By Chris Cates/sports editor
When the Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears meet in Jacksonville Feb. 4 with NFL supremacy on the line, the 41st Super Bowl may provide some interesting viewing.
The Colts came back from 18 down to defeat the Patriots in Sunday’s AFC Championship Game—the largest deficit overcome in the game’s history.
And the route taken to the 38-34 victory wasn’t exactly by the book, either.
Indianapolis linemen found the end zone twice: once via a goal line fumble recovery and once through the air.
The Bears, contrarily, rolled to victory over the New Orleans Saints in the NFC Championship Game.
A hot start got them a comfortable lead, and a hot finish made the final score look like a slaughter.
The only time the game was close was when standout Saints rookie Reggie Bush found the end zone, a touchdown he followed with a taunt of Brian Urlacher and a front flip—always nice when you lose 39-14.
The two teams are essentially polar opposites of each other.
Chicago is considered the defensive team with no passing game while Indy is considered the passing team with no defense.
So expect to see an identity struggle early on.
The Bears haven’t been to the game since 1986, and the Colts haven’t been since before they were the Indianapolis Colts, giving us what will be, without question, a welcomed fresh match up.
This year’s game marks the first time that a black coach will appear in the Super Bowl, so it goes without saying that this is the first time that two black coaches will face off in the game.
The Colts and Bears were the league’s last two undefeated teams during the regular season.
The two teams combined to send 12 players to the Pro Bowl this season.
Perhaps even more compelling than our Super Bowl match up is the fact that, at long last, New England failed to get the job done and watched the Colts advance to the league’s biggest stage.
This was only the second playoff loss of Tom Brady’s career, so forgive me and many other onlookers for half-expecting the Patriots to drive down and score the game-winning touchdown in the game’s final minute.
Such game endings had become almost commonplace before Sunday’s game.
Peyton Manning has been the class of the league for the better part of the last decade.
He’s unquestionably the model for the quarterback position, so it’s always pained me he caught so much flack for never reaching the Super Bowl.
Now he sits one win away from forever dispelling all the Dan Marino comparisons.
Quite frankly, I’m very happy for him.
Some of the greatest athletes of all time failed to win the big one, so Manning’s getting there just feels right after nine seasons of excellence.
Manning has never missed a start in his NFL career, and his prominent family, including his brother, who plays quarterback for the New York Giants, and his father Archie, also a professional football player, were there, as always, to cheer Peyton on.
This year’s two-week gap between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl is standard scheduling.
Only eight of the league’s 41 Super Bowls have been played just one week after the game’s participants were decided.
Bears’ Head Coach Lovie Smith and Colts’ Head Coach Tony Dungy are known as very good friends, and with two classy coaches like them facing off in the big game, expect to avoid any ill-mannered pre- or post-game actions.
Airing on CBS, the Super Bowl will start at 5:25 p.m. Central Standard Time.
Even if you’re not a football fan, tune in for the commercials if nothing else.
They have yet to disappoint in my lifetime.
