Super Bowl 48: Champ Bailey addresses Denver Broncos in team meeting
By Hayden Kane
The Denver Broncos held their final team meeting before Super Bowl 48 at their hotel this morning before departing for Met Life Stadium to take on the Seattle Seahawks. In that meeting, head coach John Fox asked cornerback Champ Bailey to address the team.
Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports, who is covering the Broncos this week, reports that Bailey talked to his teammates about playing this game for somebody else, playing it for the other guys on the team who are finally getting their chance. That does include Bailey, but he presumably meant his veteran teammates as well.
At 35 years old, Bailey has been with the Broncos since 2004 when Mike Shanahan acquired him from the Washington Redskins in exchange for eccentric running back Clinton Portis. He has been there through the Jay Cutler era, the firing of Shanahan, the tenure of Josh McDaniels, seasons with Kyle Orton at quarterback, Tebowmania, the hiring of John Elway, the arrival of Peyton Manning, and now a trip to the Super Bowl.
Cornerbacks do not always get credit for being the face of a franchise or any such designation. Bailey is that guy for the Broncos and for Broncos fans, so it is only fitting that he addressed his teammates on game day.