Super Bowl XLIX: More than just Lombardi trophy on line for Russell Wilson, Tom Brady

PHOENIX – Russell Wilson is the next Tom Brady. Probably.

The question is, does the torch get passed today or somewhere further down the line?

It’s no surprise that it has come to this. When Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks won Super Bowl XLVIII in New Jersey a year go, their dominance and youth instantly got them branded as a dynasty in the making, as if such a thing can be decreed without achievement. In any case, they were pretty much seeded back into Super XLIX via bye until they actually had to, you know, earn it.

And with their sixth appearance in 14 years, Brady and the New England Patriots are the closest thing to Super Bowl perennials since the John 3:16 sign.

Even the two quarterbacks saw it coming.

They have a mutual friend in Kenny Dichter, a founder and CEO of Wheels Up, a private aviation company. Before the playoffs, Wilson emailed Dichter, “Hey, we’re probably going to play Tom Brady in the Super Bowl. Get ready for it.”

“And Tom,” Wilson related, “the day before or the same day, (emailed) the same thing. It’s just funny how that worked out.”

So now they’re here. Now what’s next?

For Brady, it’s one more chance to win a fourth Super Bowl, putting him in the Terry Bradshaw-Joe Montana quarterbacking club. It may not be his last chance – under Brady and coach Bill Belichick, the Patriots do have a knack for being here – but he is 37. Exactly two older quarterbacks have won Super Bowls: John Elway (38) and Earl Morrall (79, or thereabouts).

And Wilson? Well, he can become Tom Brady.

If the Seahawks win today, Wilson will become the youngest pitcher of record with two Super Bowls. The current champeen? Tom Brady, who was not quite four months older when he got No. 2 than the 26-year-old Wilson is now.

Naturally, Seahawks fans can see well beyond two. It isn’t easy being a young phenom.

Just ask Tom Brady.

“(In) 2001, 2003 and 2004, I was so young that I didn’t understand what this was all about and how challenging this is,” he said, “because everything happened so fast at such an early part of my career. (Losing in 2007 and 2011) just re-emphasized how hard and challenging it is to get to this point, and how challenging it is to win this game.”

Nonetheless, Wilson’s vision isn’t modest. The prospect of playing at a championship level for another decade is something he not only entertains, but embraces.

“I definitely can (see it),” he said. “I visualize success every day, and I visualize being at the top every time.

“And the people I have around me allow me to be successful. It’s not just me. I’m grateful to be on this football team, and I also push those guys, too. It’s a reciprocal relationship in that way and that allows me to have a chance to win a lot of football games. I think the evolution of our football team just keeps rising.”

Wilson’s career start as a young-gun winner certainly mirrors Brady’s, and both were lightly regarded coming from college (Wilson a third-round pick, Brady a sixth). If Wilson’s arc does follow his older rival’s, however, he could redefine the idea of franchise quarterback.

“He is changing the conversation about it,” insisted offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell. “When a lot of people looked at it before they just looked at that number – 5-10 1/2 – and that knocked him down, including us.

“Now it has started to change because of how he plays … he is the winningest quarterback at this time in his career. So, yeah, it is definitely going to change how people look at the position. There are still going to be traditionalists who look for certain things, but really you are looking for a guy who can win games.”

Now, in an atmosphere of Super Bowl week craziness where no story angle is left unexplored and most are worn to tatters, one has managed to escape without much notice:

Russell Wilson is coming off the worst game of his career.

Yes, two of the four interceptions he threw against Green Bay in the NFC Championship Game went through the hands of Jermaine Kearse. But even Wilson admitted he was, well, awful for the bulk of that game.

And that may be the biggest testament to his stature and future than any passing rating or yardage total.

“I don’t know, when the history books are written, where he is going to end up,” said Bevell. “But as a quarterback, you are supposed to win the game. That is the bottom line that you should be measured by.

“If he continues to do that, if he continues to lead his team, win games, win Super Bowls, he will definitely be in that conversation in the end.”

Of course, Tom Brady’s still in the conversation, too. Whether it’s the end or not could be decided today.