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01/19/2007: "The Real "Big Game"*"

* Unless you are an officially licensed sponsor of the Super Bowl©, you can't use the words "super" or "bowl" in any context to a football game. Yes, it's silly, but who needs a lawsuit over this!

We're down to the Final Four ... oops - that's some other sports' copyrighted name ...

We're down to the last three games of the NFL season, and this weekend we'll find out who makes it to the final weekend. The Saints-Bears game will be interesting, if only to see which team melts down first. Rex Grossman has looked like a quarterback again for the last few weeks, but you just know he's got at least one stinker left in him, and frankly, if I'm a Bears fan, I'd rather he do it now rather than embarass the club in the SB. A lot of talk has focused on the Saints' coming from the Dome to the semi-frozen tundra, but remember - Drew Brees came from Purdue, which is in the same general region. One sniff of the cold and he'll be fine.

But the real Must-See-TV ... oops, there goes that copyright infringement thing again ... will be the Peyton-Vs-Tom Show. There was a time not so long ago when it didn't matter how great a season Manning and the Colts had, how quick their start had been, or how many victories they'd rolled off in a row - their dreams would come crashing down to Earth when they faced the Patriots. It was clear that as Tom Brady's star rose, so too did his presence inside the skulls of Peyton Manning and Tony Dungy. The sight of Manning cursing himself after watching another ill-advised pass fall into the arms of a Patriot linebacker became as much a part of the holiday TV schedule as "A Peanuts Christmas".

But that was the old Peyton Manning and, frankly, the Old Patriots. That Manning was uptight, introverted and quick to blame his teammates when things went wrong. Today's Peyton understands the value of teammates, and has loosened up to the point that he can poke fun at himself in a series of successful TV commercials. At the same time, the exodus of talent - both on and off the field - from the Patriots organization has taken its toll. Every football program in the country seems to have plucked their own souvenir from the Patriots, and the closet is pretty bare. It's to the credit of Bill Belichick and the Patriots management that they're back in the AFC Championship, but it's really a case of the other teams fading first and the Pats simply being the last men standing.

After years of failure against New England, the Colts have won the last two meeting against the Patriots and seem to have figured out a way around the roadblock they've represented in the past. They shored up a significant weakness by signing a new kicker - no less than the Pats post-season hero Adam Vinitieri - and have won two games in the playoffs in spite of less than sterling performances by Manning. They really look like a team of destiny.

Stan's Picks: Saints 17, Bears 14; Colts 35, Patriots 24.

And your picks are?

Replies: 2 Comments

On Friday, January 19th, Ollie said:

Stan, as a Brit super bowl is a very special time of the year for me.
Not really interested in the game as such, its just that at that time of the year I am normally spending a couple of weeks at the vacation home in Ontario, and super bowl is a time of the year that I catch up with a group of guys that I only get to spend a few weeks a year with.
I don't understand the game, but cracking a few bottles of beer and sticking a couple of pounds of wings in to cook, I quite often think life can't get much better, plus at that time of year the ski resort 10 minutes down the road is open!

Last week the emails started.... "When you over Ollie?" this year I will not be over that side of the Atlantic, the week before Christmas my wife gave birth to our second child, a little boy. There are some things in life that are more important than chicken wings and beer. This year I will miss watching the game I don't understand.
Stan, make sure you let me know the out come, and have a pound of wings and a coors for me!

On Friday, January 19th, MarlinNut said:

Will do - and congrats for having your priorities in the right order. Quite refreshing for a sports fan ...