After a Super Bowl win, players usually say that the enormity of the moment hasn’t set in yet. In four years of going to the game, I’ve found that to be true immediately after the game.
Many players are excited. Many act like it’s another game. But it’s clear most haven’t really understood how their lives just changed.
Packers running back Brandon Jackson was an exception to this rule Sunday night. He was the most passionate player I saw in the Packers locker room, eyes wide, voice filled with intense emotion at every word. More than once, he paused to collect himself before preaching words that seemed to come from deep in his core.
Jackson said Charles Woodson’s emotional halftime talk to the team had a big impact on him.
“He told us how much he wanted at halftime,” Jackson shouted. “You saw the tears in his eyes and the fight in everyone else’s eyes. We fought together and won together!”
Jackson also gave a window into why Mike McCarthy chose to fit his players for their rings before the game. He said it gave him confidence.
“It was a great feeling when you know you won before you even played the game. You continue to dream about this, night after night, day after day,” Jackson said before stopping mid-sentence and shaking his head.