Skip to main content
Part of complete coverage on
Aiming for Gold

From Sochi to the Super Bowl: What connects Shaun White to Peyton Manning?

By Tom McGowan, CNN
updated 10:58 AM EST, Fri January 31, 2014
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • The opening ceremony for Sochi 2014 will take place on February 7
  • The Super Bowl will be played at New Year's MetLife Stadium on Sunday
  • The Seattle Seahawks take on the Denver Broncos in New Jersey

Follow us at @WorldSportCNN and like us on Facebook

(CNN) -- Six degrees of separation, that's all there is between any two people on the planet. At least that's what some would have you believe. Others would tell you that no person is ever more than six steps away from Kevin Bacon.

With two of the biggest sporting events on the planet set to get under way in New Jersey and Russia in the next few days, CNN has put that theory to the test -- and bettered it.

Sadly there's no Kevin Bacon (trust me, I tried) but above are some of the more obscure links between the National Football League's biggest game and the Winter Olympics.

Click on the three chains we've put together which connect Russia to the showdown at New Jersey's MetLife Stadium. From skier Julia Mancuso to cornerback Richard Sherman, the Seattle Seahawks to Cossacks and from snowboarder Shaun White to star quarterback Peyton Manning.

From Seattle to Sochi, it's all connected.

Blog: Is Sochi the safest place in Russia?

Blog: Global domination -- NFL vs. NBA

ADVERTISEMENT
Part of complete coverage on
Aiming for Gold
updated 12:05 PM EST, Mon February 24, 2014
With the Olympic cauldron now extinguished, CNN takes a look at whether Russia's $50 billion Sochi budget was money well spent.
updated 9:40 AM EST, Mon February 24, 2014
The athletes on show in Sochi provided moments of drama and destiny that captured the imagination and settled in the collective memory.
updated 11:15 AM EST, Mon February 24, 2014
Russia may have topped the medals table at the first Winter Olympics it staged, but which country was most successful per capita?
updated 11:48 AM EST, Mon February 24, 2014
From eye-popping helmet designs to F1-influenced bobsleigh, the Sochi offered a bewildering array of technological innovation.
updated 6:46 AM EST, Mon February 24, 2014
Sochi's closing ceremony took an artistic look at Russian culture before the Olympic flag was handed over to South Korea for the 2018 Games.
updated 1:57 PM EST, Sun February 23, 2014
Critics say it would have been cheaper to coat this Russian road with caviar but will the route made for Sochi reap long-term rewards?
updated 7:06 AM EST, Tue February 18, 2014
Navigate your way around this spectacular 360-degree picture from Sochi's ski-jumping venue at the Winter Olympics -- and find out how it was created.
updated 5:45 AM EST, Tue February 18, 2014
Sochi's transformation has left even the local cab drivers a bit lost and confused -- but don't let that put you off visiting this rejuvenated Black Sea resort.
updated 12:59 PM EST, Fri February 14, 2014
Australia's silver medalist Torah Bright celebrates during the Women's Snowboard Halfpipe Medal Ceremony at the Sochi medals plaza during the Sochi Winter Olympics on February 13, 2014.
What do you get if you mix Valentine's Day, thousands of good-looking young Olympians and a popular online dating app?
updated 7:11 AM EST, Fri February 14, 2014
For a Winter Olympics, there are some very colorful characters from some very tropical climates taking part -- including this "Mariachi" skier.
updated 6:03 AM EST, Fri February 14, 2014
If snowboarders were an introduction to a younger, hipper, "slacker" generation of Olympians, the next wave has taken it to another level.
updated 6:52 AM EDT, Tue June 3, 2014
He didn't like carpets, he banned portraits and he walked in water rather than swim. Welcome to Joseph Stalin's dacha.
updated 6:19 PM EST, Thu February 13, 2014
ebanon's Jackie Chamoun skis during the Women's Giant slalom first run at the 2013 Ski World Championships in Schladming, Austria on February 14, 2013.
Like most skiers in Sochi, Jacky Chamoun had hoped to cause a stir on the slopes rather than off them.
updated 5:14 AM EST, Wed February 12, 2014
A prop from the Winter Olympics opening ceremony.
It has been dubbed Russia's Las Vegas. But has Sochi's massive renovation come at a cost to the region's stunning natural environment?
updated 12:33 PM EST, Sun February 23, 2014
Take a different look at Sochi 2014 as CNN showcases the most compelling images from the world's best photographers.
ADVERTISEMENT