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 But now, with the game just five days away and no sign of any
blizzards, "legacy" has become the buzzword for the title decider
between the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks.
More specifically, the legacy of two men — John Elway and Peyton
Manning — whose careers have come together through a perfect storm.
Manning won a Super Bowl with Indianapolis seven years ago and is
looking to add another title to his stellar career with Denver on
Sunday. If successful, he will become the first quarterback to win
the Vince Lombardi Trophy with two teams.
Elway won two Super Bowls as a quarterback for the Broncos before
retiring in 1999, and was later inducted into the Pro Football Hall
of Fame.
Now, he has the chance to win a third Super Bowl ring, in his new
role as the Broncos' vice-president of football operations, an
achievement, he said, that would rank alongside his greatest feats
on the field.
"It'd be just as important," he told reporters at the Super Bowls'
annual media day on Tuesday. "To me, the common denominator is
competitiveness and wanting to win.
"As a player I was very competitive and I'm the same way as an
executive."
By his own admission, Elway was not a good spectator, struggling to
contain his emotions from the sideline, when he first agreed to take
on his new job.
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That can be a common problem for great players, but Elway said he was
learning fast and was really enjoying the new challenges he faced.
"I'm getting better with letting the control go and knowing that
there's nothing I can do," he said. "It was tough early, and there's
certain games that I look at that for us to be successful, we had to
get over it."
Elway, 53, is almost old enough to be Manning's father and has
quickly formed a special bond with a player who may go down as the
greatest quarterback of all time.
Elway was instrumental in luring Manning, 37, to Colorado after he
was released by the Indianapolis Colts and while he never had to
give the four-time MVP any tips on how to play, he did offer some
guidance on how the Broncos operate.
"I just tried to show him what the Denver Broncos are all about,"
Elway said. "I think that where he was, he was still in shock that
he had gotten released by Indianapolis and it was a tough situation
there."
Unsurprisingly, Elway takes exception to any suggestion that
Sunday's game could impact Manning's legacy because he has won just
one Super Bowl so far.
"I don't think this game, one way or the other, affects his legacy
the way that he has played," Elway said. "He's going to be one of
the all-time greats no matter what."
(Editing by Frank Pingue)
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