Long before he became a Super Bowl coach but after he was a Super Bowl player, Ron Rivera made an appearance in Kenosha.
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Rivera said meanwhile he has impressed upon his free-scoring team, which marched through the regular season with only one defeat, the need to stay focused for a game in which they will start as favorites.
The Carolina Panthers have an off day Tuesday, enabling them, in the words of head coach Ron Rivera, to “enjoy the Super Bowl experience”.
Robinson was a Falcons safety in 1999 when he was arrested the night before the Super Bowl for solicitation of a prostitute, while his wife and children were in a nearby hotel.
“Like I told the guys, that was the worst night of my life”, Robinson said. “I think there are guys that play fast and play physical”. Robinson played the 2000 season for Carolina before retiring. Carolina won one playoff game previous year, and after a 15-1 finish, they cruised to the Super Bowl with two more wins.
Panthers tight end Ed Dickson, even though he was 11 at the time, had never even heard the story of Robinson’s arrest on the eve of the Super Bowl.
Randall Alexander Varnum, 29, from Mexico City, will be tuning in to watch the Super Bowl to root on Carolina. But also the other part is that it’s a game and there are certain elements of when you’re working and preparing, you’ve got to be where you are.
“When I played, we were the youngest team to win a Super Bowl and a lot of people thought “They’ll get a chance to come back”. “I was like, ‘How did I get so far over here when I was way over there?” Mike Ditka, a guest in 1963, won Super Bowl XX with the Bears while Jim Harbaugh, who appeared in 1989, lost Super Bowl XLVII with the 49ers.
“If a team beats you, that’s different”, Robinson said.
Every week during team meetings, the 56-year-old Rivera chooses one pivotal play from the previous week’s game and plays the Spanish broadcast version for his players. Rivera said. “Because TD is the most competitive player I know”. For him to step up and relive that and tell the guys he was wrong, he forgot the reason why he was there, that’s a huge message.
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“I’ve got a friend who says ‘You’ve got to be where your feet are.’ So bottom line is when it’s time to meet and it’s time to practice, be there”.
