Super Bowling

[thedrifter]

Super Bowling
By Lisa Fabrizio
Published 1/31/2007 12:07:26 AM

At approximately 6:25 PM EST on Sunday in Miami, an expensively clad foot will meet a prolate spheroid sending it skyward; kicking off the nation's most-celebrated single day of sport. Across the country, folks will gather for their annual feast of football's finest but will be forced also to endure side dishes of poor punditry, bathroom humor, and really bad music.

Baseball, of course, is America's pastime, but when the game's great pastures are covered by winter frost, those who do not hunker down to the hot-stove to warm themselves with dreams of horsehide glory, move on to pigskin pursuits. And although MLB seems determined to have it otherwise, the World Series retains a sort of stately aura which the NFL's title game surely lacks.

Let me admit right off that, as a lifelong Chicago Bears fan, I have paid more than casual attention to things post-season this year. Since my rooting interest in the Sunday games is typically over by Halloween, I generally cringe when Super Bowl Sunday comes along. Whereas I will always watch the Fall Classic closely no matter who is in it, February football leaves me cold.

The reasons for this disdain of the Super Bowl? Let me name just a few. Firstly, there's the pompous way the Bowls are titled. Except for those of us who are crossword puzzlers or old movie fans who love to watch the credits roll, nobody can actually decipher the numbering system. Seriously, who but the most hardened of fans can quickly recall -- without counting backwards -- who won, say, Super Bowl XXXIV? (It was the Rams, by a score of XXIII to XVI). Roman Numerals should be reserved for popes, not football games.

Then there's the stupidly that the game is always played at warm weather or domed-stadium sites. It makes little sense that teams should expend so much energy in pursuing "home-field advantage" when it is rendered meaningless in the ultimate contest. Can anyone who watched the NFC title game last week -- with the whirling snow, visible breath trails and chunks of sod embedded everywhere -- not agree that this is the way football is supposed to be played?

And what about the interminable halftime "entertainment"? For the first twenty or so years, we actually had football-type and family-friendly fare at intermission; college marching bands with a dash of Americana like Up With People, or the occasional appearance of Jazz artists when the game was held in New Orleans. That is, until SB XXV and the appearance of the unctuous New Kids on the Block; it's been all downhill since then.

Yet the NFL, that paradigm of virtue which courts the most vulgar of advertisements for its weekly games, actually banned MTV, who produced the infamous wardrobe malfunction debacle, from future halftime shows. A welcome start to be sure, but the thing is, I don't know anyone who actually saw the incident occur live; so insipidly tiresome have the shows become.

Equally annoying will be the incessant chatter of the TV analysts; always the same no matter their network affiliation. When a plodding, usually white, tight-end or flanker makes a catch, he will be referred to redundantly as a "possession-type receiver." Or similarly, we will learn that a punter is lining up to kick from "deep in his own endzone," or that a team is pinned down on their "own" five yard line; as opposed to the other team's, I suppose.

And in the ultimate Claude Rains moment, the League has declared that the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority is barred from airing tourist ads for fear that the game might be associated with gambling. I kid you not. So exasperating are the gales of hypocrisy and hype, that one is tempted to forgo the game altogether.

But this fan will shelve all of the hoopla and hyperbole in order to actually focus on the game this year. So far, most of the talk has centered on quarterbacks. Has Peyton Manning really gotten the monkey off his back just by making it to the big game? Most sports pundits seem to think so, but I'm not so sure. Just ask Jim Kelly or Fran Tarkenton.

Is Rex Grossman the worst Supe QB ever? Many think so but they are not Bears fans, who know this is irrelevant. Let's face it. The Bears have not had a great quarterback since the middle of the last century. How many teams can claim a career passing record that has been unsurpassed for 56 years? And what Bears fan can forget the immortal Bobby Douglass (the second "s" is for "sack"); the left-handed, blonde savior out of Kansas, whose 34-year-old single season rushing record was only eclipsed in 2006 by Michael Vick, who ran because he wanted to and not because he had to?

No, in spite of apoplexy Rexy, the Bears will be triumphant because of defense and special teams. But should the redoubtable Rex come to play the way only he knows he can, it is possible that we will win in a rout. And since there's a rumor that it's still possible to do so, bet on it.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

History shows, Super Bowl winners led by super QBs
Posted: Jan. 30, 2007
Cliff Christl

Green Bay - There's a counterpoint to every argument. There's a Trent Dilfer to cite for winning as many Super Bowls as Brett Favre. There's the three-time champion Washington Redskins to muddle the picture.

On the flip side, there's Dan Marino to offer as Exhibit No. 1 that having a Hall of Fame quarterback is no guarantee that world championships will follow.

But as the Green Bay Packers face life without Brett Favre - if not next season, some time soon - there's overriding evidence that until the Packers replace him with another Hall of Fame-caliber quarterback, their chances of winning another Super Bowl are slim.

First, let's review the numbers.

Of the first 40 Super Bowl champs, 27 were led by a Hall of Fame quarterback or one destined to be. Favre and Tom Brady, both of whom are cinches to make the Hall, are included in that number.

That figures to 68%. Plus, two or three others could still make the Hall. Ken Stabler has been a Hall of Fame finalist three times. Kurt Warner might get some support. If Ben Roethlisberger resurrects his career following his traumatic motorcycle accident, he still has a chance.

And if Indianapolis wins it this year, Peyton Manning will make it 28 out of 41.

It's also worth noting that some of the other 13 winners might not have had a Hall of Fame quarterback, but they had above average starters who had some exceptional seasons. In addition to Stabler, five other Super Bowl winners have been on the Hall of Fame ballot: Jim Plunkett, Joe Theismann, Jim McMahon, Phil Simms and Doug Williams.

But rather than cloud the debate let's stick with the sure things. And that means just about seven out of 10 Super Bowl champs have had a Hall of Fame quarterback.

There are 18 quarterbacks in the Hall who have played at least one season since 1967, the season of the first Super Bowl. Eleven of those 18 have combined to win 23 Super Bowls. Favre and Brady have combined to win four others.

Of the seven Hall of Fame quarterbacks who never won a Super Bowl, Jim Kelly was on the losing side in four of them and Fran Tarkenton in three. Dan Marino lost in one, but guided Miami to the playoffs 10 times in his 17 seasons. Sonny Jurgensen also was on the losing side once, but as a backup at the tail end of his career to Billy Kilmer.

Dan Fouts led San Diego to the playoffs four times, including the AFC Championship Game twice, in his 15 seasons. Warren Moon played with four different teams, but led them to the playoffs eight times in his 17 seasons.

George Blanda was a kicker, never a starting quarterback after 1966, but won an NFL championship and two AFL titles before that.

So, yes, the presence of a Hall of Fame quarterback doesn't guarantee a Super Bowl ring, but the ones who have fallen short were at least in the running for most of their careers.

But let's look at the 13 teams that have won Super Bowls without a Hall of Fame quarterback to gauge what it might take for the Packers to win one if they don't find someone any time soon who measures up to Favre.

Three of the 13 other champions won largely because of great defenses. In fact, they were among the greatest of all time.

Since the NFL went to a 16-game schedule in 1978 - not counting the strike-shortened 1982 season - there have been only seven teams that allowed fewer than 200 points in a season.

Four of the seven won Super Bowls, including the 1978 Pittsburgh Steelers, who also happened to have a Hall of Fame quarterback in Terry Bradshaw.

The other three were the 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the 2000 Baltimore Ravens and the 1985 Chicago Bears.

The Bucs had two sure Hall of Famers on their defense, Warren Sapp and Derrick Brooks; and two other possibilities, John Lynch and Simeon Rice. The Ravens also had two cinch Hall of Famers, Ray Lewis and Rod Woodson. And the Bears had two Hall of Famers, Mike Singletary and Dan Hampton, and a third possibility, Richard Dent, who is one of 17 finalists this year.

The Bears also were blessed with one of the greatest running backs of all-time, Walter Payton.

The Packers haven't had two Hall of Fame defensive players at the same time since Ray Nitschke and Willie Wood, 36 years ago. They've never had a back as special as Payton.

As a footnote, the other teams to allow fewer than 200 points since '78 were the 2000 Tennessee Titans, who lost to the eventual champion Ravens in the playoffs; the 1986 Bears, who failed to repeat after losing McMahon to injury; and the 1978 Denver Broncos, who lost to the eventual champion Steelers in the playoffs.

So what are the Packers' chances of fielding a defense that allows fewer than 200 points?

You do the math. Seven defenses have accomplished that feat out of a possible 821, or less than 1%, over the past 29 years, excluding 1982.

The Oakland or Los Angeles Raiders have won three other Super Bowls. In Super Bowl XI, they had six Hall of Famers on their roster; in Super Bowl XV, they had three and one of this year's finalists; and in XVIII, they had four.

The last time the Packers had three Hall of Famers on their roster, again, was 36 years ago.

The New York Giants have won two Super Bowls, both when Lawrence Taylor was in his prime. In one of the two years, they also had a second Hall of Fame linebacker, Harry Carson.

Taylor may have been the greatest defensive player in the history of the game. And only two other teams ever have had two Hall of Fame linebackers at the same time: the Pittsburgh Steelers with Jack Lambert and Jack Ham from 1971-'82 and the Kansas City Chiefs with Willie Lanier and Bobby Bell from 1967-'74.

The Giants also had a coach, Bill Parcells, who is destined to be in the Hall of Fame.

The St. Louis Rams won Super Bowl XXXIV with the third most explosive offense in NFL history in terms of points scored. Somewhere between three and five of their offensive players will be Hall of Famers, starting with Marshall Faulk, Orlando Pace and Isaac Bruce, and possibly including Torry Holt and Warner.

The Pittsburgh Steelers won it last year with six Pro Bowl players, including defensive standouts Troy Polamalu, Joey Porter and Casey Hampton; and Roethlisberger, the youngest quarterback in NFL history to win a Super Bowl. But it's too early to judge how history is going to treat their players.

That leaves the Washington Redskins, winners of Super Bowls XVII, XXII and XXVI. So far, only one player from those teams has been elected to the Hall, running back John Riggins, who played in the first of the three.

Clearly, if there was ever a team that won with balance, more than offensive or defensive stars, it was the Redskins. They had as many as eight Pro Bowl players in a season; two other Hall of Fame finalists in Art Monk and Russ Grimm; and a sure Hall of Famer when he becomes eligible in cornerback Darrell Green. In Joe Gibbs, they also had a Hall of Fame coach.

Yet the strong suit of those teams might have been the Hogs, one of the most heralded offensive lines of all-time. Perhaps Washington is the one franchise in history that has won the Super Bowl because of a great offensive line more than great playmakers or defenders.

That said, Theismann, Williams and Mark Rypien were anything but great quarterbacks, but Theismann and Rypien were two-time Pro Bowl picks, and Williams was a former first-round draft pick with a great arm.

It's also interesting to note that the Redskins won two of their Super Bowls in the only two seasons shortened by strikes: 1982 and '87. Maybe coaching mattered more in those years.

Whatever, the Redskins, unlike every other Super Bowl champion, didn't have one great player, who more often than not was a quarterback, or a collection of outstanding defenders.

Perhaps that lends hope to those who believe the Packers can win it all some time soon with a lesser quarterback than Favre. But don't bank on it unless they assemble two or three future Hall of Famers at other key positions that also complement one another.

[drumcorpssnare]

I find it interesting that there has never been a shut-out or a sudden-death overtime in Super Bowl history. And while a shut-out would make for a very dull game, a tie at the end of regulation play could be quite exciting.
drumcorpssnare:usmc: :banana:

[rktect3j]

Go Bears.

[8th&I Marine]

Da Bears Gonna win:beer:

[yellowwing]

The Monsters of the Midway? Is Ditka going to be commentating? I'd like to go to his Super Bowl party!

[FistFu68]

:evilgrin: NOW STARTING AT MIDDLE~LINEBACKER~NO.51~DICK BUTKUS :evilgrin:

[yellowwing]

I haven't really been following The Bears. How is their passing defense?

[FistFu68]

:evilgrin: HOT & COLD~BUT IF THEY CAN KNOCK (MANNING)ON HIS AZZ!IT'S REALLY HARD THROWING FROM THAT POSITION!!!(LOL)IF THE BEAR'S CAN CAUSE TURNOVER'S~FUMBLE'S~ETC!IT'S GONNA BE TIME TOO PARRRRRRTY,IN THE WINDY CITY!IF NOT,IT'S GONNA BE ALL OVER 'CEPT THE CRYING!!!:cry:

[thedrifter]

Super Bowl Bet In Iraq
Breakfast Privileges At Stake For Two GIs: One A Colts Fan, One A Bears Man

CBS) This story was written for CBSNews.com by correspondent Cami McCormick, who is based in Baghdad.

At the Iraq Assistance Group headquarters in Baghdad, where Colonel Kent Abernathy and Captain Mike Hastings work, their desks sit facing one another.

One is an Indianapolis Colts fan. The other a diehard Chicago Bears fan.

"We just stare at each other," says Abernathy, 50, who grew up in Indianapolis. "I've got my Colts football on my desk."

"I wear my Bears cap and I have the Bears blanket on my chair," said Hastings, 26, a Chicago native.

Their football wagering usually involves the loser bringing breakfast to the winner the next morning.

"He's going to get me oatmeal with raisins, egg whites with tomatoes, green peppers, and ham - - you writing this down, sir? And orange juice," Hastings jokes of the morning after the Super Bowl. "The Bears are going to kill them, I'm very confident of that."

Hastings was born during an October 6,1980, Monday night football game between the Bears and the Green Bay Packers.

"Ever since then I was a diehard Bears fan," Hastings said. As a child, he had "vinyl and blue fleece pajamas with the Bears emblem. They zipped up from your feet to your neck. I wore those pajamas every night until I was 18. My mom still has them in the attic. I'm looking for an adult pair today."

Hastings is 6'2" and 230 pounds.

Hastings' parents have been season ticket holders since 1982, and may travel to Miami for Sunday's game, and delay renovating their home to pay for the trip.

In Iraq, soldiers and Marines will gather in designated facilities to watch the game, others in their tents or trailers. Kickoff is at 2:30 a.m. local time.

Hastings and Abernathy are debating watching the Super Bowl with their unit, even though it will mean a sleepless night and hours of friendly ribbing.

"We may slug each other a few times," Hastings said. "I'll be at war with Colonel Abernathy for the duration of the game, and after that we can become friends again."

"It'll be a different kind of war zone," Abernathy adds. "But at the end of the day, we're all comrades in arms...even if they're Bears fans."

By Cami McCormick

Ellie

[thedrifter]

` Vivan los Osos!' !
(Spanish for `long live the Bears')

Around the globe, it really is a Bears world

By Evan Osnos, Tribune foreign correspondent; Tribune reporters Oscar Avila in Mexico City, Laurie Goering in New Delhi, Joel Greenberg in Jerusalem, James Janega and Liz Sly in Baghdad, Tom Hundley i

February 1, 2007

BEIJING -- Living on the other side of the planet poses peculiar problems for fervent Bears fans. But the difficulty facing the likes of Eugene Witkowski might not be what you think.

When the Bears and Colts square off at 5 p.m. CST Sunday in Miami, this part of the world will already be approaching dawn on an ordinary Monday--and, yet, the game will be tantalizingly available on satellite television for anyone willing to get up at 2 a.m. in Moscow or 4:30 a.m. in New Delhi. So the decision about whether to watch or work or both has touched off earnest deliberations on multiple continents.

All season, Witkowski, a 52-year-old transplant from Chicago's Northwest Side who helps keep United Airlines' planes running in Beijing, has honed his Bears system: He demanded silence from co-workers until he had the chance to watch the game online or on satellite television.

"I've warned everyone at work, `Don't say a word about a game! Not one word!'" he said. "I have to look away when I turn on the computer because the scores come right up on the Yahoo! page."

How to see a game before glimpsing its final score is just one of the technological puzzles facing the Bears-fan diaspora from China to India, Iraq to Mexico. Things were simpler the last time their team was in the Super Bowl, when the biggest challenge for fans abroad was whether to get the game-tape mailed in Beta or VHS format.

For the Super Bowl, Witkowski is chucking his system and will see the game live at a local sports bar, even if it means getting to work addled by victory or defeat. But thousands of miles away, in another foreign capital, Dan Gotham has taken more drastic measures.

"I already took Monday off," said Gotham, 36, formerly of Arlington Heights, Ill., and a business development director at an American company in Moscow. "My boss is British, but he has lived in America, so he understands. Watching the game at 2 a.m. is tough, but you do it with a bunch of people drinking beer or coffee."

A uniquely American passion

The Bears carry particular poignancy for Chicagoans abroad. Unlike basketball or baseball, which have migrated around the world, American-style football remains an overwhelmingly American preoccupation, which deepens the sense of camaraderie among lonesome fans.

There are few Russians who call themselves Bears fans, but 30-year-old Dmitry Maksimov coaches a Russian football team that plays in Europe. He is poised to trudge through Moscow slush after midnight to watch the game at Metelitsa, a glitzy, neon-lit casino with a sports bar and waifish Russian waitresses dressed as cheerleaders.

"It would be unforgivable to miss it," Maksimov said gravely.

The power of technology is deeply familiar to Dale Tasharski, a Plainfield native who has kept faith with the Bears through overseas assignments in Poland, Japan, Ireland and, now, India. Until recently, he faced an unattractive choice: dial a costly telephone call to Chicago for updates or wait three days for the football scores to appear in his belated edition of the International Herald Tribune.

But as Internet connections improve in fast-modernizing India, he's able to hear most of the games streamed from Chicago broadcast stations. Sadly, "it doesn't stream fast enough that I can watch it, but the radio isn't bad," says the U.S. Embassy commercial officer.

This year, Tasharski will savor a rare treat: Watching the game live on Armed Forces Network television at the Embassy Marine barracks. Tasharski plans to be there before heading to work in a blue and orange tie.

"If it was on the TV at home I'd rather watch it there," he said. "You can vent your frustrations without people looking at you and saying, `Calm down!'"

John Pacella, 46, who works with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in New Delhi, also plans to watch with the Marines. He wishes he were in Chicago, where he lived until 18 months ago, but superstition tells him otherwise. After all, since he left town, the White Sox won the World Series, and he wonders whether his mojo will carry over to the Bears as well.

"I'm missing all the fun," he said. "But I'd rather have them win than me be back there. I'm thinking maybe I brought them some luck."

Watching the game live--in Israel--was not remotely an option the year that accountant Philip Stein hung a poster above his desk of William "The Refrigerator" Perry. But this time, Stein will invite other Chicago transplants to his house to join him when the game starts at 1 a.m. Israel time.

"I'm over 50 now, so it might not be as easy to stay up as in my younger days," said Stein, who moved from Chicago 28 years ago. With the game in his living room, he said, "It's like I'm there."

Nowhere, perhaps, does a satellite Super Bowl reach a more grateful audience than in Iraq, where troops at the large U.S. Army supply base in Balad will have pregame snacks before settling in to watch the game at 2 a.m. on large-screen televisions.

In Baghdad's fortified Green Zone, Bears caps and other paraphernalia have been sprouting like flowers in the desert, on the heads, uniforms and office walls of the thousands of U.S. diplomats, troops and contractors who are based there. The sudden sight of so many orange Bears startled Steve Susens, 41, of Arlington Heights, but he dismisses the suggestion of fair-weather fans.

A bandwagon Bears fan? No way!

"There's no such thing as a bandwagon Bears fan," said Susens, who has spent the past two years serving at the U.S. Embassy. "If you're a Bears fan, you're a fan for life."

He plans to watch the game with some of his newfound fellow fans. Indeed, to those in non-football-fluent surroundings, the game is an occasion to pull together the few who know enough to care.

Omar Mendoza, who became a Bears fan two decades ago after playing offensive line on one of Mexico City's few high school teams, will hold a Super Bowl party for friends, with Corona beer, guacamole and barbecued ribs doused in a "secret Chicago sauce," which is a actually a barbecue concoction he found at Wal-Mart.

Because so many Mexicans have migrated to Chicago, "there is a whole generation of young Mexicans like me that became Chicago sports fans," Mendoza said. "The Bears always will have a special place in our hearts."

While football played with a round ball by men in shorts is king in Britain, The Walkabout, an Australian-themed pub on London's Victoria Embankment, is throwing a Super Bowl bash for 700 people.

"There are a lot of students in London this time of year," said pub manager Simon Grant. To make the Americans feel at home, Grant has stocked up on Budweiser, and to keep the beer flowing for the long game, he has a special license to keep the taps open until 4 a.m.

With all the satellite hookups and online updates, it's enough to make some hard-bitten expatriates nostalgic for the days when a fan's commitment could be measured by the suffering required to keep up with the team.

Witkowski, in Beijing, can get instant scores and analysis online, but his 75-year-old mother, Jackie Sinagra of Mt. Prospect, still mails him every copy of the Tribune sports section, which he dutifully stacks in his apartment.

And Beijing bar owner John Harkness won't soon forget the Chicago fan who traveled across borders a few years ago from the woolly highlands of Laos, by air, by train and by taxi, to reach the Goose and Duck bar and restaurant for a Super Bowl screening.

"He was a nut case," Harkness said admiringly.

But this year, that Chicagoan is unlikely to reappear. He recently moved to the thriving Chinese city of Shenzhen, Harkness said, where he can catch the game just about anywhere.

eosnos@tribune.com

Ellie

[OLE SARG]

Love da Bears!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SEMPER FI,

[montana]

i promis not to say ( i told ya sooo ) when the colt win

go seahawks....thought they was gonna win to???

[thedrifter]

It's Only a Football Game
Colts vs. Bears, who cares?

BY SKIP ROZIN
Thursday, February 1, 2007 12:01 a.m. EST

Students of National Football League strategy insist that no matter who plays in the Super Bowl, the game will draw a huge and enthusiastic audience. We'll see.

The league has aimed to turn Super Bowl Sunday into an unofficial national holiday so big that millions of fans will gather around television sets, drink and eat themselves into happiness regardless of which teams play or even the outcome. The NFL Web site boasts of success: Last year, 141.4 million viewers tuned in--the second-largest Super Bowl audience ever.

What those numbers really convey is expectation. The league has so hyped the Super Bowl that millions tune in expecting an Event, and it rarely happens. How could it? Great games mostly happen by chance.

But there is another element: The odds for a great game improve with the right match-up, teams to which fans have an emotional connection. That happened in 1969, when the lowly New York Jets dared to challenge the mighty Baltimore Colts, and won, or 2002, when the young Patriots upset the St. Louis Rams, champions from 2000. Fans brought passion to those games; their passion drives Super Bowl mania.

We came close to tapping into that passion this year. Just two weeks before the big game, true believers envisioned a battle between the Patriots, no longer upstarts but now the gold standard for success with three Super Bowl wins in the past five years, and the New Orleans Saints.

What a game that would have been! Here are the Saints, everybody's feel-good story, the team from a city devastated by Hurricane Katrina, a team that nearly moved to a different city but returned to become the symbol of New Orleans's rebirth, whose enthusiastic rookie coach brought them from 3-13 a year ago to the door of the Super Bowl. And who would they have faced? Only the most successful team of the decade, with their taciturn, unsmiling coach--the Sphinx in the hooded gray sweatshirt--the reigning genius with the brilliant quarterback who seemed unbeatable in big games.

The Patriots are today's version of the old Yankees, the team America loves to hate, and the Saints are Cinderella, the dirty-faced kid clutching a ticket to the ball. Unfortunately, both villain and hero lost on that fateful Sunday, leaving us with the Chicago Bears versus the Indianapolis Colts. When the Bears crushed the Saints, underdogs nationwide wept; with the interception that ended the Pats' last-minute drive toward sure victory, millions of New Englanders turned off their televisions and canceled their Super Bowl parties.

Most of us will watch, but outside of Illinois and Indiana--where true fans of the Bears and Colts reside--who will really care?

This is a game between two teams of relatively equal ability, separated by 180 miles in the middle of the country, a three-hour interstate bus trip. It's a scenario better suited for the high-school basketball championship of the Midwest, where everybody knows somebody on one of the teams. Instead, both teams are flying to Miami for the professional football championship of America, greeted mostly by people wealthy enough for the big weekend but with little abiding interest in the game's outcome.

Without a rooting interest, viewers will be forced to concentrate on the game, and pro football is very complicated. Anybody watching basketball can tell when a player is double-teamed; two opponents guard the one with the ball. And in baseball, when the defense "brings the infield in" we can see the infielders move closer to home plate in hopes of snagging a short ground ball to throw out the runner trying to score. But how many of us know what "cover two" means, or "eight-in-the-box"?

Not enough, and the rest of us need somebody to root for. This requires a close examination of the teams, in terms we the people understand. Here's a little help:

Both teams are led by unusually calm and apparently rational coaches, both African-American. No black coach has ever before led his team to the Super Bowl, and this year there are two; no rooting advantage there.

The Colts' quarterback is Peyton Manning of the Manning quarterback dynasty; father Archie played 13 NFL seasons and Peyton's brother Eli now starts for the New York Giants. Peyton is talented, charming, successful in commercials and on the field, but burdened by failing in crucial games. The Bears' Rex Grossman has had limited playing experience, and always seems about to be replaced, but keeps winning. Advantage Colts, except for underdog fans; then it's advantage Bears.

Several other Bears players, however, are active contributors to the NFL's 2006 lengthy rap sheet. Four have been arrested; star defensive tackle Tank Johnson needed permission from a judge to leave the state after his second arrest, this time for firearms possession. The Colts have been arrest-free. Advantage Colts, except for those who think everybody deserves a second chance; then it's advantage Bears.

The Colts franchise was awarded to Baltimore in 1953. Then, in 1972, owner Carroll Rosenbloom and Los Angeles Rams owner Robert Irsay traded teams, a deal that kept both teams in place but earned both owners substantial tax breaks. Eventually, Irsay got wanderlust. Late one March night in 1984, 12 moving vans packed up the Colts franchise and trucked it to Indianapolis, to play in the enclosed Hoosier Dome.

The Bears were on the scene when the NFL was christened in 1922. The team's patriarch, and for most of its history its owner and coach, was the legendary George Halas. The Halas family still owns the team, which over the years has taken on the personality of Chicago--powerful and resilient, with a strong defense built to succeed playing outside in cold winters.

The franchise rooting advantage clearly goes to the Bears, because of the team's history, the Halas connection, and because they play outside. Football is an all-weather sport; rain, mud and snow are part of the game.

But these points are not driven by passion. Essentially, this is a Super Bowl with neither good guys nor bad guys, one with no natural drama. This is frequently the case, and because the NFL has raised expectations so high, we're bound to be disappointed.

That's the real message of the Super Bowl. Hype notwithstanding, it's only a football game.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Ready for some football?
By David Elfin
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
February 4, 2007

MIAMI -- The Super Bowl starts its fifth decade tonight with Peyton, Prince and plenty of pizzazz when the Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears meet at Dolphin Stadium.

Nineteen years after Doug Williams of the Washington Redskins became the first black quarterback to start and win a Super Bowl, Super Bowl XLI will be the first with not just one, but two black coaches, Indianapolis' Tony Dungy and Chicago's Lovie Smith.

The most-watched television program of the year -- more than 140 million viewers tuned in last Feburary -- also pits the NFL's most prolific quarterback, two-time MVP Peyton Manning of the Colts, against perhaps its most dominant defender, Bears All-Pro middle linebacker Brian Urlacher.

Those stars and their teammates might face some slippery conditions as showers are in the forecast.

Before the American Football Conference champion Colts (15-4) and the National Football Conference champion Bears (15-3) take the field at 6 p.m., the sell-out crowd of 76,000 -- paying $600 or $700 per seat -- and the worldwide audience -- potentially more than 1 billion people in more than 230 countries and territories -- will be treated to the first pre-game show performed by Cirque du Soleil. The show, introduced by Miami's own Grammy Award winner Gloria Estefan, designed by pop artist Romero Britto and orchestrated by Grammy winner Louie Vega, will include 350 performers.

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Billy Joel will follow by becoming the first entertainer to sing the national anthem at his second Super Bowl. Dolphins Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino and Norma Hunt, widow of Kansas City Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt -- the man who coined the name Super Bowl -- will be on the field for the ceremonial pre-game coin toss. Mrs. Hunt, who attended all 40 previous title games with her husband, will be the first woman so honored since Marie Lombardi, widow of coach Vince Lombardi, for whom the Super Bowl trophy is named, 26 years ago.

The often-outrageous performer Prince will entertain at halftime.

The sixth post-September 11 Super Bowl will feature the now-customary heightened security. Federal and state law enforcement agencies, led by the Department of Homeland Security and the Miami-Dade Police Department, will run the operation, which also will include support from the military and private security firms. Temporary flight restrictions will prohibit private aircraft, including blimps, within a large radius of the stadium. Everyone entering the stadium will be subject to strict security screenings.

The fans at home will be treated to a plethora of commercials, ranging from standbys Chevrolet, Budweiser and Coca-Cola to up-and-comers CareerBuilder.com, GoDaddy.com and E-Trade. Those sponsors will pay up to $2.6 million for a 30-second spot. A couple of commercials will likely enter the American catch-phrase lexicon starting tonight.

The Super Bowl has become such an national event -- ranking with Thanksgiving -- that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, a big football fan, discussed the game on ESPN on Friday night. Meanwhile, one ambitious ticket-seller is offering two tickets on Craigslist.com for $14,000, and fans can bet on almost any aspect of the game.

As for the game itself, the Colts and Bears provide the first Super Bowl matchup in 27 years of franchises that existed before 1960.

"It's great for the league," said new NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who was born in 1959. "The tradition that comes with both of these franchises is just fabulous."

Though the Colts and Manning made the playoffs for the seventh time in nine years, this is their first Super Bowl since 1970, when the franchise still called Baltimore home.

The Colts overcame the potent running attack of the Chiefs, the fearsome defense of the Baltimore Ravens and a 21-3 deficit against the three-time champion New England Patriots to get to Miami. Although Manning struggled this postseason and the Colts' defense
surged, Dungy's team still is built on the right arm of his quarterback and the right foot of kicker Adam Vinatieri, whose field goals won two of the Patriots' three Super Bowls.

The Bears, one of the NFL's charter franchises, won six championships in the pre-Super Bowl era but have been to this stage only once previously. That was in January 1986, when a record-setting defense propelled Chicago over New England 46-10 and Bears running back Walter Payton and defensive tackle William "Refrigerator" Perry became folk heroes.

This season, Chicago cruised to a second straight NFC North title and beat the defending conference champion Seattle Seahawks and the upstart New Orleans Saints at home in the playoffs. With quarterback Rex Grossman inconsistent at best, Smith -- once Dungy's assistant with the Tampa Bay Bucaneers -- will need a strong game from an often-suffocating defense to beat his mentor and close friend and claim the title in just his third season as a head coach.

[thedrifter]

TOE MEETS LEATHER <br />
<br />
Aren't We Grand? <br />
Forget ethnic politics and enjoy the Super Bowl. <br />
<br />
BY JOSEPH EPSTEIN <br />
Sunday, February 4, 2007 12:01 a.m. EST <br />
<br />
Straightaway after the Chicago Bears...

[thedrifter]

It's Grillin' Time <br />
Tailgaters should be part of the Super Bowl experience <br />
By Jonathan Garthwaite <br />
Sunday, February 4, 2007 <br />
<br />
We're banning grilling to stop terrorists! … Say again? <br />
<br />
Last week,...

[thedrifter]

Ready for some football?
By David Elfin
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
February 4, 2007

MIAMI -- The Super Bowl starts its fifth decade tonight with Peyton, Prince and plenty of pizzazz when the Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears meet at Dolphin Stadium.

Nineteen years after Doug Williams of the Washington Redskins became the first black quarterback to start and win a Super Bowl, Super Bowl XLI will be the first with not just one, but two black coaches, Indianapolis' Tony Dungy and Chicago's Lovie Smith.

The most-watched television program of the year -- more than 140 million viewers tuned in last Feburary -- also pits the NFL's most prolific quarterback, two-time MVP Peyton Manning of the Colts, against perhaps its most dominant defender, Bears All-Pro middle linebacker Brian Urlacher.

Those stars and their teammates might face some slippery conditions as showers are in the forecast.

Before the American Football Conference champion Colts (15-4) and the National Football Conference champion Bears (15-3) take the field at 6 p.m., the sell-out crowd of 76,000 -- paying $600 or $700 per seat -- and the worldwide audience -- potentially more than 1 billion people in more than 230 countries and territories -- will be treated to the first pre-game show performed by Cirque du Soleil. The show, introduced by Miami's own Grammy Award winner Gloria Estefan, designed by pop artist Romero Britto and orchestrated by Grammy winner Louie Vega, will include 350 performers.

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Billy Joel will follow by becoming the first entertainer to sing the national anthem at his second Super Bowl. Dolphins Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino and Norma Hunt, widow of Kansas City Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt -- the man who coined the name Super Bowl -- will be on the field for the ceremonial pre-game coin toss. Mrs. Hunt, who attended all 40 previous title games with her husband, will be the first woman so honored since Marie Lombardi, widow of coach Vince Lombardi, for whom the Super Bowl trophy is named, 26 years ago.

The often-outrageous performer Prince will entertain at halftime.

The sixth post-September 11 Super Bowl will feature the now-customary heightened security. Federal and state law enforcement agencies, led by the Department of Homeland Security and the Miami-Dade Police Department, will run the operation, which also will include support from the military and private security firms. Temporary flight restrictions will prohibit private aircraft, including blimps, within a large radius of the stadium. Everyone entering the stadium will be subject to strict security screenings.

The fans at home will be treated to a plethora of commercials, ranging from standbys Chevrolet, Budweiser and Coca-Cola to up-and-comers CareerBuilder.com, GoDaddy.com and E-Trade. Those sponsors will pay up to $2.6 million for a 30-second spot. A couple of commercials will likely enter the American catch-phrase lexicon starting tonight.

The Super Bowl has become such an national event -- ranking with Thanksgiving -- that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, a big football fan, discussed the game on ESPN on Friday night. Meanwhile, one ambitious ticket-seller is offering two tickets on Craigslist.com for $14,000, and fans can bet on almost any aspect of the game.

As for the game itself, the Colts and Bears provide the first Super Bowl matchup in 27 years of franchises that existed before 1960.

"It's great for the league," said new NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who was born in 1959. "The tradition that comes with both of these franchises is just fabulous."

Though the Colts and Manning made the playoffs for the seventh time in nine years, this is their first Super Bowl since 1970, when the franchise still called Baltimore home.

The Colts overcame the potent running attack of the Chiefs, the fearsome defense of the Baltimore Ravens and a 21-3 deficit against the three-time champion New England Patriots to get to Miami. Although Manning struggled this postseason and the Colts' defense
surged, Dungy's team still is built on the right arm of his quarterback and the right foot of kicker Adam Vinatieri, whose field goals won two of the Patriots' three Super Bowls.

The Bears, one of the NFL's charter franchises, won six championships in the pre-Super Bowl era but have been to this stage only once previously. That was in January 1986, when a record-setting defense propelled Chicago over New England 46-10 and Bears running back Walter Payton and defensive tackle William "Refrigerator" Perry became folk heroes.

This season, Chicago cruised to a second straight NFC North title and beat the defending conference champion Seattle Seahawks and the upstart New Orleans Saints at home in the playoffs. With quarterback Rex Grossman inconsistent at best, Smith -- once Dungy's assistant with the Tampa Bay Bucaneers -- will need a strong game from an often-suffocating defense to beat his mentor and close friend and claim the title in just his third season as a head coach.