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Bears-Colts:
A Thinking Fan's Super Bowl
I spent most
of this week thinking about Super Bowl XLI (that's 41 in Roman numerals).
I guess I'm not alone. About 140 million people will tune in to
watch some part of the game, according to some estimates. Here's
what I have been thinking about the big game.
- Everyone
is making a big deal about the quarterbacks. Sure, the Indianapolis
Colts' Peyton Manning is much better than the Chicago Bears' Rex
Grossman, but football is a team game. The team with the best
quarterback does not always win.
- I love the
helmets of both of this year's Super Bowl teams. The blue horseshoe
on the Colts' white helmet is cool, and the Bears' red letter
"C" on their dark helmet is a classic.
- There's another
"big game" on Super Sunday -- the Super Bowl commercials.
Because so many people watch, companies pay big bucks to advertise
their products during the game. A 30-second commercial during
the Super Bowl can cost as much as $2.6 million. If you don't
like football, you can still have fun watching and rating the
commercials.
- Speaking
of TV ads, if Manning helps the Colts win the Super Bowl, he probably
will be in twice as many next season. And he's already in a million
commercials.
- February
is Black History Month. Super Bowl XLI is making history because
it is the first Super Bowl with black head coaches -- Tony Dungy
of the Colts and Lovie Smith of the Bears. Dungy and Smith are
both terrific coaches. Dungy has made winners out of the Tampa
Bay Buccaneers and the Colts. Smith took over a losing Bears team
and led them to the Super Bowl in just three seasons.
- By the way,
Lovie is Smith's real name. He was born Lovie Lee Smith in the
little town of Big Sandy, Texas. His folks thought they were having
a girl and decided to name him after his great aunt, Lavana. I
guess his mom and dad were not thinking that their baby boy would
grow up to be a head football coach when they named him Lovie.
- They say
that offense wins games, but defense wins championships. The Colts
had the 21st-ranked defense in the 32-team National Football League.
The Bears, led by linebacker Brian Urlacher, had the fifth-ranked
defense. And the Colts defense was dead last against the run.
My guess is that the Bears' big, bruising running backs, Thomas
Jones and Cedric Benson, will run right through the weak Colts
defense.
- Watch for
Devin Hester, the Bears' exciting kick returner. He ran back three
punts and two kickoffs for touchdowns during the regular season.
He even ran back a missed field goal 108 yards for a TD. Hester's
big-play ability might make the difference in a close game.
- Three of
the last five Super Bowls have been decided by just three points.
I think this one will be close, too. But I think the Bears will
be able to move the ball against the Colts defense and keep the
ball away from Peyton Manning.
My prediction:
Bears 31, Colts 27.
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