between Super Bowls:
“Just given the past experience, we’re able to focus more on the task at hand and that’s ultimately playing our best game Sunday. We now know what to expect as far as all the events, the media and all of our obligations that we have to do. It’s a little easier for us to stay focused just because we know what to expect. We’re able to go out and do our jobs and eliminate the distractions.”
Sylvester Williams on how this team is different from two years ago:
“I think obviously we were a very confident team. I want to say we were expecting to win that game, so we were kind of a little bit overconfident. We’re very confident this year as well, but I think us being the underdog is kind of bringing us closer together and motivating us a little bit more to go out there and prove the world wrong.”
Williams on if this team is more suited to win a Super Bowl:
“I think we’ve just got a better team overall. I think we’ve been through the grind all year, we’ve been battletested all year and we’ve been in a lot of close games and we’ve been able to pull it out in all different ways. We’ve been able to win on offense, we’ve been able to win on defense and we’ve been able to win on special teams. That’s what makes us a complete game and we’ve got one more game to go. We’re just looking forward to this last game that we’ve got and just trying to come out victorious.”