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)
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)
COLIN KAEPERNICK CULTURE WAR APPEARS TO HAVE DIED OUT AS COLTS AND OTHERS FIND QB SOLUTIONS WITHOUT UPROAR
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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Sometimes even Donovan Dent needs to be told he’s Donovan Dent.
“I just keep reminding him of who he is,” Skyy Clark said of his message to his UCLA teammate who has been pushing through a tough opening stretch as a Bruin.
The most highly coveted point guard in the transfer portal, Dent arrived on campus with the pedigree of an All-American honorable mention who was expected to immediately elevate his new team. Among his many talents were strong three-point shooting and an ability to blow by defenders to the rim.
He’s been looking more like that version of himself the last few games after a slow, injury-marred first month, a trajectory the No. 25 Bruins (7-2) will need to continue Saturday night at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle if they hope to beat No. 8 Gonzaga (9-1).
“He’s been showing a lot of flashes of who he is as a person, as a player, and we’re all rooting for him,” Clark said. “I think it’s only going to get better.”
Having a week between games might help. UCLA coach Mick Cronin said he’s been working with Dent on his shooting form, which curiously has been an issue for someone who made 40.9% of his three-pointers and 78.4% of his free throws last season at New Mexico.
Those numbers have dipped considerably, Dent making just one of 13 three-pointers (7.7%) to go with 62.8% of his free throws. He barely was making half of his free throws before a recent stretch in which he’s converted 10 of 13.
Perhaps the biggest concern has been Dent’s inability to embarrass defenders like he did as a Lobo.
UCLA guard Donovan Dent drives to the basket against Oregon forward Dezdrick Lindsay, left, and center Ege Demir, right, during the Bruins’ 74-63 win on Dec. 6.
(Jessie Alcheh / Associated Press)
“In the Mountain West, he was able to get to the rim in a way that he’s not able to get to the rim at our level, it’s just not going to happen,” Cronin said. “At the high level, it’s really hard. You can’t finish on some of the big guys you could finish on in that league — maybe in the bottom half of the league, you could just take everybody to the rim. First of all, they allow you to bump the dribbler; it’s more physical the higher up you go — it just is. It’s not a knock on it, it’s just the way it is. You know, the Power Four leagues now plus the Big East, the physicality is amazing.
“And in the NBA you can’t blow on a guy, but in college, it’s physical, and that’s what people try to do is beat him up, that’s the game plan. And everybody has the same game plan, like, we know, we talk to people, be physical, beat him up, be as physical as you can with him.”
Cronin said he’s been encouraged by what he’s seen over the last two games, in which Dent averaged 15 points and 5.5 assists with 3.0 turnovers while leading the Bruins to victories over Washington and Oregon. He’s also put abdominal and lower-leg injuries behind him.
That’s not to say that Dent can’t boost his game another notch or two.
“He’s got to have more confidence in his three-point shot, his pull-up shot and focusing on his defense on the ball, using his quickness for that,” Cronin said. “So there’s just different ways he can affect the game, which is going to be [key] for him to have a [professional] career anyway. He’s been pushing through it, he’s been working on it, I thought the last couple of games his effort’s been great.”
If Dent needed a template for perseverance amid high expectations as a transfer, he could find it in Clark. After arriving from Louisville, Clark struggled with his shooting and never scored in double figures over his first nine games as a Bruin.
Then came a 15-point breakthrough against Arizona in mid-December and an 11-point, nine-rebound, seven-assist showing two weeks later in a victory over Gonzaga.
“I had a slow start last year when I first came here and then as the season went on it started to get a little [better],” Clark said. “So, I just keep telling him about that and keep sticking with it.”
Money matters
Cronin said UCLA raised more money playing in neutral-site games against Arizona, California and Gonzaga than it would have by participating in the Players Era Festival.
“They raise money for our program to buy players,” Cronin said of neutral-site games with a laugh. “I mean, everybody else can talk about recruiting, you know, write about why kids pick schools — I don’t have time for it. I’m too old, I’ve done enough, it’s comical. We’re semipro, our guys do go to school, [but] guys pick schools because they get paid, so these neutral-site games help raise money. So next spring, when we sign a guy in the portal and you go interview him and he tells you he really bonded with me, and I’ve known him for two weeks,” you’ll know why he signed.
Etc.
Cronin, on the scheduled 8:30 p.m. start time against Gonzaga: “I mean, it’s ridiculous. I mean, why don’t we just play at midnight? … My dad’s real happy about it. He’s 84, he’s gonna have to take two naps on Saturday to be able to watch us play Saturday night.” … Cronin said the Bruins would honor UCLA alumnus Dave Roberts, manager of the two-time defending World Series champion Dodgers, at a home game this season. … Six years after he uprooted his family from Cincinnati, Cronin said he would be happy to assist new UCLA football coach Bob Chesney with the logistics of moving across the country to Los Angeles: “I don’t know anything about football, but I can help him on where to live and just have his wife call us, we’ll help her.”
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The alleged mistress of former Michigan football head coach Sherrone Moore received a massive pay bump between 2024 and 2025.
The individual allegedly linked to Moore, whose LinkedIn profile lists her as an Executive Assistant to the Head Football Coach at the University of Michigan, earned just over $58,000 in 2023 and 2024, according to public payroll information. In the 2025 fiscal year, though, her salary jumped to $99,000, according to a salary disclosure report from the University of Michigan.
Michigan Wolverines head coach Sherrone Moore leaves the field following the NCAA football game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan on Nov. 29, 2025. (Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images)
That’s a 70.62 percent increase year-over-year — even higher than the figure circulating social media right now via UMSalary.info.
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As OutKick’s Trey Wallace reported, Moore was fired with cause on Wednesday in his second season as the Wolverines’ head coach. The move came after an investigation surrounding Moore’s alleged “inappropriate relationship” with a staffer.
And it’s hard to imagine the massive salary bump she received didn’t raise some eyebrows within the department.
“U-M head football coach Sherrone Moore has been terminated, with cause, effective immediately,” Michigan Athletic Director Warde Manual announced on Wednesday. “Following a university investigation, credible evidence was found that Coach Moore engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a staff member. This conduct constitutes a clear violation of University policy, and U-M maintains zero tolerance for such behavior.”
Michigan football head coach Sherrone Moore reacts from the sideline during a college football game against the USC Trojans at Michigan Stadium on Sept. 21, 2024 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images)
WHO IS SHERRONE MOORE? NATIONAL CHAMPION COACH’S STUNNING DOWNFALL FROM MICHIGAN ENDS IN JAILING
Less than an hour after his termination, police were called to a residence to detain the former coach under possible assault charges. Moore allegedly threatened to harm himself and others before being taken into custody.
As of Thursday afternoon, Moore is being held at Washtenaw County Jail. No charges have been filed yet, but he is expected to appear in court on Friday to be arraigned, according to Pittsfield Township police department.
Michigan Wolverines head coach Sherrone Moore is shown on the sidelines during the first quarter against the Maryland Terrapins at SECU Stadium in College Park, Maryland, on Nov. 22, 2025. (Tommy Gilligan/Imagn Images)
OutKick reached out to the University of Michigan and its athletic department regarding the staffer’s 70 percent pay raise, but they didn’t immediately respond.
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