Super Bowl XXXIX

Originally posted on "Is It Sports?" this was another co-written post. Steve is in red, Ryan in black.

Ryan: any predictions for the game?
Steve : well Patriots will win of course Steve : I'll say 34-16
Ryan: all right... i also predict Freddie Mitchell will get hit so hard the hit will appear in every NFL films intro from that point forward
Ryan: as for the game, the patriots dont win unless Vinatieri kicks the winner, so 23-20 pats
Steve : well I hope your first prediction is right
Ryan: it will be one of those hits where the helmet doesnt come off entirely, but starts too, the ball pops out, and freddie lands on his shoulder, with his feet over his head
Steve : that would be awesome
Ryan: then, the eagles, up 17-6 at the time, would be forced to rely on *gasp* Todd Pinkston for the rest of the game, since T.O.s leg will have been amputated below the knee and while freddys body is in jacksonville, his head's in Tallahassee
Steve : yeah and that's why a Vinatieri game winner doesn't seem convincing to me
Ryan: what do you mean?
Steve : that the game won't be that close
Ryan: well, theyve played Indy, who doesnt play defense, and pittsburgh, who has a rookie QB
Steve : I just think they have the confidence and the focus and Philly is just relieved that they didn't choke again
Ryan i think itll be a classic
Steve : it's been alternating lately so I say no
Ryan: well its been alternating whether or not the patriots have been involved
Ryan: this is like the wrestlemania superbowl for the nfl, the past few have been smackdowns and raws.... they are going to make this a classic (the nfl is fixed)
Steve : 38, 36, 34, 32, 30, and 28 were all interesting at least at the beginning of the 2nd half Steve : 37, 35, 33, 31, 29, 27 were all pretty much blowouts
Ryan : i dont remember that far back, man
Steve : trust me on that
Ryan i tend to

It’s probably for the best that Steve and I took a step back from baseball for a few days. He was waiting outside my door the other day wearing a Frank Thomas jersey and wielding a machete. So here’s a little Super Bowl preview, Is It Sports style.

Obviously, Steve has an incredible grasp on every aspect of sports history. Knows the ins and outs of all those little trends and I’m sure if you asked him the starting left tackle for the losing team in Super Bowl XXIV he would know it like that. Great bar trick. Gets him all the ladies.

The fact is though, trends and streaks aren’t all there is to sports. Wisconsin lost at home to Illinois, for example. If trends and streaks were what it was all about, I wouldn’t be here, writing for both of my readers.

That being said, I think Vinatieri will kick a game-winner in the waning seconds, as he has the past two times the Patriots reached the Super Bowl. I just think the Patriots are clutch, but not overwhelmingly better than the Eagles. All right, a little discussion of the two teams follows.

Patriots. I don’t know if anyone told you this yet, but the New England Patriots are pretty good, totally confusing anyone that lived in the early 90’s. I daresay they are a dynasty, and that Bill Belichek is a fabulous head coach. But I have a few reasons not to cheer for them, despite their talent.

One reason is this “Tom Brady is as good as Joe Montana” talk. Just because he can win the big one doesn’t erase the 9-7 season after he won his first Super Bowl, or that his defense is what won him 75% of the games he’s played in. The Rams destroyed every team they played, due to their ridiculous offense. The Pats D held them within striking distance. And against Carolina? Well, that was Carolina. Tom Brady isn’t as good as Joe Montana. (On a side note, doesn’t he look like a character from Celebrity Death Match brought to life? And who do I talk to to get that show back on the air?)

How about this quote, from Philly lineman Ike Reese, in the most recent issue of Sports Illustrated, “Mike Vrabel had my testicles in his hand, and he was squeezing them.” I don’t think I really need to say anything beyond that.

But, as much as I hate to admit it, every decade needs its dynasty, so until next year, I guess I won’t root against the Pats too hard.

Eagles. I do have a huge reason to hate the Eagles. Freddie Mitchell’s mouth. If you hate loudmouthed role players as much as I do, then this year is easy to pick a team to cheer for. While I like the Eagles for whupping the Vikings, I despise them for gloating about it. And I really wish Freddie Mitchell would realize he would be third receiver on at least 10 different teams.

But I’ve always liked that batch of late nineties Syracuse players. You know who I’m talking about, Donovan McNabb, Marvin Harrison, Rob Konrad. I really want to see McNabb pull this one out. (Well maybe not this one, but you know, one) He’s been too quality a guy to not have a ring. It’s like he’s this generations Dan Marino, but worse, because he has to mire in Philly.

So I guess in total, I have enough going for and against both teams that I’m entirely indifferent over who wins. (I say this now, but I know when the game starts, I’ll start cheering for someone). Like I said above, however, I’m picking the Pats, 23-20. -Ryan

Well I think I made my prediction and my reasons pretty clear in our conversation, and I think the Eagles just won't be able to keep up with the more experienced Patriots. McNabb is overrated, and I don't think he's good enough to take advantage of the Patriots shaky secondary. I really would have liked to see what the Eagles record would have been had they played in the AFC all season. There's no question they are a very good team, but I don't know if they are even close to as good as the Patriots, Steelers, or even Colts, especially with no (or banged up) T.O. Even though I'm not expecting it, I'm hoping the game is close to keep me interested, or I guess I'll even accept good commercials or more exposed nipples too (as long as they aren't Romeo Crennel's or something). I've been to Jacksonville 4 times, and I can't believe they're hosting the Super Bowl. It's easily one of the most boring cities in America and the weather there isn't as nice as Miami in the winter, and has unbearable deep south humidity in the summer. I've stayed at the hotel the Eagles are staying at all 4 times I went, and its a nice place (with nothing to do of course except golf on the TPC Sawgrass course, that features the world famous island hole, but they probably don't have time for it anyways) so that gives them a nice intangible edge...unless one of them gets attacked by one of the hundreds of alligators living freely on the hotel's property of course....

I couldn't agree more with what Ryan said about comparing Tom Brady to Joe Montana. The Niners had good defensive players in the 80s, and they were definitely no pushovers, but their success was based on their offensive system and stars. Unlike his successor Steve Young, who I'd like to congratulate on also becoming a first ballot Hall of Famer today, I never lost faith when the ball was in Montana's hands with a big game on the line. He personally won the 49ers many huge games during his time, even before they somehow drafted Jerry Rice in 1985 immediately after completing the first 15-1 season in NFL history, winning the Super Bowl, and making Dan Marino bitter for life. There's only 1 Joe Cool.

As for the Eagles, I LIKE Terrell Owens, but I'm really sick of Donovan McNabb and his mom. I'll never eat chunky soup as long as I live. The media loves to beat up on T.O, but this is a guy that loves football, has a lot of fun, truly wants to win, and stays out of trouble off the field. Like it or not, he can back up his talk, and I think he has a right to do what he does. I'm a 49ers fan, and the way the team is being managed right now, I don't blame him at all for wanting to leave. He's responsible for 2 of my all-time favorite Niners moments as well. His catch in the 1998 playoffs to finally beat the Packers is a moment I'll never forget, and when he ran and spiked that ball on that Cowboys star in 2000, you know all of the Niners fans across the country were going wild after the way the 90s went. To me he was like the spiteful James Bond at the end of some of the 70s movies. Where he has enough and stops being a tuxedo-wearing "good guy" and decides to take out the trash once and for all, where he easily could just arrest the bad guy. Those 2 plays put a dagger through the hearts of both Packers and Cowboys fans because they are re-run all the time, and I think that's nice payback for the way those teams made Niners fans feel throughout the decade. I really hope he's able to make a contribution in this game, because I know he's wanted this his entire life and he's willing to risk a career ending injury just to play in the Super Bowl. That's a role model in my book. Ask Rasheed Wallace if he'd do that. I don't think it will be this year, but I hope he gets that ring one day. Oh yeah, and the starting left tackle for the Super Bowl XXIV losing 1989 Denver Broncos (to my Niners) was Gerald Perry (but I had to look that up). - Steve