Although people often have heated debates over who will win the most exciting sporting event of the year; the Super Bowl, the entire Elmbrook School District unanimously agreed on who should win this year: The North Carolina Panthers. This is because Brad Nortman, a Brookfield Central 2008 graduate, is also known as punter of the North Carolina Panthers. Nortman and his team squared up against  the Denver Broncos  Feb. 7, 2016. Nortman was first drafted onto the Panthers in 2012 and was the first ever punter the team had ever drafted.

During his career at Brookfield Central, Nortman was ranked as the fourth best punter in the country by the website Rivals.com and was also named the fourth best player in Wisconsin by Scout.com for the recruiting class of 2008.

After graduating from BCHS, Nortman went on to play for University of Wisconsin-Madison. While he was a Wisconsin Badger, Brad Nortman punted a total of 8,383 yards with 199 points. He ranked third in UW- Madison history with these statistics. He earned many awards, including being named Academic All-Big Ten.

In 2012, Brad Nortman was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in round 6. Nortman set a multitude of franchise records for the team that include the average distance per punt in a single season. In an interview with a reporter from the Charlotte Observer, Nortman was asked (before playing in the Super Bowl) how he felt regarding playing the Packers at Lambeau field during the 2014 playoff season. Nortman stated that “I always dreamed of playing at Lambeau.” He later added that he never imagined that he would make it to the Super Bowl.

Clearly, Nortman surprised himself as well as his fans. Despite falling short of a win during the Super Bowl, Brad Nortman made Brookfield Central proud and he, without a doubt, inspired many. Students and faculty members of Central returned to school the next Monday with their heads held high.