SANTA CLARA, Calif.
Peyton Manning made the long walk to the sideline, calmly and without emotion. His teammates were losing it — and rightfully so, considering the Broncos were three minutes away from winning the Super Bowl.
But Manning, who had just completed a two-point pass that essentially put the finishing touches on a 24-10 win over the heavily-favored Carolina Panthers, was seemingly emotionless as he received hand slaps and shoulder slaps and congratulations on his way to the bench.
That is, until he sat down. Manning removed his helmet — his forehead now bright red after four hours of football — received one last congratulations from his center, Matthew Paradis, and grinned.