Super Bowl 44
February 8th 2010 14:13
I like first to always give congratulations to the loser when those accolades are deserved. And they are definitely deserved to the Indianapolis Colts. They played well all game long, and were valiant in their efforts to win. They are without a doubt the second-best team in the NFL this year. It's too bad, really, that people forget about the 2nd place team.
The New Orleans Saints, once upon a time known only and forever as the Aints, are the champions of the NFL. That is a hell of a statement, and if the Saints and Bucs can win titles, and the Cardinals make it to the Super Bowl, then there's no longer an excuse for the likes of the Browns and Lions. For the Saints to win in the shortened timeframe after the devastation of Katrina is simply more amazing. It ties up the story and turns it into a fairytale, where after the trials and tribulations are passed and surpassed, the hero wins out in the end. In this case, the Saints are the city's heroes, and I'm willing to bet that everyone in New Orleans is feeling pretty damned good this morning, hungover or not.
The game was an exciting, well-played one. If my memory is correct, there were only 6 penalties the entire game, and the one game-changing turnover. There was only one sack. There were two glaring drops. But if you look at the rest of the game, it was well-played by both sides. Both teams had good game-plans, and both teams made their plans work for long stretches of the game. Neither coach looked outclassed, and especially Payton took the necessary chances to win the game. When a coach makes a tough call like the onside kick, or going for it on fourth and short in the last 2 minutes of the 1st half, he opens himself up to second guessing that would last months. The fact that the Saints won shields Payton from taking questions about his risky calls, but the bottom line of it is that Payton's actions I think spoke more to the Saints players than the results did. What he said was simple: "I believe in you, and we're going to win this game with you." The Saints players responded, and from the moment they were stopped at the goal line, it was a different Saints team.
The Colts showed their usual resiliency. I mean, was there anyone in America who really doubted that Peyton Manning would lead the Colts down to score a game-tying TD with only a couple of minutes left? I was thinking how Drew Brees was going to have the ability to earn himself a place in the pantheon of Super Bowl late-game comeback wins against the likes of Manning, but a certain Saints CB had other plans.
My only complaint is that the game lacked the heightened tension in the absolute last moments of the game unlike the games in the previous two years. The Giants and Steelers both won with scores in the last minute of the game, and then had to hang on. The Saints could have given up a TD and still maintained the lead.
That, my friends, is really digging hard to have something to complain about, isn't it?! I know. I know.
When you look at the run of recent Super Bowls, you really cannot complain as a football fan. They've been everything that has been hoped for, and more. Super Bowl 44 lacked only the "play for the ages" like 42 and 43 had, but considering the extremes of Tyree's catch and Harrison's Pick Six, Super Bowl 44 could not have been reasonably expected to have the 3rd "play for the ages" in as many years. Again, I'm nitpicking, and in no way does that distract from the greatness of the game. It was great all game long, with the back and forth that you'd want in a tightly contested, evenly-fought game. So in that regard, it was a perfect Super Bowl, and it sure beats the hell out of watching one team blow the other out of the stadium.
You do have to ask, where does this game fall in the ranking of 44 Super Bowls? Obviously for Saints fans, it's #1, but while it was a great, competitive game, it's not a top 5 I don't think. Maybe a top 10, definitely a top 15. But not a top 10. Nothing in this game stands out one its own, except for the overall quality of the game from start to finish. That's why I think it's one of the better games ever played, but not in the top 5.
So, starting this morning, sadly enough, all football fans enter the long, cold dark that is the off-season. Sights will soon be set on coaching changes, player movement, and of course the draft. It's just that the draft is 2 1/2 months away, and that feels like forever, and in reality the draft is a non-football-event. It's a made for TV thing so that guys like Mel Kiper Jr can show off perfect hair and talk incessantly for hours upon hours.
31 other football teams are now looking at Louisiana with envy. 31 other teams are planning their way to unseat the Saints. 31 other teams are making plans for the 2010 season.
Congratulations to the Colts for their valiant efforts, and congratulations to the Saints for their epic win!
The New Orleans Saints, once upon a time known only and forever as the Aints, are the champions of the NFL. That is a hell of a statement, and if the Saints and Bucs can win titles, and the Cardinals make it to the Super Bowl, then there's no longer an excuse for the likes of the Browns and Lions. For the Saints to win in the shortened timeframe after the devastation of Katrina is simply more amazing. It ties up the story and turns it into a fairytale, where after the trials and tribulations are passed and surpassed, the hero wins out in the end. In this case, the Saints are the city's heroes, and I'm willing to bet that everyone in New Orleans is feeling pretty damned good this morning, hungover or not.
The game was an exciting, well-played one. If my memory is correct, there were only 6 penalties the entire game, and the one game-changing turnover. There was only one sack. There were two glaring drops. But if you look at the rest of the game, it was well-played by both sides. Both teams had good game-plans, and both teams made their plans work for long stretches of the game. Neither coach looked outclassed, and especially Payton took the necessary chances to win the game. When a coach makes a tough call like the onside kick, or going for it on fourth and short in the last 2 minutes of the 1st half, he opens himself up to second guessing that would last months. The fact that the Saints won shields Payton from taking questions about his risky calls, but the bottom line of it is that Payton's actions I think spoke more to the Saints players than the results did. What he said was simple: "I believe in you, and we're going to win this game with you." The Saints players responded, and from the moment they were stopped at the goal line, it was a different Saints team.
The Colts showed their usual resiliency. I mean, was there anyone in America who really doubted that Peyton Manning would lead the Colts down to score a game-tying TD with only a couple of minutes left? I was thinking how Drew Brees was going to have the ability to earn himself a place in the pantheon of Super Bowl late-game comeback wins against the likes of Manning, but a certain Saints CB had other plans.
My only complaint is that the game lacked the heightened tension in the absolute last moments of the game unlike the games in the previous two years. The Giants and Steelers both won with scores in the last minute of the game, and then had to hang on. The Saints could have given up a TD and still maintained the lead.
That, my friends, is really digging hard to have something to complain about, isn't it?! I know. I know.
When you look at the run of recent Super Bowls, you really cannot complain as a football fan. They've been everything that has been hoped for, and more. Super Bowl 44 lacked only the "play for the ages" like 42 and 43 had, but considering the extremes of Tyree's catch and Harrison's Pick Six, Super Bowl 44 could not have been reasonably expected to have the 3rd "play for the ages" in as many years. Again, I'm nitpicking, and in no way does that distract from the greatness of the game. It was great all game long, with the back and forth that you'd want in a tightly contested, evenly-fought game. So in that regard, it was a perfect Super Bowl, and it sure beats the hell out of watching one team blow the other out of the stadium.
You do have to ask, where does this game fall in the ranking of 44 Super Bowls? Obviously for Saints fans, it's #1, but while it was a great, competitive game, it's not a top 5 I don't think. Maybe a top 10, definitely a top 15. But not a top 10. Nothing in this game stands out one its own, except for the overall quality of the game from start to finish. That's why I think it's one of the better games ever played, but not in the top 5.
So, starting this morning, sadly enough, all football fans enter the long, cold dark that is the off-season. Sights will soon be set on coaching changes, player movement, and of course the draft. It's just that the draft is 2 1/2 months away, and that feels like forever, and in reality the draft is a non-football-event. It's a made for TV thing so that guys like Mel Kiper Jr can show off perfect hair and talk incessantly for hours upon hours.
31 other football teams are now looking at Louisiana with envy. 31 other teams are planning their way to unseat the Saints. 31 other teams are making plans for the 2010 season.
Congratulations to the Colts for their valiant efforts, and congratulations to the Saints for their epic win!
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