JERSEY CITY, N.J. -- There's plenty to see during Super Bowl week, but my favorite sight so far?
Max Unger's beard.
The Seattle Seahawks center has compiled a mass of flowing whiskers that would make any woodsman dangerously envious -- but not for long.
"It's coming off after the game," Unger told reporters Sunday night.
The wooly addition to the fifth-year center's visage promises to keep him cozy at frigid MetLife Stadium, but Unger isn't concerned about the weather. Manlier than us, the behemoth plans to go bare-armed against the Broncos no matter what Mother Nature dials up.
"I've never worn sleeves in a game before, so I wouldn't want to change doing it now for whatever reason," Unger said. "I'm not superstitious or anything, but you kind of practice all these reps for years and years playing football a certain way and you don't want to change that."
Facial hair and frostbite experiments aside, Unger is quietly one of our unsung X-factors in the matchup against Denver. The Broncos have been increasingly stingy against the run, especially in last week's AFC Championship Game win over the New England Patriots. Seattle must open holes for Marshawn Lynch to chew the clock and keep Peyton Manning off the field.
Quarterbacks naturally draw our eye, but take a few minutes Sunday to drink in Unger's one-on-one tussle with Broncos defensive lineman Terrance Knighton. It won't be hard to single out: Knighton's the guy who looks like a human mountain painted sun-bright orange; Unger's the dude with two feet of hair on his face.
Weirdness abounds.
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