By Buddy Poole

For the Salisbury Post

We flew out of the Charlotte airport at 6 a.m. Thursday and landed in Houston for our connecting flight to the Super Bowl in Santa Clara around 8:45 a.m. We met many Panther fans on the plane who were from Mooresville, Albemarle and Charleston, S.C.

We also talked with some Bronco fans from Tyro in Davidson County — Anthony and Janet Bush and their family. They were wearing Denver Bronco hats and shirts.

I asked Mr. Bush, “Why in the world are you wearing Bronco orange?” He said, “My son is No. 20 for the Broncos.”

Josh Bush played football, basketball and baseball for West Davidson and later starred at Wake Forest University in football.

Anthony is very proud of Josh and said Josh took care of the family’s hotel, airline fare and game ticket expenses.

“He put it all together so we could enjoy the Super Bowl as a family,” Anthony Bush said.

Anthony is a humble man, and as we shook hands, I could see what a great dad he is.

His parting words were, “I never thought I would have a chance to go to the Super Bowl —  and to see my son play, well, God has been good to me.”

Buddy Poole operates Salisbury’s WSAT 1280 AM, which is part of the Carolina Panthers’ broadcasting network. He and his wife, Diane, will be at Super Bowl 50, and Buddy is sending dispatches from their trip. The game Sunday pits the Panthers vs. the Denver Broncos.