FanPost

Super Bowl 50: Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers - How To Watch and Open Thread

Say it in that low scratchy slow voice...The Vince Lombardi Trophy. - Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

I've told this story before, but in case...

My grandparents retired to a then tiny quiet town in Summit County Colorado called Dillon in 1969, and part of the assimilation to the local scene included sending their first and then one-year-old grandson in Lancaster California annual supplies of Denver Broncos stuff. It didn't take long for my tabula rasa to become permanently orange.

I developed properly in exile from Broncos Nation. We hated the Raiders. We fought with the Chefs. We laughed at the Chargers. We tortured the Browns. We mourned with pride after the 1977 Super Bowl. We mourned with increasing despair after 3 Super Bowls in the 80's. I bleed powderkeg blue and gold, but there's some room for orange in there, too.

I stuck by the Broncos from Lancaster to Los Angeles to Houston, and in 1996, I married a girl who grew up in Colorado and, conveniently for me, held being a Denver Bronco fan as an essential character trait for a partner, and we relocated to Denver by the whim of some computer somewhere. Now exiled from my beloved Bruins, as least exile had a more comfortable orange glow and feel. We got season tickets in the legendary South Stands and I was amongst kindred souls. And the next year it finally happened. Mike Shanahan was the tannest non-Californian in San Diego, John Elway played human helicopter, Steve Atwater knocked out everyone on the field, and Terrell Davis went temporarily blind and still became MVP. After nearly 30 years of being a diehard Denver Bronco fan, my football team was finally a Super Bowl Champion.

It is an amazing feeling that I sincerely want for myself and every U.C.L.A. fan to get to experience with our own Bruins.

One day. Some day...

Until that day, there's another Super Bowl today and I'm hoping to win over all my fellow Bruins to cheer for my favorite NFL team. I even have an ally now to win Bruinette88 over to the orange side.

We always root for our Bruins in the NFL and Bruin OT Nate Chandler is on injured reserve for Carolina, but neither team has a Bruin on the active roster today, so Bruin fans can root for the Broncos without disparaging any names on the Panther jerseys.

On the other side of the coin, it's easy to root against Southern Cal, and Panthers center and former trogan Ryan Kalil wrote a full page ad (with spelling help, no doubt) in his newspaper guaranteeing a win. Ah, yes, SC arrogance is alive and well in the NFL. The Broncos will have no former trogans on the field today.

The Broncos are 5 point underdogs and Bruin fans can relate to being doubted by the national media and popular opinion. Everyone in the country is picking the Carolina Panthers to win Super Bowl 50 today, and frankly, I can make an argument for them a lot easier than I can for the Broncos. The Panthers have the NFL MVP and the Coach of the Year and a lot more balanced team and their alumnus was elected into the Hall of Fame. It sucks when your heart and mind are at odds. Bruin basketball, anyone? You'll fit right in with Broncos fans today.

I'll be watching the game at home with my son, as I'm 0 for 4 now in Super Bowl ticket lotteries, and it's just the two of us today as the girls are out of town. We've had some special moments together celebrating wins and recovering from losses, and we go to every home game when his hockey schedule doesn't mess everything up. Today we will dress in orange Manning and Miller jerseys and drink orange juice and Orange Crush soda and eat nacho cheese Doritos and Cuties and Ritz with cheddar and buffalo wings and we'll always remember where and how we watched Super Bowl 50. He's into his teenage years now and there may not be a lot of opportunities like this left. And if Denver can pull the upset, we'll go downtown to join the throngs and we'll dab (ahh, see that?) orange tears from our eyes when the tear gas comes out and we'll celebrate a potential once in a lifetime memory together.

I won't tell you who to root for today. But root for the Broncos.

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How to Watch:

Kickoff Time: 3:30 pm Pacific (plus a little for the extra pregame nonsense)

TV: CBS

Sportscasters: Jim Nantz and Phil Simms

Live Stream: CBSSports.com or install the CBS Sports app on your mobile device

Team sites: Mile High Report, Cat Scratch Reader

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Here's your open thread, Bruins Nation. Have at it. I might poke my head in when I'm not too busy pacing.

GO BRUINS! (and Broncos!)

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.

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