All Michael Dickson wanted after becoming just the second Australian to play and win a Super Bowl, was a parmigiana and some hot chips with chicken salt. Back in Sydney on Tuesday for the first time since winning the ring two weeks ago, Dickson finally got what he was after.
But despite the flood of new business opportunities that come with being a Super Bowl winner – including a spot promoting chicken parmis at a Sydney sports bar on Tuesday and becoming the face of a chicken salt brand on Wednesday – Dickson insisted the experience wasn’t a life-changing one.
Michael Dickson wanted a chicken parmi after his Super Bowl win, and on Tuesday he finally got one. Credit: Sam Mooy
“Life changing? Not really,” Dickson said on Tuesday. “It’s been fun to reflect on the year that I’ve had, the teammates I’ve had this year, my whole career and everyone that’s helped me get to where I am. It’s just been… a couple of weeks of reflection and gratitude, to be honest.”
Genuinely being able to say that winning a Super Bowl hasn’t changed your life is an assertion that can only really be made by a man who was already the highest-paid punter in the NFL. Dickson’s performance in Seattle’s 29-13 win over New England had many proclaiming the 30-year-old as the best punter in the NFL, while earning him a diamond-encrusted Super Bowl ring and a $266,000 bonus to boot.
After moving to Texas to embark on an NFL career 11 years ago, Dickson had spent eight years building with the Seahawks before finally winning the game’s ultimate prize. He finished with seven punts averaging 47.8 yards against the Patriots in a performance that drew high praise across the sport.
Dickson during Super Bowl week.Credit: AP
“That’s the goal – it’s always to have a positive impact on the game,” Dickson said. “As a punter you have limited opportunities, so if you go out there, and you can affect the game in the way that I was able to in the Super Bowl, that’s the best feeling. Having my teammates run up to me after I down it, and the defence thanking me, putting them in a good position to attack the quarterback. It’s an incredible feeling.”
Dickson still enjoys only a moderate level of celebrity in Sydney – which is what he prefers.
“I was definitely ready to come home. The two weeks leading up to the Super Bowl is quite intense,” he said.
“Once landing and once I’m home, I instantly feel like I’m back in Aussie mode and it feels super normal. I’m glad. I wouldn’t want it to feel funny or different. It feels the exact same and I love it.”
Dickson has, however, been stopped by some supporters from his alma mater, Kirrawee High School.
“I went to the gym yesterday and a few Kirrawee kids came up to me when I was working out,” he said. “They told me about some of the teachers that I had that are still there, and how excited all the students were. I love hearing that.”
Dickson wants to become the first Australian to win back-to-back Super Bowls with the Seahawks next year.
“The mentality might be a little different now because we’re the hunted,” he said. “Last year we were definitely the underdogs and I don’t think anyone thought we were going to win it. So that might be a little bit different, but I think we’re still going to go into it with a chip on our shoulder and really try to make a stamp on NFL history.”
Not content with having made American Football history, Dickson also used the morning to settle an age-old Aussie argument: Parmi or Parma?
“I say parmi, because I grew up in Sydney,” he said. “I know it’s quite a heated debate, but I feel like we can just say both. It doesn’t need to be a debate.”
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