Photo by Rodney Latham
OTTAWA–With Colorado being a state away, Ottawa University has its fair share of the state’s residents who are fans of the NFL’s Super Bowl 50 contender, the Denver Broncos. The Broncos matched up against the Carolina Panthers.
It’s no secret that the Denver Bronco fan base is huge here on campus, with all of the apparel students wear or all the proud posts on social media supporting their team. Despite the Bronco nation around campus, there is still a small percentage of students who are real fans and not just on the “Cam Newton bandwagon.”
When cheering on the Panthers, there are a couple students who stick out like sore thumbs, one student being Zach Lanning.
“I’m a fan of the Panthers because that’s where I’m from and that’s where the majority of my family lives”, Lanning said.
The Panthers finished the regular season with a 15–1 record, defeating the Arizona Cardinals 49–15 in the NFC Championship Game and advancing to their second Super Bowl appearance since the founding of the franchise in 1995.
The Broncos finished the regular season with a 12–4 record, and denied the New England Patriots a chance to defend their title from Super Bowl XLIX by defeating them 20–18 in the AFC Championship Game. The Broncos now have eight appearances in the Super Bowl.
“It will be fun to watch Peyton end his career with winning the Super Bowl,” said Denver fan GA Coach Mudd.
Peyton Manning unintentionally gave the world a big hint about his football future when he said after the Broncos’ AFC Championship victory, microphones caught him telling Patriots coach Bill Belichick that Super Bowl 50 “might be his last rodeo.”
“Cam Newton is going to go off hopefully and wreck the Broncos’ great defense. While the Panthers also really great defense is going to shut down Manning, and the Broncos won’t have a chance,”, Lanning said.
That, however, was not the case. The game was won by Denver’s defense, earning linebacker Von Miller the MVP spot. The final score was Denver winning 24-10.