Many will say it is a combination of the food, commercials, smack talk and the white-hot rivalry that raids television screens for the entire day. It is one of the  biggest media events of the year and with good reason, although this year’s Super Bowl was unlike the other 49.

Legendary quarterback Peyton Manning from the Denver Broncos and current National Football League Most Valuable Player Cam Newton from the Carolina Panthers faced off in a Super Bowl full of storylines.

When these two teams clashed, it created a pure game of football filled with intensity, emotion and competitive spirit.

This game was especially important for Manning. With 199 career wins, a Super Bowl victory would only be too perfect. Not to mention that the Super Bowl could potentially have been Manning’s “last rodeo” as he put it.

There were projections, harsh debates, number-crunching and tailgate banter over the outcome of the Super Bowl, especially here in what could be considered Panther country. But based on the first half of the game, it would appear that the Panthers were not prepared for the speed, power and intensity of the Broncos’ defense.

It was no secret that the Broncos have one of the best and most fearsome defenses in the league. Seven sacks on Cam Newton would sober up any Carolina fan. So would those four fumbles, one of which was recovered for a touchdown and two being forced by Broncos’ linebacker and Super Bowl MVP  Von Miller.

Needless to say, Newton was not having the night that many were expecting. The Broncos had Newton running all over the field with their high-grade pass rush and quickness off the edge of the line. It was this defense that had the Panther’s powerful offense slowed to a crawl.

However, the Broncos’ offense was not much better. In fact, the Panthers had more total yards with 315 compared to the Broncos’ 194. Though the Panthers defense was powerful, the Broncos’ defense set up their offense with momentum-killing stops and turnovers that put them in key positions to score.

With a break in the action,  for those that may have missed the halftime show, it was headlined by Coldplay, Beyonce and Bruno Mars. One could argue that following last year’s bonanza, this year’s felt somewhat underwhelming, but that is certainly up for debate.

And, of course, there was also the always high anticipating Super Bowl commercials. There were good ones, bad ones, and well … weird ones. One of the better ones would be the hilarious and unexpected “Avocados from Mexico” commercial, where futuristic aliens walk through a museum of modern human culture. One of the more disappointing commercials would have to be the Michelob Ultra commercial that appeared to be a “Nike” or some other athletic apparel commercial from the start. Of course, who could forget the winner of the weirdest commercial of the night: the “puppy, monkey, baby” Mountain Dew commercial where a part-puppy, part-monkey, part-baby walks through a hole in the wall and gets the party started with some Mountain Dew Kickstart.

All things considered, it was definitely a Super Bowl that will not be forgotten. Seeing “The Sheriff” Manning go out on top and get win number 200 on football’s biggest stage in what many think is the last game of his 18-year career is a great sight to see.

And with that, the wait for August and next football season begins.