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Pro wrestling legend Ric Flair was fond of saying that to be the man, you have to beat the man.

Flair made his home in Charlotte for the bulk of his career in the ring, but he hasn’t always been in the Panthers’ corner. We’re not sure where things stand on that front right now, but cornerback Josh Norman seems to agree with his take on the path to becoming a champion.

Norman said Monday that “fate gives you these chances to prove yourself worthy” and the team’s chance to do that this weekend comes against the Seahawks. Norman said that he and members of the Seahawks said that they’d see each other again in the playoffs after Carolina beat Seattle during the regular season and that he’s relishing the chance to face the NFC’s Super Bowl representative for the last two seasons even though it will make for a difficult game.

“Why would you want anything in life that is easy? Shoot, man, if you don’t go for it head on, then how can you say you are the best at anything? I think that is the way we are in our society,” Norman said, via Black and Blue Review. “We want things the easy way and stuff to be given to us. We don’t want to work for it. We want things to be handed to us. And I don’t think that’s the way it should be done. I think the way it has been set up is the right way.Go through it the hard way. Challenge yourself to be the best. If you can be the best, beat the best.”

The Seahawks will present a big challenge for the Panthers, but running around challenges has never been a particularly good approach to winning Super Bowls. The Panthers will have to run through them and the Seahawks are the first one on the docket for a 15-1 team that has plenty of reasons to feel confident that they can handle whatever comes their way.