Super Bowl 2015: Who Does Who Dey Nation Got?
Jan 28, 2015; Tempe, AZ, USA; General view of Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots helmets and Super XLIX logo football at Papago Park. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Super Bowl XLIX is set to kickoff at 6:30pm ET this Sunday. It should be an epic game. Regardless of the result, this Super Bowl has historic ramifications.
The New England Patriots have enjoyed a stretch of success unlike any other team. They have been an elite franchise since the turn of the millennium winning double-digit games in every season other than just two.
Jan 10, 2015; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) talks to New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick (R) prior to the 2014 AFC Divisional playoff football game against the Baltimore Ravens at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
With three Super Bowl wins already in tow, Bill Belichick and Tom Brady have the opportunity to join the elite amongst their respective peers.
Belichick will coach a record-tying sixth Super Bowl (tied with Don Shula) and has the opportunity to join Chuck Noll as the only two coaches in NFL history to win four Super Bowls. Belichick is already arguably the greatest coach in NFL history, but a fourth Super Bowl would all but lock up that discussion in his favor.
Simultaneously, Tom Brady will be playing for historical status amongst quarterbacks. Brady will start a record setting sixth Super Bowl and will be playing to become only the third quarterback in history to win four Super Bowls (Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana). Winning a fourth Super Bowl likely makes Brady the game’s greatest quarterback ever. He’s at or nor the top of so many records, both regular season and playoff, so becoming one of the game’s greatest winners at its most prized position would boost him to the top of most people’s lists.
The Patriots were dominant in the early 2000s when winning three Super Bowls in four years. Since, they’ve been in the game another two times, but have failed to take home the Lombardi trophy. Winning on Sunday would reestablish them as the league’s elite franchise and prove that Belichick and Brady could build an entirely different champion away from the key players that helped them win their first three titles.
Meanwhile, the Seattle Seahawks are the league’s new flavor. Since taking the helm in Seattle in 2010, Pete Carroll has built this organization into a juggernaut; a far cry from the work he did during his New England years (1997-99).
Jan 18, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson (left) and head coach Pete Carroll celebrate on the podium following the victory over the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game at CenturyLink Field. The Seahawks defeated the Packers 28-22 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Russell Wilson‘s career path could follow a storyline much like Brady in his early years. Winning a second Super Bowl in as many years would put the Seahawks amongst elite company in NFL history. At the age of just 26, Wilson would have two Super Bowl victories under his belt and would establish himself as the league’s future at its most heralded position.
As for Pete Carroll, he’s already on the short list of coaches who’ve managed to win both a college National Championship and a Super Bowl title. A victory on Sunday would give him two Super Bowls, and with such a young and talented team at his command, there would be no end in site to the Seahawks NFL dominance.
There will be much on the line come Sunday for both teams, and especially from a historical standpoint. So, Who Dey Nation, who you got for Super Bowl XLIX?