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When Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson came to the 2013 Super Bowl in New Orleans, he was strictly an observer. But it wasn't that far-fetched to think of him as someone who could play in the big game sooner or later. That thought was definitely on Wilson's mind.
He told the Rich Eisen Podcast this week that when he attended the Super Bowl last year, he was "planning ahead" for future games and essentially scouting the timeframe for the game itself.
"You have to realize that the game is a lot longer than normal because it's the Super Bowl and all the commercials and all the other things going on," Wilson said. "That's one of the reasons I went to the Super Bowl last year, just to observe. I was kind of planning ahead and noticing how long pregame is, how long halftime is, especially with the halftime that happened last year and all that. And you just have to keep your mind focused on the right things and playing one play at a time."
Wilson was referring to the blackout and not halftime, but you get the point. We spend a ton of time focusing on Peyton Manning's preparation because Manning deserves credit for it. But Wilson's pretty ridiculous when it comes to the lengths he'll go in order to get better at his job.
All sorts of his former coaches have cited Wilson's work ethic in discussing his impressive qualities.
But the idea that he would show up for the Super Bowl and spend the game tracking seems just crazy. Of course so does the idea that he'd be using that information less than a year later. But here he is.
