Championship Sunday

Training camp in the 90-plus degree heat, countless hours of film study and practice, day after day fighting through injury, numerous Cincinnati Bengals’ incidents, 16 regular season games, several hard fought playoff games and we are now down to two teams in Super Bowl XLI.
Contrary to popular opinion, a tough defense and a strong running game are more potent weapons than destiny as the Chicago Bears finally ended the New Orleans Saints’ dream season. Like them or not, the Saints had a truly amazing season. Everything that came with Hurricane Katrina, getting a new coach, quarterback and many other players they put together a truly remarkable season. The defining moment had to be the win over Atlanta in the Monday night game in September to reopen the Superdome. Even watching the game hundreds of miles away in Applebee’s I could feel the energy in the stadium. It brought goose bumps to see the players run back out onto the field and then manhandle the Falcons. It almost seemed like a dream. But give credit to the Bears. They took of business in the regular season to get home-field advantage, which obviously paid off as the Saints looked lost in those brutal conditions. They played smart on offense and made big plays on defense. They may be the most talented group ever at forcing turnovers. No ball is safe from a strip on interception. Lovie Smith has done a great job to keep his team together through a tough few weeks of late and they deserve to be playing in Miami.
What the Bears-Saints lacked in drama, the AFC game more than made up for. There are a lot of Peyton-haters out there and good for their opinion. But there is no denying he is a great quarterback and deserves to play in the Super Bowl. He prepares and works too hard to not have a shot. And if you’re a Peyton-lover then you probably have a warm, fuzzy feeling inside right now, especially after seeing him hug Archie after the game. Although it was disappointing to see the Patriots lose. Everybody always speaks of greatness for players and teams and then sometimes never actually want it. They say they have seen the New England in the Super Bowl too much as of late and want somebody else. If the Patriots would have gone on to win in Miami then we would have seen greatness. Four titles in six years, a streak only accomplished by Pittsburgh in the 1970’s. We had a chance to see one of the greatest teams ever but we didn’t want it because we want variety. Shame on us for being so hypocritical. However, it was a great game. We saw an 18 points comeback (the largest ever in championship game history) two touchdowns scored by offensive linemen, a game winning drive and a game saving interception with countless other great moments. Surprise, surprise, Adam Vinatieri is a big difference down the stretch with another late field goal. That guy hits clutch field goals no matter what team he’s on. The Patriots just wish they had let him go to a non-contender.
Now it’s everyone’s favorite game: pick a winner. Obviously the Colts have a great offense with Manning, Joseph Addai, Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark. And obviously the Bears have a great defense with Brian Urlacher, Alex Brown and company. This is like a Mack truck hitting Terrell Owens’ ego. Something has to give and when it does we’re going to hear a boom. The Bears also have a solid running game and the Colts have been playing spectacular run defense. Again, it evens out meaning whoever plays the best will probably win. So two equally-matched teams, except one who has Adam Vinatieri, Colts by three.