Ahhh, one of the greatest weeks of any sports fans’ year is upon us. Super Bowl week brings annual speculation, pompous declarations, and over-hype of a game that only occasionally (last in 2002) lives up to the hype.
But this year is different. Both the Patriots and Panthers are team-oriented and use consistently intricate but simple game plans to diffuse powerful opposing offenses. Both are led by underwhelming quarterbacks who were late-round draft picks. And neither team has a real superstar, with the possible exception of the Panthers’ running back Stephen Davis, who may not play due to injury.
So, while there are a multitude of great plot lines to focus on, one in particular is rarely noticed. Carolina General Manager Marty Hundley hasn’t come from usual channels and pedigrees. Hundley, who came to Carolina from an assistant manager position under Bobby Beathard in San Diego, got his start as a beat writer covering the ‘Skins for the Washington Times. He spent his days at football practices, interviewing coaches and players, and enjoyed his weekends in press boxes at RFK Stadium.
Over the course of his career, Hundley was able to gain up-close insight on the sport, and after a couple decades became particularly close with Beathard, who at the time was the GM of the Redskins. While Hundley never saw himself as a manager, he made the transition from reporting on the decision-makers to being one himself remarkably smoothly. While that speaks to interpersonal skills and an ability to learn new skills quickly, what is more impressive is his ability to delegate responsibility to people with more specialized knowledge than himself. Hundley readily admits that he doesn’t evaluate talent and that he doesn’t really understand what will make an emerging star, and push him over the top. Still, what Hundley does know is who does understand that, and how to make sure that individual works for him.
What Hundley has done is unprecedented for a number of reasons. He’s living every sportswriter’s dream, and if he’s successful could pave the way for a whole new generation of professional armchair quarterbacks. In honesty, every good sportswriter is a GM in his or her imagination. We have multiple fantasy sports teams just so we can make the brilliant trades that our favorite teams inexplicably overlooked. We think that we can figure out how to turn a team around with the flick of a switch, and we think that we can see the little trends and differences that will put emerging teams over the top. It’s true, if I had it my way, I’d have Marty Hundley’s job just down the southeast coast.
“But Cam,” you say. “Didn’t you pick TCU to cause chaos in the BCS by going undefeated, and didn’t you say that UConn would run the table and could even beat the Atlanta Hawks just two weeks and two losses ago?” Fair enough. But that just makes Hundley’s accomplishments more impressive.
While the rest of sportswriters talk a great game, Hundley actually backs it up. And now he has a Super Bowl appearance, just two years after a 1-15 finish, the most stunning two year turnaround in NFL history. That’s saying something, and since he can’t write about it anymore, I thought it was my job to do it for him.
