Sports
Looking to calm your nerves? Here are 4 tips from Super Bowl champions
While running out onto the field for the first time before Super Bowl LIV’s kickoff in 2020, Chiefs punter Dustin Colquitt remembers looking up and seeing a piece of trivia on the video board: If the Chiefs win today, Dustin joins his dad, Craig, and brother, Britton, as a Super Bowl champion.
It immediately triggered a bout of overthinking and anxiety.
“Oh crap,” Colquitt thought.
To calm his nerves, he used a simple remedy: a series of breathing exercises on the sideline.
People everywhere deal with similar surges of pressure or nervousness. The professional football players who have made it to the Super Bowl are experiencing those same feelings, but on a public stage, elevated for tens of millions to see. The extremeness of it all forces them to figure out how to conquer those emotions in ways we can also apply ahead of a big job interview, a public speaking engagement or any pressure moment in our lives.
Here are four tips on how to quiet your mind from Super Bowl champions.
Find a helpful distraction
In the middle of Super XLIX in 2015, Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin felt some anxiety creeping in. It was weird to him, after entering the game with what he called an “overwhelming sense of confidence.” But he knew where the anxiety was coming from.
“This may sound silly, but as a receiver, the confidence of being able to catch the ball sometimes leaves you,” he said.
It’s why he had practiced a few techniques ahead of time, one of which he started to do at that moment.
He closed his eyes and stuck his hands out in front of him. Then, using his thumb, he touched each one of his fingertips, one by one, and repeatedly tapped his fingers.
“What it was doing was re-grounding me in that moment,” Baldwin explained. “Kind of helping me get in tune with my body. The simple touching of your fingertips, that sends electro signals throughout your body.”
It also serves as a distraction, something Baldwin knew he needed in pressure-packed moments. Only an hour or two earlier, he preoccupied himself on his phone with his favorite strategy game at the time, “Galaxy On Fire: Alliances.”
“I could distract my mind and go to something that was a little bit more controllable and lighthearted,” he said.
Other Super Bowl champions, like Colquitt, had similar approaches with music. Colquitt said while some of his teammates got ready for big games with loud hype music, he preferred the calmness of Bob Marley and Jimmy Buffett. The consistency of his music selections also helped ease his mind.
“I knew that if I listened to my music, it felt like just another game, just another opponent,” he said.
Breath work can quickly recalibrate you
While preparing to play in the Super Bowl, Colquitt took a moment for himself, like he did before every game, to simply focus on his breathing. With indie rock music still humming in his ears, he started with the number 13.
For 13 seconds, he held his breath, then released his breath slowly for another 13 seconds. Counting down by increments of three, he held his breath for 10 seconds and released it for another 10 seconds. Until he got down to three.
“It would start kind of slowing my heart rate down,” Colquitt said. “In between that and the music, it kept me at a calm or a peace. Just kind of took the nerves out of everything.”
Similarly, before former Steelers guard Willie Colon played in Super Bowl XLIII, he put on his uniform, listened to the song “Closer” by Goapele on repeat and began to count.
“I would count to 10 and then from 10 go all the way to one and then go all the way back to 10,” he said. “Just counting and focusing on my breathing really calmed my nerves. That was something that always helped me.”
For Patriots cornerback Logan Ryan, breath work was not only helpful before pressure moments, but during them, too.
Ryan was in his second year in the NFL when he made his first Super Bowl in 2015, and even though the Patriots won, he wasn’t pleased with his mentality.
“I found myself playing it safe,” he said. “I didn’t want to be the reason we lost. I just wasn’t taking a risk because I knew what was at stake. I told myself I was never going to play a Super Bowl like that again.”
When he made the Super Bowl with the Patriots a second time, two years later, he resolved to not be afraid of the moment and play fearlessly.
By his third Super Bowl in the final year of his career, this time with the San Francisco 49ers in 2024, he said he was in the “most zen state he ever played a game.”
In large part that was because of breathing techniques he had learned to center himself. Through breath work, he mastered how to track his heart rate and drop it. On the bench during the game, and even on the field before plays, he used the technique to get into a relaxed state.
“Just let it go,” he said. “Don’t be afraid of making a mistake. I really just wanted to be in the moment, and I think the breath work really kept me in the moment.”
Both Ryan and Colon still use breath work to calm their minds before big meetings or broadcasting games.
Visualization can be powerful
Every night before a game, Seahawks linebacker K.J. Wright would take 10 minutes alone. No phone, no TV, just total silence.
For those 10 minutes he would play out the upcoming game in his mind.
“I’d talk to myself,” he said. “I’d say: ‘You’re going to make every tackle. This is what’s coming your way.’ Just bringing that energy to me, bringing that positive success to me. That was a freaking game-changer. I swear by that.”
Another Seahawks linebacker Malcolm Smith, the MVP of Super Bowl XLVIII in 2014, had a slightly different twist. While he prepared during the week for perfection, he also reminded himself before the game that imperfections are part of it and that was OK.
“You knew you were going to make a mistake; it’s not going to be perfect,” he said. “Don’t set the expectation that it’s going to go perfect. You’ll make a mistake, knock it out and just keep going.”
Embrace the big moment
Sometimes the immensity of an opportunity can overwhelm. Both Smith and Baldwin leaned into it.
Smith continuously reminded himself that the hype of the Super Bowl shouldn’t freak him out; it should excite him. He was calmer in that game than any other game he ever played in, he said.
“There was no imposter syndrome because we had proven that we deserved to be there,” Smith said. “Typically if you have a big day, it’s often because you earned that opportunity to be there. That helped me to calm down and be present.”
“Let the moment be the moment,” Baldwin said. “Enjoy the moment and be present with the moment, regardless of what comes in that moment. It’s a very powerful antidote to anxiety and doubt.”
Bruce Arians, who won a Super Bowl in 2021 as the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, just wanted to be himself. So he did what he always did the night before a game: a couple of drinks and a good night’s sleep. After all, he figured that had been good enough to get him to the Super Bowl.
“I never tried to change,” Arians said. “I tried to stay the same. Just keep the routine the same so there’s no more extra hype.”
(Photo: Grant Halverson / Getty Images)
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The Utah Utes will be ending an era when they play against Nebraska in the Las Vegas Bowl Dec. 31.
It will be head coach Kyle Whittingham’s last game as head coach after the 66-year-old announced Friday he is stepping down. Whittingham is the winningest coach in program history, going 117-88 over 22 seasons.
“The time is right to step down from my position as the head football coach at the University of Utah,” Whittingham said in a statement Friday.
Utah Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham on the sideline during the first half against the Baylor Bears at McLane Stadium in Waco, Texas, Nov. 15, 2025. (Chris Jones/Imagn Images)
“It’s been an honor and a privilege to lead the program for the past 21 years, and I’m very grateful for the relationships forged with all the players and assistant coaches that have worked so hard and proudly worn the drum and feather during our time here.”
Whittingham co-coached the Fiesta Bowl with Utah in 2004 and then took over as the permanent head coach the following season. Whittingham led Utah to a winning record in 18 of his 21 seasons.
This season, Utah is 10-2 and at one point ranked No. 13 in the AP poll, just missing out on the College Football Playoff (CFB).
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Utah Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham reacts during the second half against the Kansas Jayhawks at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kan., Nov. 28, 2025. (Jay Biggerstaff/Imagn Images)
Whittingham was named the Western Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 1981 in his senior year.
Before becoming a coach, Whittingham played in the USFL and the CFL from 1982 to 1984. He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at BYU.
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Whittingham joined the Utah staff in 1994 and rose through the ranks. He began as the defensive line coach and eventually became the defensive coordinator before becoming the team’s head coach.
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His final game on the sideline will be the team’s bowl game against Nebraska. Whittingham, who is 11-6 in bowl games as a head coach, will look to end his tenure with a win on Dec. 31.
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The film tells the truth. The Lakers are not a good defensive team, evidenced by the sight of the NBA’s top guards blowing past Lakers defenders into the paint during a 10-game defensive swoon that ranks among the league’s worst.
Yet when coach JJ Redick shows his team the tape and then backs it up with the numbers, there’s still cautious optimism that the Lakers can improve.
“I don’t think there’s anybody in that meeting room that thinks we’re a good defensive team right now,” Redick said, “but I also don’t think there’s anybody in that meeting room who thinks we can’t be a good defensive team. We’ve got to get better.”
In the 10 games since LeBron James returned to the lineup, the Lakers have scored 121.1 points per 100 possessions, a significant increase in their offensive rating of 115.4 during the first 14 games of the season. While their offensive rating ranks fifth in the league during the last 10 games, their 120.9 defensive rating ranks 28th. It’s a dramatic increase from their previous 113.7-point defensive rating.
The most glaring issues are the team’s defense in transition and early in the opponent’s offense, Redick said. The Lakers give up 1.19 points per possession in transition, fifth-worst in the league.
Sunday’s game in Phoenix against the Suns, who scored 28 fast-break points against the Lakers on Dec. 1, will be a significant test as the Lakers (17-7) try to avoid their first losing streak this season.
Led by Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and the 40-year-old James, the Lakers are not destined to be a fast team on either side of the court. They were outmatched against San Antonio’s dynamic backcourt led by the speedy De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle, who combined for 50 points Wednesday as the Spurs scored 27 fast-break points and knocked the Lakers out of NBA Cup contention.
Losses like that exposed the Lakers’ lack of speed on the perimeter, but the team also has shown flashes of excellence against the best guards. The Lakers held 76ers star Tyrese Maxey to five points on two-for-six shooting in the fourth quarter of the Lakers’ four-point win at Philadelphia on Dec. 7.
“It’s less of scheme stuff. A little more of urgency,” guard Gabe Vincent said. “A little more of doing all the little things. If you don’t do them, like I said, there are some great players in this league that will expose you.”
One of the team’s top defensive options is on the bench. Forward Jarred Vanderbilt has played only three minutes in the last 10 games. He entered the game against Philadelphia only after Jake LaRavia took a shot to the face that loosened a tooth.
Vanderbilt, an athletic forward, has been a consistent force on defense during his career but struggles to contribute on offense. While he impressed coaches with how hard he worked in the offseason to improve his shooting and ballhandling, Vanderbilt made only four of 14 three-point shots in the first 14 games. He averaged 5.8 rebounds per game before James returned to the lineup Nov. 18, pushing Vanderbilt to the bench.
Before the Lakers’ last game against the Suns, Redick said part of it was a numbers game with James’ return and felt the team would settle on a nine-man rotation. Vanderbilt had tasks he “needed to be able to do consistently to play” even before James returned, Redick said.
Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox, scoring against Lakers guard Luka Doncic, and teammates continually drove past their defenders during an NBA Cup game Wednesday at Crypto.com Arena.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
But making changes at that time was difficult, the coach acknowledged. The Lakers were in the midst of a seven-game winning streak. But they’re 2-3 in the last five games, which have laid their defensive struggles bare, and coaches are “looking at everything.”
“If this continues,” Redick said Friday, “he’ll definitely get his opportunities.”
After practice Friday, Vanderbilt stayed on the court shooting extra three-pointers with staff members.
Etc.
The Lakers assigned guard Bronny James to the G League on Friday.
Sports
Philip Rivers’ former teammate expresses one concern he has with 44-year-old’s return to Colts
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There is a good chance Philip Rivers sees some action on Sunday when the Indianapolis Colts take on the Seattle Seahawks in a must-win game for the AFC South team.
Rivers, 44, joined the Colts earlier this week as the team deals with a quarterback crisis. The potential Hall of Famer hasn’t played since the 2020 season, but when the Colts needed him the most, he answered the call and dove into a playbook to get game ready.
But what can any NFL fan think Rivers is going to provide for the Colts at 44? He’s changed so much since the 2020 season, as his opponents on the field. The Seahawks also have one of the best defenses in the league.
Shawne Merriman #56 of the San Diego Chargers walks on the sideline in the game against the Seattle Seahawks on Aug. 15, 2009 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California. (Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)
Shawne Merriman, Rivers’ former teammate, told Fox News Digital that he expected him to play well but was concerned about one thing.
“It’s a tough week for him to get back. But I’ll tell you this, Phil’s upside was never his athleticism. It was always his competitiveness,” he said. “He’s the most competitive player I’ve ever played with, that’s one. And two, it was his preparation and his mental and his knowledge of the game of football. Those two things would always got Philip to be that elite quarterback. It was that. So, it’s not gonna be that much different as far as him moving around the pocket.
“The concern I do have is you can’t replicate football without playing it. So, you can have a coach out there, I’m sure he was throwing the football around with his high school kids. I’m sure that he was working out, but you can’t replicate football. So, I think he’s gonna go out there and look good. I think he’s gonna go out there and actually look like he did five years ago.”
When the rumors started that Rivers was potentially going to come to Indianapolis for a workout, Merriman said he wasn’t surprised.
Philip Rivers #17 of the Los Angeles Chargers looks for an open receiver during the third quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium on Dec. 29, 2019 in Kansas City, Missouri. (David Eulitt/Getty Images)
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The former San Diego Chargers star said when he spoke to Rivers during Antonio Gates’ Hall of Fame induction ceremony, it didn’t feel like the quarterback was completely finished with the game.
“I wasn’t shocked. And, this is why – a couple of years ago, I put on Twitter that Phil was still ready to play and this was I think in 2023,” he said. “And everybody’s like, ‘What? Well, yeah, right.’ He’s been gone out of the game I think three years at that point and then literally a week later or two, it pops up that the San Francisco 49ers, their quarterback situation with all their injuries, that they were thinking about bringing in Philip. And I said, I told you.
“I had a conversation with Philip and he didn’t say, ‘Oh, I’m coming back to play,’ but when you talked to him, it sounded like he was ready. It sounded like he was talking about the game in the present moment.”
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Merriman said he got together with Rivers and Drew Brees during Antonio Gates’ Hall of Fame induction ceremony and it didn’t like Rivers was exactly finished with football.
“So, I’m not surprised at all and it’s the right decision by the Indianapolis Colts.”
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