NEW YORK (AP) — It’s time. Finally.
After a week of
interviews, practices and plenty of hype, the Denver Broncos and
Seattle Seahawks are ready to kick off the Super Bowl in a matchup that
makes even the most casual football fans drool.
It’s Peyton
Manning and the Broncos’ top-rated, record-setting offense going against
Richard Sherman and the Seahawks’ stingy, No. 1-ranked defense.
Kickoff
is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. EST on Sunday at MetLife Stadium in East
Rutherford, N.J., the first Super Bowl held outdoors at a cold-weather
site.
"We’re ready to go," Seattle coach Pete Carroll declared
Saturday after his team’s final walkthrough. "That’s kind of how we are.
I don’t know if it’s loose, but we’re where we’re supposed to be."
The
chilly conditions that concerned so many were a non-factor Saturday,
with temperatures in the mid-40s under clear, blue skies. In the weeks
and months leading up to the big game, many wondered if the Super Bowl
would be played in bone-chilling temperatures with some snow — or even
worse, a blizzard.
It won’t be a winter wonderland Sunday in New
Jersey, although there was a 50 percent chance of rain or snow flurries.
Fans will still have to bundle up a bit, but it probably won’t even be
the coldest Super Bowl.
Forecasters were calling for a high of 49
degrees, with the evening low only expected to dip to 32 degrees —
likely after the game is over. The coldest Super Bowl was in 1972 in New
Orleans, when the temperature was a reported 34 degrees with a wind
chill of 24.
"We’re pretty much weather-proof," Broncos coach John
Fox said. "We live in Denver, so we practice in just about every
element there is."
Here are five things to know Sunday as the Super Bowl draws closer to kickoff:
MEATY
MATCHUP: The Super Bowl features the classic pocket passer in Denver’s
Peyton Manning against Seattle’s quick-footed, quick-witted scrambler in
Russell Wilson, who represents the new guard at quarterback in the NFL
along with the likes of Robert Griffin III, Colin Kaepernick and Cam
Newton.
Seattle’s defense will be looking to make Manning
uncomfortable by forcing him outside the passing pocket. Denver,
meanwhile, will try to contain Wilson by keeping him in the pocket and
prevent him from making plays by scrambling.
Both teams are 15-3 and have relied on their quarterbacks to get them here, despite their different
styles.
"It’ll
be great to go against Peyton," Wilson said. "Obviously, it’s not me
versus him, but he’s a guy that I have so much respect for. All of the
amazing things he’s done over his career, he’s built this unbelievable
legacy, and he’s one of the best — if not the best — quarterbacks to
ever play the game. One day I want to be like him in terms of the way he
thinks.
"He’s just a master of the game."
SOUNDS OF THE GAME: Listen up!
In
the hours before the Super Bowl, several members of the Broadway cast
of "Rock of Ages" will perform two 30-minute sets outside MetLife
Stadium. The second will close out Fox’s pregame show from 5:10-5:40
p.m. EST. Phillip Phillips and The Band Perry also will perform before
the game, and Bill O’Reilly will have a live interview with President
Barack Obama.
Queen Latifah, along with the New Jersey Youth
Chorus, will sing "America The Beautiful" before the game, and opera
singer Renee Fleming will perform the national anthem.
Grammy Award winner Bruno Mars will perform during the halftime show and will be joined by the Red Hot
Chili Peppers.
NFL HONORS: Manning won his fifth The Associated Press NFL MVP award Saturday night in a landslide.
Denver’s
record-setting quarterback, who threw for 55 touchdowns and 5,477 yards
in leading the Broncos to the AFC’s best record this season, earned 49
votes from a nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover
the league. New England quarterback Tom Brady got the other vote.
Manning also won the AP’s Offensive Player of the Year award for the second time.
Carolina
grabbed two major awards, with Ron Rivera winning AP NFL Coach of the
Year and linebacker Luke Kuechly voted top defensive player.
Green
Bay running back Eddie Lacy and Jets defensive tackle Sheldon
Richardson were the top rookies. San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers
took the Comeback Player of the Year award.
PUNTERS REJOICE: Ray Guy’s wait is over.
Guy
became the first punter elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame,
highlighting a class that included defensive end Michael Strahan,
receiver Andre Reed, defensive back Aeneas Williams and defensive end
Claude Humphrey. Two first-time eligible players, linebacker Derrick
Brooks and offensive tackle Walter Jones, also were selected.
Among
the finalists who didn’t get in were two with ties to Manning and the
Indianapolis Colts — coach Tony Dungy and receiver Marvin Harrison.
"Good
things are worth waiting for," said Guy, who last played for the
Raiders in 1986. "It’s just a matter of time when it will show up. And I
knew it would, sooner or later. It had to, whether it was me or
somebody down the road. But sooner or later, it had to show up, because
that is a part of a football game."
SECURITY! The Transportation
Security Administration added about two dozen dogs to monitor passengers
coming in and out of Newark Liberty International Airport around the
Super Bowl.
The TSA has also added 200 screeners at Newark to
handle the larger volume of travelers, and TSA agents from LaGuardia
Airport will be screening train passengers at New York Penn Station and
New Jersey’s Secaucus Junction on Sunday.
The TSA said Friday that
fans will not be allowed on the rail line that serves MetLife Stadium
on Sunday unless they show their tickets to the game and adhere to the
NFL’s bag policy.
___
AP Pro Football Writers Howard
Fendrich and Barry Wilner, AP Sports Writers Tim Booth, Tom Canavan and
Rachel Cohen, and AP National Writer Paul Newberry contributed to this
report.
___
AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org
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