Pick your poison in Super Bowl XLVIII: Denver's Peyton Manning or Seattle's Richard Sherman?

Richard Sherman / Headline Surfer®DAYTONA BEACH -- We're on the clock to Super Bowl XLVIII between the Seahawks and the Broncos. This one is unusual in that there are two polarizing figures for which I challenge you to pick your poison: Peyton Manning of Denver or Richard Sherman of Seattle.

With these two on opposite sides of the ball, the game should be anything but a snoozer. The stakes are high for these gridiron warriors who don't have to deal with the frozen tundra of New Jersey with a break in the weather, but maybe a few blocked off bridges as Gov. Christie has been accused of causing those big traffic jams. It's worse than the traffic coming out of Daytona International Speedway after the Daytona 500.

In all seriousness, enough has been written about Sherman. His behavior was boorish with the post-game rant after the Seahawks disposed of the 49ers in the NFC championship. But Sherman is no thug. And he's no criminal, either. He's a Stanford-educated professional football, who arguably is among the top three defensive backs in the NFL, second perhaps only to Darrelle Revis, the former New York Jet and now with the Tamp Bay Bucs.

I expect Sherman to let his talent do his talking for him tonight. I'm predicting he's going to have a monster game. With these points made, it's kind of obvious I'm not a big fan of Peyton Manning, the five-time NFL most valuable player.

In a way, I have really begun to understand Richard Sherman. Manning was a No. 1 overall draft pick and the son of a quarterback father. Sherman was a 5th-round pick who had to prove himself, whose upbringing was anything but privileged in the tough streets of Compton, Calif.

Richard Sherman, i, for one, was hard on you. But I've followed your situation in the last couple of weeks since the tirade with Fox Sports' Erin Andrews. I've read your guest blogs with Sports Illustrated's Peter King and video clips of your multitude of media interviews. I'll be cheering for you tonight.

Good luck and God speed.

Keys to the game:

The X-Factor: Seattle's Percy Harvin. If he can go for Seattle from a multitude of nagging injuries, it could be kick return city. Other keys: Sherman keeping an eye on Denver wide receiver Demaryius Thomas. If running back Marshaun Lynch gets 100 yards on the ground, Seattle wins.

Prediction: Seattle 41, Denver 38.