If one were to ask me a favorite in this Superbowl, I would be unreserved about picking the Colts led by Peyton Manning. I'll leave the stats to others. Instead, for support I will refer to a cartoon character named Carl--an unabashed Giants fan--who said it best. “Manning is a touchdown throwing android from the planet snooze.” (Carl’s beef with Manning is that his life lacks the “sizzle” of athletes such as Terrell Owens, or Tiger Woods.)
But, there is something to be said about other motivating factors at play.
I know that the liberal “gotcha” media may be blowing the other factors out of proportion. And, in the interest of full disclosure, the media has gotten to me before. One specific instance occurred prior to the Giants game against Greenbay at home in the cold during The Superbowl Run. Why, I wondered, wasn’t Coach Coughlin throwing frozen footballs to Eli in of all places the frozen tundra of Title Town, USA?! Well, you all know the deal.
Having said that, it is worth noting what some of these other factors are. One example was in Monday’s NY Post where Columnist Mike Vaccaro gave the Saints home field advantage even though the the Superbowl will be played away from New Orleans. His assessment is based on having witnessed celebrations in the French Quarter following recent Saints victories.
Vaccaro said he had seen, “rich and poor, black and white, Catholic and Protestant, united in common cause and joint joy of the Saints' NFC Championship win.”
The Christian Science Monitor also touched on how much this season and a Superbowl win will mean to the city of New Orleans.
Correspondent Bill Sasser for the Monitor said restaurants have changed their linens to black and gold. And, after the win over the Cardinals in the NFC playoffs, Sasser watched as riders on entire St. Charles Avenue street car broke into the chant “Who dat?” Pedestrians, he went on, “thronged the trolley like it was a Mardi Gras float”.
Even the murder rate is down! “…plagued by a murder rate that [was] a killing a day, the city saw no reports of violence before, during, or after the game, “states the Monitor.
Quarterback Drew Brees, no football slouch himself is aware of the importance a Superbowl victory is to his team’s hometown. For reinforcement, Brees only need look to former Saints QB Bobby Hebert who went to a Saints parade wearing drag having promised to do so if the Saints ever made it to a Superbowl.
Destiny may be with the Saints as some contend. But as a friend pointed out, Destiny may be a cross dressing dancer from the French Quarter.
So, I’m sticking with Peyton and the Colts. After all, New Orleans can still claim victory if the Colts win by virtue of success it will mean for Peyton’s Dad Archie himself a former Saints QB and according to Wikipedia a New Orleans resident. Also, a Colt win may give Eli some inspiration.
