Champions keep playing until they get it right. -Billie Jean King

The journey to Super Bowl 51 starts here, where the last journey ended.

It starts against a familiar foe, at an unfamiliar time, in the stronghold of the victors. They are hostile. They are winners. They are champions...

Our challenge is... unwelcome.

It is said that football games are won and lost in just a few plays. Can we apply that same view to the macro reality of an entire season? Can individual wins or losses define a team before they step on the field? When you’re dealing with a championship rematch... I think it can. In the NFL every game counts. Everyone wants to win in week one to get the season started on the right foot, but the reality is that half of them will lose. No one really NEEDS to win game one, they just want to.

That is... everyone except the Super Bowl runner-ups getting a rematch against the team that defeated them.

The greatest test of courage on earth is to bear defeat without losing heart. - Robert Green Ingersoll

It would be hard to find a season in NFL history built more on heart than the Panthers 2015 campaign. No NFL analyst could predict what happened. The pundits wrote them off the moment the anterior cruciate ligament in Kelvin Benjamin’s knee popped off the hinges in training camp. In fact, none of them even began to have the slightest amount of belief in it until six weeks into the season, when the Panthers stood 5-0 atop the NFL, having just beaten the Seattle Seahawks in Seattle.

They said we couldn’t move the ball. We finished with the highest scoring offense in the NFL.

They said Cam Newton wasn’t good enough to make due with the receivers we had left. Cam Newton won his first NFL MVP award. Greg Olsen had 1100 yards receiving. Ted Ginn had 10 touchdowns.

They said the offensive line was awful, and that signing Michael Oher was a mistake. The Panthers ranked 2nd in the league in rushing yards, and only gave up 33 official sacks.

The only prediction the pundits got right about the Panthers 2015 season, was that they wouldn’t win the Super Bowl. Of course, none of them predicted they would make it either.

This is usually the point in the article where I throw some shade at the team we are about to face. In this case, that would be the Denver Broncos, the defending Super Bowl champions. There is plenty I could talk about. I could talk about a defense that is still very good, but not last year’s caliber. I could talk about their new quarterback, Trevor Sieman, who is gonna spray balls all over the place. I could even talk about how Aqib Talib isn’t worth the grass-stains on his pants as a human being or a football player... but I’m not going to do th-

You know what. Yes I am. The high road can suck it. Aqib Talib gets no respect from me. If there is a dirtier player in the league than Talib, it might be Vontaze Burfict, but that is like trying to figure out which bathroom you’d prefer to clean at an NFL stadium after a game. Both disgust you, but the club level bathroom might have air conditioning. Either way you’re going to tell your friends how vile they were... and that is how I’ll always picture Talib as a player.

“I just did it (the facemask) on purpose, and I just had to show him. It’s probably going to be a fine, but hey, we’re world champs.” --Aqib Talib

I Hope that is on every bulletin board in the Carolina Panthers locker room, and I hope Kelvin Benjamin, Philly Brown, and the other receivers absolutely destroy Aqib Talib. I hope the sheer amount of yards and touchdowns that the Carolina Panthers score at Talib’s expense is so vast that it can contain the septic field necessary to house the fesces that is Talib’s character. Aqib Talib may have a ring... but he is nobodies champion.

Ahem. I digress.

I’m not going to throw shade at any REAL football players on the Denver Broncos, because they are the champions. They beat us fairly because they outplayed us. We can make an excuse here or there, but the fact remains that at the end of the game, they held up the Lombardi trophy and we didn’t. I look forward to this rematch, and I’m sure every member of the Carolina Panthers does too.

With all that said, let’s take a look at a few impact guys that will be key in this game.

Hot Plates

James Bradberry - Heat Rating: Fresh Bo’ Bradberry Biscuits

Chef McDermott has been in the kitchen all summer working on this batch. He’s carefully folded the butter of scheme knowledge into the batter, distributed his berries of knowledge and technique, and carefully coated the top in sweet, delicious, learn on the job frosting. Now let’s hope this particular biscuit comes out golden and fluffy instead of just another hockey puck under a heat lamp. Bradberry will be counted on as part of the starting lineup on Thursday, and will look to provide blanket coverage to keep Sieman off the stat sheets. Let’s hope Demaryius Thomas brought plenty of napkins to this feast.

Kelvin Benjamin - Heat Rating: “The Kelvinator” Pulled Pork Sandwich

Sometimes the best things are worth waiting for. Kelvin Benjamin spent the last year on ice, slowly marinating on how much he wanted to go out and play football. After a long off season of recovery, he finally stood beneath the heat of training camp in Spartanburg, South Carolina where he roasted and smoked every corner he faced as the coaches rounded him back into game shape. Now that he’s finally ready, the hog-molliest receiver in the league is ready to assume a full work load, and start pulling apart the pork of every secondary he faces. Get your cole slaw ready Aqib Talib, we’ll bring the vinegar and water.

Shaq Thompson - Heat Rating: Shaq n’ Cheese

If someone offered you Mac n’ Cheese as a side item... would it really matter what you were eating? For example, if you’re having pizza... would you really be able to make eye contact with your grandmother and tell her “No, thanks” as she tried to offer you a warm bowl of homemade macaroni and cheese to go with it? If you said yes, you’re either highly lactose intolerant, or a dirty liar. Macaroni and Cheese is one of the most versatile dishes on the planet. You can add almost anything you’d like to it... like bacon, chicken, or just some chives. You can serve it with any meal and people will love you for it. Shaq Thompson is the Carolina Panthers Mac N’ Cheese. Outside Linebacker? Done. Nickel Corner? On it. Screen blown up? Already there pal. Blitz? Sakrete donation already made. Shaq Thompson is the ultimate X-Factor in the Panthers defensive arsenal, and the Broncos might just blow their carb free diet when he comes to the party.

Tater’s Gameday Food of the Week

Revenge is a dish best served cold... and so is my choice for a great dip this week. It’s not that it would be bad warm, but I like my pimento cheese cold. Though I’ll take revenge at any temperature we can get it... just like this dip.

Bacon Pimento Cheese Dip

I wanted to call it Baco-Mento Cheese Dip, but my wife astutely pointed out that sounds like you’re about to combine Bacos, Mentos, and Cheese. Yuck.

Ingredients

8 slices thick cut bacon

3/4 cup mayonnaise (start with this amount, adjust upwards if you prefer more mayo, I like very little)

2 cups extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (I highly suggest buying it in block form and grating it fresh for better results)

2 cups Gouda cheese, shredded (same as above)

4 oz cream cheese , softened

1 (4 oz) jar diced pimentos, drained

2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and minced (if you like a bit of spice)

2-3 green onions or scallions, diced

1 tablespoon Texas Pete hot sauce

salt and pepper, to taste

Crackers, bread, or pita chips for serving. Triscuits work the best for me as they are a bit tougher.

Directions

Fry bacon over medium-high heat until crispy, drain on paper towel and allow to cool, then crumble. In a mixing bowl or seal-able container, combine all ingredients and stir well. Add additional mayonnaise, hot sauce, salt, and pepper as desired. Serve with the cracker or chip of your choice.

My advice Panther fans... make this dish today and let it chill overnight so all those flavors can meld together in time for tomorrow’s game. You can certainly eat this right away, but I think some time in the fridge does wonders for it. Don’t glance over the hot sauce either! That bit of vinegar flavor helps highlight the cheesy goodness. Sometimes, i keep a bottle next to the dip so people can add a Dab here and there. Just like our boy Cam.

Now that we have our cold dish ready, all that is left is to crack open a cold beer and get ready to watch the game Thursday night. Cheers to good health, a Panther Victory, and as always...

KEEP POUNDING.