Cornerback Josh Norman has played in a lot of big games, both in the regular season and the playoffs during his four years with the Carolina Panthers, and considering that, he feels grateful to have the opportunity to be on the NFL’s greatest stage.
After helping the Panthers to a 15-1 record in the regular season, Norman was part of a team that withstood a furious comeback attempt from the two-time defending NFC Champions in the Seattle Seahawks, and then, ran over the Arizona Cardinals, 49-15, in the NFC Championship Game en route to Super Bowl 50, where they will take on the Denver Broncos at Levi’s Stadium Sunday.
“Man, I’m blessed, super blessed to be here,” Norman said. “I’m excited. I’m grateful. I want to thank everybody who came down from Carolina. All my teammates, we’re all here. It’s not by chance. We put a lot of hard work in what we do, a lot of hard work. I think the hard work is starting to show for itself and starting to pay off big.
“You know what, expectations of this game and the magnitude of it is just ridiculous. I’m going to set something straight real quick. We are playing a game, so we are inside of it looking out. You guys are outside looking in, so it’s a bit different from your perspective than it is from mine. For me, it’s just like another game.”
Not only does Norman feel blessed to be at Super Bowl 50, but also, to have made it in the NFL at all.
A walk-on at Coastal Carolina University, Norman had to earn his scholarship the hard way, and then, was not selected until the fifth round of the 2012 NFL Draft. And yet, despite the challenges, Norman has turned himself into one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL.
“I had to find my way through all the mess that was out there and just try to build myself up, my self-confidence,” Norman said. “Knowing who I am within myself and knowing I’m a big-time playmaker. I’m a big guy. I make big plays in big-time situations.
“Understanding it’s not by chance that I’m here on the stage, it’s through God that allowed me to be who I am, and nobody else is going to take that away from me because of how hard I work and I put in myself into driving each and every day to be the best that I can be. When you see that, those things happen.
“I saw it in myself and that’s the crazy party about it. I saw it in myself. God really had to show me ways. I had to open myself and humble myself to understand what I was going through because it was hard. It was really hard going through all the things I went through, but I had to persevere and push through all the doubters and nay-sayers and people to overcome what I look like now in my life. I just have fun with it because there’s nothing like being self-made. There’s nothing like self-made because then nobody can take nothing from you.”
Norman and the Panthers enter Sunday’s game against the Broncos as the prohibitive favorite, and even if the team that has been disliked all season has finally earned the respect of their doubters, the young veteran will remained focused on helping Carolina win the Super Bowl.
“I don’t know, and I really don’t care to be honest with you,” Norman said of if the Panthers have changed opinions. “We’re like 17-1. If you don’t respect us by now, you never will. We got to this place and time right now where we are by hard work and dedication to the craft. Coming in so blue collar is how we play ball.”
