The Big Game
Here are some of my thoughts and observations about Super Bowl XL:
Seattle got to the Super Bowl with two double-digit home playoff wins. They didn't lose a game at home all year, which is more than any other team in the NFL can say. They were the clear favorites in the NFC, and they made the best of their home field advantage.
Pittsburgh got to the Super Bowl by winning three playoff games on the road. They're only the second team in NFL history to do that. They're the first #6 seed to make it to the big game. They had to beat the three AFC teams with the best records to get there.
Pittsburgh is favored to win by four points.
Had this game been played ten years ago, when the NFC was in the midst of a thirteen-year Super Bowl winning streak, the Seahawks would have been favored by at least two touchdowns.
I guess the fact that the AFC has won six of the last eight Super Bowls (two by the Broncos, one by the Ravens, and three by the Patriots) makes a difference.
--
I love the bit that SportsCenter did about Dan Marino's call to Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. They didn't talk about the call itself, just the coincidences between the two young quarterbacks.
Marino went to college at Pittsburgh.
Roethlisberger went to Miami (Ohio).
Marino played for Miami.
Roethlisberger plays for Pittsburgh.
Marino wore number 13 (unlucky).
Roethlisberger wears number 7 (lucky).
Oh, and for the curious, Marino lost his one and only Super Bowl. An omen, perhaps?
--
Some media wit reported last week that Cleveland is the only NFL city that has never hosted the Super Bowl or sent a team to the big game.
Nice try, but wrong.
As it turns out, Indianapolis joins Cleveland in that dubious honor. True, the Colts have been to the Super Bowl. More than once, as I recall. But they were in Baltimore at the time.
So, no points awarded for that answer. Thanks for playing anyway.
Journalists. ::shakes head:: At least now we know that political reporters aren't the only ones who neglect to check their facts.
--
Speaking of Indy, I saw an interesting advertisement in the grocery store a week or so ago. It said something like, "Spend the Super Bowl with the Mannings". And it featured pictures of Archie, Peyton, and Eli living it up with chips and dip and such.
I love all the hype this family gets. If you believe the people who get paid to opine on such things, The Mannings are a 'quarterback dynasty'. Three great quarterbacks, a father and two sons.
Who have won exactly ZERO titles between them.
It's hard for me to get hyped about such a 'dynasty' when I know that they're all going to be doing exactly what I'm doing tonight: watching the Super Bowl on television.
--
Who do I want to win? I'm actually okay with either team winning. It's not that I don't care, it's just that I don't have a solid attachment to (or dislike of) either team. Like they say in the South, I don't have a dog in this fight.
On the one hand, it'd be nice to see Seattle win. They've struggled in the playoffs for so long—worse than the Donkeys ever did. And I always have a soft spot for underdogs. Plus, Curtis likes them.
On the other hand, a Pittsburgh victory would be okay too. Their improbable playoff run is the kind of story we could see in a Disney sports movie one day. And Jerome Bettis seems like a genuinely nice and decent human being, not something for which football players are often noted. It'd be cool to see him retire with a Super Bowl victory. Plus, I typically root for the AFC, unless it's the Raiders.
So I don't know. I guess rather than cheering for either team, I'll just be hoping for a good game. I'd hate for this to turn into a blowout.
--
Here's a quote of which I was reminded earlier:
"Football incorporates the two worst elements of American society: violence punctuated by committee meetings." -George Will
--
All right, already, my pick for the game:
Steelers 35, Seahawks 31.
Sorry, Curtis.
Seattle got to the Super Bowl with two double-digit home playoff wins. They didn't lose a game at home all year, which is more than any other team in the NFL can say. They were the clear favorites in the NFC, and they made the best of their home field advantage.
Pittsburgh got to the Super Bowl by winning three playoff games on the road. They're only the second team in NFL history to do that. They're the first #6 seed to make it to the big game. They had to beat the three AFC teams with the best records to get there.
Pittsburgh is favored to win by four points.
Had this game been played ten years ago, when the NFC was in the midst of a thirteen-year Super Bowl winning streak, the Seahawks would have been favored by at least two touchdowns.
I guess the fact that the AFC has won six of the last eight Super Bowls (two by the Broncos, one by the Ravens, and three by the Patriots) makes a difference.
--
I love the bit that SportsCenter did about Dan Marino's call to Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. They didn't talk about the call itself, just the coincidences between the two young quarterbacks.
Marino went to college at Pittsburgh.
Roethlisberger went to Miami (Ohio).
Marino played for Miami.
Roethlisberger plays for Pittsburgh.
Marino wore number 13 (unlucky).
Roethlisberger wears number 7 (lucky).
Oh, and for the curious, Marino lost his one and only Super Bowl. An omen, perhaps?
--
Some media wit reported last week that Cleveland is the only NFL city that has never hosted the Super Bowl or sent a team to the big game.
Nice try, but wrong.
As it turns out, Indianapolis joins Cleveland in that dubious honor. True, the Colts have been to the Super Bowl. More than once, as I recall. But they were in Baltimore at the time.
So, no points awarded for that answer. Thanks for playing anyway.
Journalists. ::shakes head:: At least now we know that political reporters aren't the only ones who neglect to check their facts.
--
Speaking of Indy, I saw an interesting advertisement in the grocery store a week or so ago. It said something like, "Spend the Super Bowl with the Mannings". And it featured pictures of Archie, Peyton, and Eli living it up with chips and dip and such.
I love all the hype this family gets. If you believe the people who get paid to opine on such things, The Mannings are a 'quarterback dynasty'. Three great quarterbacks, a father and two sons.
Who have won exactly ZERO titles between them.
It's hard for me to get hyped about such a 'dynasty' when I know that they're all going to be doing exactly what I'm doing tonight: watching the Super Bowl on television.
--
Who do I want to win? I'm actually okay with either team winning. It's not that I don't care, it's just that I don't have a solid attachment to (or dislike of) either team. Like they say in the South, I don't have a dog in this fight.
On the one hand, it'd be nice to see Seattle win. They've struggled in the playoffs for so long—worse than the Donkeys ever did. And I always have a soft spot for underdogs. Plus, Curtis likes them.
On the other hand, a Pittsburgh victory would be okay too. Their improbable playoff run is the kind of story we could see in a Disney sports movie one day. And Jerome Bettis seems like a genuinely nice and decent human being, not something for which football players are often noted. It'd be cool to see him retire with a Super Bowl victory. Plus, I typically root for the AFC, unless it's the Raiders.
So I don't know. I guess rather than cheering for either team, I'll just be hoping for a good game. I'd hate for this to turn into a blowout.
--
Here's a quote of which I was reminded earlier:
"Football incorporates the two worst elements of American society: violence punctuated by committee meetings." -George Will
--
All right, already, my pick for the game:
Steelers 35, Seahawks 31.
Sorry, Curtis.
posted by Michael at
9:24 AM
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