Behind every great victory is a great speech, at least that’s what every sports movie in history has taught us, but it holds true in reality as well. Word usually escapes the confines of the locker room, disseminating through the air waves, that some player, or two, gave his team the motivation they needed with a moving and powerful pregame speech.
It happened two weekends ago before the AFC Championship game, when DeMarcus Ware spoke from the heart about the unique opportunity he and his teammates were in, and apparently, it happened on Saturday night, too.
According to Sal Paolantonio of ESPN, both Ware and Peyton Manning addressed the team on the eve of Super Bowl 50, emotions on their sleeve.
“Both were very emotional and near tears,” team president Joe Ellis told Paolantonio.
Kubiak was first to speak to the team, telling “them he loved them,” and he then handed the floor to his two leaders, Ware and Manning.
“Peyton told a few jokes to lighten the mood,” Ellis said, “but then he got very emotional [when talking about what the game meant to him]. And so did DeMarcus. The room was silent. It was a very emotional gathering.”
Two years ago, this may not have happened. The Denver Broncos were riding high, coming off the most-historic offensive season in NFL history. This year is different. This time around, not only are there veterans like Manning and Ware who understand the magnitude of this opportunity, so does the rest of the team.
There are 18 players on Denver’s roster with Super Bowl experience. More importantly, most all of them have experience losing.
While the opportunity to play in football’s biggest game may have felt deserved two years ago, these Denver Broncos know they’ve earned it this time around, and they’re not going to let their opportunity go to waste.
