Last night, the Broncos won the Super Bowl and Peyton Manning finally got his second Super Bowl Ring (and a host of other stats -- 200 career wins, oldest quarterback to win the Super Bowl, etc.).
It wasn't the best game -- albeit one which proved the adage that "defense wins championships" -- but this isn't the blog that's going to break down the game or discuss the players.
It's literally like three of my favorite things in one photo: a Disney castle, Mickey Mouse, and Peyton Manning.
(c) Disney 2016
I'm not entirely sure why Disney is celebrating "Peyton Manning" -- as opposed to, you know, the Denver Broncos -- especially as he wasn't the MVP. But whatever.
Okay. Not really. I'm not going to Disney World -- but someone tonight will probably utter those words.
I'm a Peyton Manning fan -- such a class act, IMHO -- and I'd love to see him go out on top, but being a Carolina resident, I feel like it's blasphemous not to root for the Panthers. So I call tonight a win-win game. (Anyone but the Patriots. Well, really anyone but Tom Brady. I think that comes from being raised in a Giants household.)
So, I *could* go to Disney World...basically, to encourage Disney guests to stay at the Swan & Dolphin -- which, while on Disney property (they're walking distance from the Boardwalk, Beach & Yacht Club, and EPCOT), are not technically Disney hotels anymore; you don't get quite the same benefits -- residents of NC, SC, and Colorado get a BOGO deal. Book at least two nights, get one free.
Added Bonus? If your team wins the Superbowl, residents of that state get a free room upgrade. Which...staying there, maybe for my birthday weekend in November, walking into EPCOT for Food & Wine...there are worse things!
I've always found it a fascinating link -- Disney World and football/the Super Bowl. I mean, not now, because Disney owns ESPN, but the connection has been there since 1987.
Phil Simms -- of the New York Giants, thank you very much! -- was the first to say it -- although it just as easily could have been John Elway. The story goes that Michael Eisner's wife came up with the idea -- during the Eisner era, everything was a marketing strategy -- and they offered each quarterback a pretty penny to say the phrase if his team won. The Giants did, Phil Simms said it, and the rest is sort of history.
Again--now it makes sense, with Disney owning ESPN. But in 1987? I guess Disney World (or Land, perhaps depending on your team's location...?) was a logical place to celebrate a fairy-tale win?
I'll leave you with another Giant in his celebratory parade:
Will it be another Manning riding alongside Mickey? Or will Cam Newton teach Mickey how to dab?
