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Thomas Davis played Super Bowl with arm sewn up like a football

Talk all you want about the over-privileged athlete. Spend Monday debating Cam Newton’s performance, during and after the game — we know you will. Laugh, as is your prerogative, at Aqib Talib’s postgame tumble.

That’s all fine and good as it related to Super Bowl 50. But for one player in particular, this game meant a little something more.

Carolina Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis is a man who knows pain and who spits in its face, having come back from three brutal ACL tears in his career and remaining an elite defender. He played this game with at least a dozen staples in his arm, sewing up the surgery to repair his broken arm suffered two weeks prior.

But now we’ve seen just what that arm looks like. A warning: It’s not for the squeamish.

Davis’ arm looked like the football the teams played the game with. The cross-stitched pattern in his forearm showed just how fresh the sutures were as Davis played all 60 snaps on defense for the Panthers and ranked second on the team in tackles with seven, one for a loss.

For all the bad look of Newton not jumping on a late fumble he had every chance to get, as well as his postgame ghosting, Davis came out looking even more like a warrior playing with wounds that fresh.

This game meant everything to him, clearly. That’s why this can be a beautiful sport, but also an agonizing one.

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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!