Not that I really want to focus on yesterday’s Super Bowl because my team lost, but having made so many previous posts on the topic, I feel obligated.

Yesterday, the better team won.  Ouch.  That hurts to say, but it’s true.  I felt that the teams were very evenly matched, and when you look back on it, which I’d prefer not to do, the final outcome really hinged on three or four plays, and for the most part, those plays went the Saints’ way.

Having made a pregame case as to why the Colts would win, here is what a friend wrote to me after the game:
“As I was saying…Better defense and a well-balanced offense is superior to a team that depends heavily on their QB, who somehow decided to turn in desperation to his anemic running game, which could only do so much in a game of this magnitude. Your thoughts?”
Here was my long winded response:
“Actually, the Colts out rushed the Saints. Both teams are extremely reliant on the pass (Brees 32 completions… tied for most in SB history) which in the modern form of the NFL is the only true way to succeed. As for the defense, both had great moments (Colts goal line stand) and challenging ones (Colts soft secondary). The Colts ultimately lost because of a stalled second quarter (Garcon dropped 3rd down pass) and a bad pass/great interception in the fourth. Until the interception in the fourth, the game was essentially equal.
“Unfortunately, someone has to lose and it was the Colts this year. I will refrain from making excuses since I didn’t play the game. All I could do was yell at the TV. The other great thing is that my team was in the Super Bowl this year. They were there in ‘07, and I’m pretty confident they will be knocking on the door next year and possibly for a few years after that. Most fans can’t say that. So I will enjoy the fact that the Colts went back to the Super Bowl and now enjoy an offseason where I will get a few more things done on Sundays.”
I’m disappointed that the Colts lost.  Probably not as much as those who spent a few thousand dollars to go to Miami and see the game live… although they got to go to Miami, while I shoveled snow here in Indy.  Ultimately, I’m just trying to enjoy the fact that my favorite NFL team is so good.  They’ve gone to the playoffs for eight straight seasons and had seven consecutive regular seasons with twelve or more wins.  This will not last forever.  Things can change quickly.  One day the Colts will not win twelve games in the regular season and they will not make the playoffs.  So while it hurts to see my team lose the big game, I’d rather feel this pain than the pain of my team being one and fifteen at the end of the season.

Now I’ll take some time to recouperate over the offseason and get some other work done. 

Congratulations to the Saints and Go Colts!

Oh, and one other thing, was it just me, or did pretty much all of the commercials stink this year?

The Super Bowl is almost here and my sports related posts will soon come to a close, but considering that I live in Indy and the Colts are in the Super Bowl, I have a few more football posts left in me.

Tonight I was watching the news and I saw Queen Latifah say that she was rooting for the Saints because they were the Cinderella team.  Since when?  If I remember correctly, the Saints only lost three games this season.  They dominated almost every team they played with a high flying offense and pounding defense.  Brett Farve was hit so hard two weeks ago I think they knocked his dentures out.

A Cinderella team is one that is not on equal footing with all the other teams, but for some reason is still competing and winning.  We see it every year in college basketball during March Madness.  A Cinderella is George Mason going to the Final Four, or NC State winning the whole thing.  The Cardinals of last year’s Super Bowl were more of a Cinderella team than the Saints.  I wonder if Queen Latifah was cheering for them.

Nothing about the Saints this season says “Cinderella”.  Sure the franchise has been a disaster for generations, but that does not make them a Cinderella.  Actually, for the past two or three years, the Saints have turned their franchise around, which is directly related to Drew Brees and Sean Payton.

In fact, the Saints remind me of the Colts before Peyton Manning showed up followed by Tony Dungy (Bill Polian had a big hand in there too).  The Colts were awful for so many years.  The only reason they were able to draft Manning was because they were flat out horrendous.  And they weren’t just bad for one or two seasons.  It spanned decades.

I get the fact that the Saints are the darlings of America right now.  It’s a great story.  A loser of a team for generations finally makes it to the Super Bowl.  The city is still rebuilding from Katrina.  And they’ve never won a Championship.  I would have been cheering for the Saints if the Colts had not made it.  I’m a huge Purdue fan, so I always want Brees to be a dominant QB in the NFL.  So it makes sense that the majority want to see the Saints win.

But let’s not kid ourselves.  The Saints are a high powered team that rolled through the season.  They are no Cinderella.  They’re an elite team.  One that is better than every other team in the NFC.  They are on equal footing with the Colts and should make the Super Bowl a spectacular event.

With that said, I still feel pretty confident that the Colts will win.  Maybe it’s destiny, but I think Peyton is on his way to three of four Super Bowl rings.  So my prediction for this one is Colts 35 and Saint 27.

I work on the fifth floor of a five story building, but the escalator only goes to the fourth floor.  <Yes, my escalator doesn’t go all the way to the top.>  I was told that when they designed the building it was only going to be four stories tall, but at some point during construction the decision makers realized that they needed more space and added a fifth story.  Fortunately they included an elevator to the fifth floor, but they chose to stop the escalator at the fourth floor.  Thus, the only access to the fifth floor is by elevator or stairs, which are both fine options.

What irritates me is when I’m on the first floor and step onto the elevator with another person, I select the fifth floor, and they select the second floor.  You see, the elevator is right next to the escalator and it would have been just as easy for “Mr. Second Floor” to have hopped on the escalator and not have delayed my progress.  Instead, he has to use the elevator and waste my time.  Would he do this at the mall?  I doubt it.

Now don’t get me wrong.  Like most everyone, I could handle a little exercise and take the stairs, and believe me, most of the people in my building could use some stair work.  But come on.  Why doesn’t “Mr. Second Floor” just hop on the escalator?  It’s faster in most cases, less claustrophobic, and it doesn’t slow down all the people who have to travel to the fifth floor and cannot use the escalator.  Those are ten seconds of my life that I will never get back.

I feel better now that I was able to vent a little.  What about you?  Any office related pet peeves?  Please share.

On a related note, I’ve often thought it would be fun to put a spiral slide from the top floor to the first floor of my office building.  The slide is an under utilized mode of office transportation if you ask me.  Everyday, I’d ride the slide down and then climb back up the “corporate ladder”.

So the Saints pulled it out and are headed to Super Bowl XLIV.  While I had imagined a “Perfect Bowl” (I created that term) between an undefeated Colts and undefeated Saints,  slightly imperfect Colts and Saints teams will have to do.

By the end of the NFC Championship game, it actually seemed like a contest of who wanted to win less.  Neither team looked impressive considering the Vikings kept giving the ball away and the Saints never really produced any offense.

I would have enjoyed seeing the Viking go, so we could have seen Manning vs. Favre, but I am much happier with this match up because Brees is a former Purdue quarterback.  So, I’ll wish Drew and his Saints the best, and quickly return to cheering my Colts on to a second Super Bowl Championship in the Peyton Manning era.

It could be a pretty entertaining game with a lot of offense.  On the other hand, the Colts defense looks very stout and the Saints put a huge beat down on Farve.  It should be a good game.  Right now I’m guessing the score will be the Colts 35 and the Saints 27.*  That sounds about right.

*I’ll reserve the right to change my mind a few times over the next two weeks.

Before the season started, I wasn’t too sure the Colts were ready to return to the Super Bowl. Now, in hindsight, I’m not sure what I was so concerned about. I’m not saying that I should have known from the beginning that the Colts would return to the Super Bowl, but I think there have been so many disappointments in past playoffs that it’s hard to be  over confident.

I actually thought that Dungy leaving was a good thing. I think he was distracted and while I believe he is an excellent coach, he was too willing to keep certain coaches around too long. When Caldwell came in, he immediately addressed the defense and special teams. Finally, this Colts team looks solid on both sides of the ball.

As for today’s game, the Jets came out ready to play. While I previously stated that the reason the Jets would lose was because Mark Sanchez is a rookie, I did not say that they would lose because of his poor play. He played very well in the first half and really didn’t do much wrong in the second.  It really just has something to do with the “football gods”.  A rookie has never led a team to the Super Bowl, so why start now? It’s just too big a stage, and I was proven right (I like that).

So, now the Colts are going to the Super Bowl. Actually returning to the “scene of the crime” where they dominated the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI in Miami. Can they do it again? Can they beat the Saints or the Vikings. Well, whatever team comes from the NFC, it should be a great game.

So, at the moment, I’m thinking the Colts will win because of their defense. It’s hard to believe that the Colts defense would be the difference maker, but that’s the way it’s been all season. So, now I’ll go finish watching the NFC Championship and bask in the thrill of the Colts victory.

First there was George Foreman with his grill. Now Hulk Hogan’s offering a new and improved version.

What’s next? The Kimbo Slice-o-matic?