PHOENIX – A year ago on Super Bowl Sunday, linebacker Malcolm Smith's life changed.
He ensured that for the rest of his days, his name will be extended to include "Super Bowl MVP."
Super Bowl MVP Malcolm Smith is back at the Super Bowl with his Seattle Seahawks. His interception return for a touchdown against the Denver Broncos last year sealed his MVP award. He's part of the club now.
Smith didn't seem to enjoy answering questions about the Super Bowl MVP, and that's understandable. He probably hears about it all the time.
"Nothing has really changed," Smith said. "Still coming out doing the same stuff every day."
He said he hasn't even taken the trophy out of its trunk.
"When you're playing you don't spend time looking at your trophies, you're worried about the next thing," Smith said.
But there will be a time, probably when he is done playing, that Smith will realize how much that award is a part of his football legacy, and how he'll always be remembered for it. Smith started just five games for the Seahawks this season, but everyone who follows football closely knows his name. Some other player might have his life change in Super Bowl XLIX on Sunday, if he's lucky enough.
A Super Bowl MVP doesn't really change too much for players like Bart Starr, Peyton Manning, Emmitt Smith, Jerry Rice or Tom Brady. They would be legends with or without that award. But there's a recognizable list of players who were immortalized because of their one big Super Bowl.
Doug Williams. Mark Rypien. Larry Brown. Desmond Howard (though he had that whole Heisman Trophy thing too). Dexter Jackson. Santonio Holmes. These men had varying levels of NFL success, but their professional careers will be defined by one game.
Deion Branch had a good but not great NFL career. He never had a 1,000-yard season or more than six touchdowns in a season. But he was awesome in Super Bowl XXXIX. He had 11 catches for 133 yards in a win over the Eagles. He won the MVP. And he'll be known forever because of it.
Branch was doing multiple interviews on radio row this week at the Super Bowl promoting the restaurant chain TGI Friday's and its Super Bowl specials, and he admits that he might not have that opportunity if it wasn't for that Super Bowl MVP award. That made him a household name and opened up doors. When asked if it was a life-changing thing, Branch said, "Clearly, yes." And he sees being in that club, and even being asked about it to his day, as nothing but a positive.
"It's a great thing," said Branch, who last played in 2012. "It's always great to be known. And if I'm MVP evidently we won, and that's the most important thing to myself. It's an opportunity to be a part of a special game, and do it with my guys. The MVP is a bonus, and it's a great honor. To be alongside that list of guys is a blessing."
Branch has his MVP in a glass case in the man cave in his house. He didn't seem to mind talking about it, so many years after his big day. There's nothing wrong with being known for something special like a Super Bowl MVP, even if it's a bit overwhelming to think that people will remember him decades and decades from now because he's part of that exclusive club.
"That's the part that's crazy," Branch said. "I always sit back and think, 'That is wild.'"
- - - - - - -
Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdowncorner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
from Yahoo Sports http://ift.tt/16gJzam
