SAN JOSE — Among the credentialed clowns and oddballs at the Super Bowl’s “Opening Night” for media was a gentleman carrying a Panthers-themed lucha libre wrestling mask. After showing it to Ron Rivera, who paid him a nice compliment, the fellow asked Carolina’s head coach to put the mask on.
“Uh, no, we’re good,” said the ever-courteous Rivera, “but thank you.”
A few minutes later, Rivera pulled on a different mask, of sorts, when asked by SI to recount the most disappointing chapter of his 18-year coaching career. Nine years earlier, he’d been the defensive coordinator of a Bears club that lost to Peyton Manning and the Colts in Super Bowl XLI.