(USA TODAY Sports)

Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith and Patriots cornerback Aquib Talib spent most of Monday night getting to know each other. As the game went on, their friendship blossomed before our eyes.

Talib loved Smith’s shoes.

And Smith loved Talib’s helmet.

They just couldn’t keep their hands off each other.

When everything was said and done, Smith got the final word because his team won, and Talib had left the game.

“Ice up, son! Ice up!” will go down as one of the great lines in history beside “Win one for the Gipper” and “Leaders aren’t born, they’re made.”

But Steve Smith’s words are secondary to the lifelong friendship he’s started Aquib Talib.