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Finally, the big game has the potential to be 'Super'
By Eric Lansing
lansing@mscd.edu

It’s about time the Super Bowl came down to the teams that are supposed to be there.

Super Bowl XLI will include the high-octane offense of the Indianapolis Colts versus the bone-crunching defense of the Chicago Bears.

As a football fan I have watched every Super Bowl since the days before free agency, when you knew it was going to be either the 49ers or the Cowboys in the big game. In fact, when those two teams met during the playoffs, you might have called those games Super Bowls, as the ’Niners versus the ’Boys were always more exciting to watch.

The past few Super Bowls have showcased mediocre teams who seemed to have tripped into the big game almost by accident. The last meaningful game of the football season proved to be unworthy of the hype that leads up to the game through commercials, magazines, fireworks and the million of homes that apparently tune in … maybe because everyone else is doing it.

Last season gave us the Seahawks against the Steelers. I couldn’t tell you the final score or the game’s turning point that gave the “Men of Steel” their fifth Super Bowl title. I can tell you I wasn’t impressed with either team’s performance in what turned out to be an uninspiring matchup. Don’t get me wrong; there were some great story lines, such as the Steelers’ head coach, Bill Cowher, sticking his chin on the line for his first title in 15 years or the story of Jerome “The Bus” Bettis finally getting a ring after 10,000 yards of running rampant through the NFL. However, the game seemed to revolve around the miscues of the referees more than it did around the Steelers’ great defense holding down the NFL’s Most Valuable Player, Seattle’s Shaun Alexander.

This season once again showed the grand parity of the NFL with no single team outshining the rest. There were a lot of teams who barely had winning records who snuck into the playoffs while even top teams such as the Chargers, Ravens, Eagles and Seahawks had problems that hurt them during the regular season and ended up hurting them in the postseason.

The two best teams do not always prevail to the final game, and it can make for one-sided blowouts, as in the 48-21 bashing the Buccaneers gave the Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII or the snooze-fest of Super Bowl XXXV, when the Ravens defeated the Giants in the only Super Bowl I ever fell asleep watching.

This year is going to be different. We get to see the game’s top two teams in what may make for the best championship game … ever!

We get to see the great story of Peyton Manning. A quarterback that has more records than a Beatles compilation, Manning has been dubbed the next Dan Marino because he hasn’t won the big game yet.

Manning will face off against arguably one of the best defenses since, well, the last time “Da Bears” were in the Super Bowl.

Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher led his defense against the NFL’s top-rated offense in the New Orleans Saints on Jan. 21 and forced them to turnover the ball four times while allowing just 14 points. The Saints averaged 25.8 points during the regular season, but the Monsters of the Midway held Drew Brees and Reggie Bush to two touchdowns with zero in the second half.

With so many big names in this 41st celebration of the NFC-AFC showdown, such as Manning, Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, Dwight Freeney, Adam Vinatieri, Urlacher, Olin Kruetz, Thomas Jones, Adam Ogunleye, Devin Hester and Nathan Vasher, this game should live on for many years as the way a Super Bowl is supposed to transpire.

I know that millions of people will watch the big game for the 30-second million-dollar commercials or Prince’s halftime show. But don’t forget that there is a game to be played, a game that could live up to the hype and actually be Super.