DENVER -- Although the Denver Broncos are heading to the Super Bowl for the first time in 15 years, head coach John Fox said the team is approaching it like a regular game. "The ball is still going to be kicked off, and we’re going to play 60 minutes of clock time and roughly three-and-a-half hours of actual time," said Fox in a statement. "Our guys understand that and they know how to prepare. It’s no different this week.”
However, Denver Broncos players have not been able to contain their excitement as well. “I’m very excited. That’s all I really have to say,” said wide receiver Demaryius Thomas in a statement. The Denver Broncos face the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2014 at 4:30 p.m. MST at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. Unlike heated rivalries of past Super Bowls, the championship game is shaping up to be the Best of the West.
The championship game could boil down to differences in the team leaders. Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning, 37, brings a wealth of experience to the game. Meanwhile, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, 25, displays a youthful arm but not the same legacy as Manning.
Manning said he is looking forward to playing the Super Bowl in New York, which also is home to his younger brother, Eli Manning. "We have a lot that we can relate to and a lot of situations that we’ve both faced," Peyton Manning said in a statement. "I’ve always thought that quarterbacks naturally can share those thoughts and if you have other buddies who are quarterbacks, when he’s your brother it’s a pretty unique situations and we bounce a lot of ideas off of each other these past 10 years.”
As quarterback for the New York Giants, Eli Manning led his team to Super Bowl victory in 2007 and 2011. Peyton hopes to follow in his brother's footsteps. "Two teams that have worked hard and have really laid it on the line all season long to be here," Peyton Manning said in a statement. "This is why you work hard all off-season -- for this opportunity. There is no question it is a big deal and it is very special to be playing in this game.”
The Denver Broncos are also trying to keep their focus on the game, under leadership from Fox. "He’s always talking about making sure we focus," said linebacker Wesley Woodyard of the head coach, in a statement. "And staying focused, that’s the only message you need. If you’re staying focused, you’re being on top of your job, doing what you need to do and being in the right places.”