This will be Richard Sherman's first trip to the Super Bowl in five years. He and his wife, Ashley, had their first child, son Rayden, just days after that Super Bowl XLIX loss to the New England Patriots. A little over a year later, the couple had their second child, daughter Avery.
Sherman has enjoyed having his son, who is about to turn five, watch him play football. Now, for the first time, his children get to watch their father play for another Super Bowl ring. The setting is just different.
During his last trip to the NFL title game, Sherman wore blue and green with the rival Seattle Seahawks. Now, he wears Red and Gold and is a key component of the San Francisco 49ers' journey to Super Bowl LIV.
From a torn Achilles to proving the doubters wrong.@RSherman_25's journey back to the @SuperBowl has been incredible. #GoNiners #NFLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/YbdHUNZstq
— NFL (@NFL) January 20, 2020
"Six years ago, it was a different team, a different feel," Sherman said after the 49ers' 37-20 victory over the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game. "We had an incredibly talented team, and I feel the same about this team. It's incredibly talented. We have a great coaching staff. We have talented weapons all around. I'm just a little older. They call me 'uncle' now. Back then, they didn't call me 'uncle.' I was a young pistol starter.
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"Now, I'm in year nine, so it's a different feel for me. You appreciate the things a little more. My son gets to see me play. My son gets to go to the Super Bowl. My son's birthday is three days after the Super Bowl, and he wants a ring for his birthday, and I'm going to do my best to bring that to him."
The Shermans, the 49ers, and many of the Niner Faithful are headed to Hard Rock Stadium in Miami to face the Kansas City Chiefs. It will be the organization's seventh trip to the Super Bowl, a chance to win the team's sixth championship, and first since the 1994 season.