Super Bowl XLI

Well, that didn't take long.

Just as my bro warned me during our pre-game chat on my way home from the station, watch out for Devin Hester.

7-0, Bears.

Peyton better calm the offense down (false starts) and get into a rhythm.

COMMERCIAL: Bud Light takes the lead with "Rock, Paper, Scissors".

They talked about rain all afternoon on the Super Bowl Today, and with 11 minutes left, 1st quarter, it's a comin' down.

BTW: Kudos to CBS, who actually made a four-hour pregame show not seem like four hours. Great segments on Walter Payton and Brian Piccolo, the kidney donation of a former teammate in Dallas, and Katie Couric's report on Hines Ward.

SPEAKING OF KATIE COURIC: I can already hear the media blogosphere.....

"Look at her hairdo! Chet Huntley is rolling over in his grave, Cronkite is rolling over in his recliner."

GIVE ME A BREAK! But that's another story for another time.....

Manning eludes pressure, sends it downfield, Reggie Wayne is WIDE OPEN...touchdown! But, here we go again, the point after is botched! 7-6, early on.

COMMERCIALS: Fed Ex does the same thing as last year, only not cavemen, it's astronauts. The comet saved the spot from being really lame.

Bud Light and the auctioneer. EXCELLENT spot. It takes over #1, with their other spot 2nd.

FUMBLE!!!!!!!!!!-----Well, well....how the momentum swings! Colts get the ball. WAIT! Colts return the favor. Addai never had it---Alex Brown was all over him.

THOMAS JONES!!!!!!!-----one carry, 52 yards from the Big Stone Gap native, who, a year ago, was considered on his way out of Chicago, as they looked to Cedric Benson for the future. The city likes him now.

Grossman to Muhammed. Touchdown, Bears. Around three Colts to boot. 14-6, da Bears.

COMMERCIAL: Snickers....let's see. Gross, funny with the chest hair part, and the gay community is gonna scream. Chevrolet....good spot.

YIKES!!! DAVE & OPRAH!!!! Better than any commercial so far.

Game action-----in the pouring rain. The more it rains, the closer the Vince Lombardi Trophy moves to the Bear sidelines. Peyton looks really shaky. Like the pass to Wayne was the exception and not the rule.

FUMBLE!!!!!! The Colts are back in Bear territory. What a shot with the helmet!!

But it doesn't help. Three and out, try now to pin the Bears back deep. (Remember the coffin corner?? No one does that anymore.) 1:46 to go. And they do. First down at the four.

Anyone smell a Super Bowl record for fumbles???

Whoa. Tait down. Benson down. Inhale moment for Chicago. John St. Clair is in for Tait, as another UVA grad makes an appearance (see Greta? I actually would mention them!). Thomas Jones being the other, of course.....

There's not been a wilder opening quarter of a Super Bowl, that's for sure. Nine seconds left, back to the Colts.

GREAT LINE: Phil Simms....commenting on stars of a new CBS series being in the stands for the game...in the rain....."If it were a hit show, they'd be in a suite."

First Quarter Ends: Chicago 14, Indy 6.

COMMERCIAL: Wonder if there's an opening at GoDaddy.com in marketing? Shhh, don't tell wifey!!

We need to take Joseph Addai seriously. 7 rushes, 38 yards so far on the vaunted Bear "D".
He leads them to a field goal, and it's 14-9.

COMMERCIAL: Well, ain't that a kick in the head!! Excellent Bud spot with the dog winning the heart of the ladies' float.

QUESTION?:---How far away from the Grammys will you be next Sunday night? :)

Game is settling down now. Nice stop on 3rd down by Sanders. Chicago to punt, 9 1/2 to go until we ignore Prince. It's just pouring. Are they really coming back to Miami for another one?

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Nantz and Simms; they're great!

Simms: You're looking at your computer and saying 'oh, the rain should be gone in about 20 minutes....'"

Nantz: I forgot to tell you I failed meteorology class.
Simms: You? Fail? You'd give the teacher an apple to change the grade!

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Colts are settled down now, even in the rain. Remember when the Bears played the Eagles in the Fog Bowl many years ago? The cameras are beginning to take a wettin'.

TOUCHDOWN! Rhodes bulls his way on three carries to take the lead for the first time. 16-14, and yes, Peyton, it's too early to go for two.

COMMERCIAL: A medical spot has never quite looked that way. But I've already forgotten their website. The spot didn't work. I remember the characters, but not the sponsor.

At 7:44PM, the Colts take over again after a Bear three and out. As wild as quarter one was, the second quarter is about as "normal" as it can be in a South Florida rain.

Addai again, this time a nice reception and jive. Two minute warning.

COMMERCIAL: "Connectile Dysfunction". Pretty good one, Sprint.

BIG turnover.....Colts could have taken a five or nine point lead, but FUMBLE!!! Bears can try a two-minute drill.

No, they won't. Grossman FUMBLE!! Back to Indy. Urhacler, a BIG stop to force a field goal attempt. Vinatieri MISSED. He's human! He's human in a Super Bowl! Wow!!

HALFTIME: Indy 16, Chicago 14.

First trip in the blogosphere...remember I said Katie Couric would take ANOTHER beating? Check this out. Message to blogger: It's Hines Ward. He plays at Heinz Field. Just a little football note.

Now time to avoid the halftime show AGAIN THIS YEAR!!

Other channels......

SPEED CHANNEL: Monster Trucks
ESPN: Figure Skating
ESPN2: World's Strongest Man
FOX: X-2, X-Men United
QVC: My sweetheart, Lisa Robertson!!!!!

and I have to give a shout out to my daughter's favorite:

ANIMAL PLANET: Puppy Bowl 3

UPDATE: Here's Lisa's bio page.

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Second half is ready. Missed Prince singing. Mission accomplished.

Do the Colts have it in hand if they score a TD on the opening drive and take six or seven minutes off the clock?

Here's a thought: first team to finish building their ark wins.

I'm telling you----Addai is a factor tonight. GREAT job by the O-line to get him the hole. He's my MVP pick at the moment.

Look at the clock, folks....we're already under eight minutes to go.

SIMMS: "And Jim, it's not stopped raining." (see earlier in blog the Nantz/Simms diatribe). These guys are equal to Gumbel/Simms, behind Summerall/Madden. I LOVE Dick Enberg, but he never had that four-star analyst with him. That's certainly not his fault.

That was the ugliest 24 yard field goal I've seen in awhile.

COMMERCIAL: "Meet The Robinsons"...opens March 30 and looks very promising.

Also...Coke's spots are all different. There seems to be no marketing scheme, like Bud Light. When Bud Light shows five spots in a Super Bowl, there is at least a little congruency. The Sheryl Crow/Revlon spot is pretty good. If for no other reason, you can look at Sheryl Crow.

Bears FINALLY have the ball and seem aggressive. They are SO lucky to be only five points down. Oops! Finally a sack by the weather, assisted by McFarland. Oh, dear, Grossman is looking like the mid-season Grossman. You've GOT TO BE ABLE to successfully snap the ball.

Boring commercials give me a chance to teach wifey what a "two-possession game" is. The Colts better make this a "two-possession game", or Chicago is gonna bite them...in spite of Grossman.

Dang, Rhodes is making his claim for MVP. The three big runs to the second TD, and now ripping off 36 yards. How about eight more and a facemask?

Did you see anyone say or write in the past two weeks that the key to the game would be:

"THE COLTS RUNNING GAME"????

Good Lord.....third and goal at the ten. They MUST get in the end zone this time. Another field goal is a BIG victory for the Bears. Run on third down, and almost gets Rhodes in!

But, alas, ANOTHER field goal. It's good and they hit the kicker. Running into the kicker doesn't provide an automatic first down, though, after seeing the replay, I'd like to know the ref's definition of "roughing the kicker". Maybe he's looking for blood or something.

COMMERCIAL: EXCELLENT spot for T-Mobile! "I'm sorry, is that your Dad??" Barkley gets dissed!!!!

So far:

1) Bud Light "Auctioneer"
2) T-Mobile "Wade and Barkley"
3) Bud Light "Rock, Paper, Scissors".

.....Colts with a STUPID penalty, and the Bears set up in great field position. Rex and company better do something with it.

Offensive Plays: Indy 63, Chicago 23 Wow.

Chicago's answer to Addai/Rhodes is Jones, now the workhorse with Benson out. Colts almost got to Grossman (sure knocked him down)....the only way to keep Rex from being completely rattled is to run the ball. Hey, good job by Grossman to elude several Colts.

FG attempt for the Bears this time. 44 yards...weather doesn't matter, and it's 22-17. Bears now need a three and out from their defense!!!

Harrison....challenge. He CAUGHT THE BALL. With possession, he's dragging both feet. Should be overturned. Great camera work by CBS. No doubt about that one.

Big third down now, especially if they get a first down. And they do, thanks to Wayne. That challenge could be big before it's all over.

End of three: Colts 22, Bears 17.

Colts' plan now: Move the chains, move the chains, eat the clock, eat the clock. But NOT a false start. 2nd and 13. Bears finally get some pressure on Manning and Harrison limps off.

13:38 to go, back to the Bears. The first holding penalty of the night.

Mooooooushin Muhammed with a great catch and run, and Bears are back in business.

NO THEY ARE NOT----INTERCEPTED! TOUCHDOWN COLTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, there's your Grossman moment.

BUT WAIT-----it's challenge time again. Remember, irrefutable evidence is needed to overturn the turnover (sorry, that just kinda came out....)

Another GREAT camera moment for CBS, and Nantz is right, they could have gone down to the field and check the divot where the cleat came down.

Colts....29-17. No one has come back from more than ten points to win a Super Bowl. Either the Bears make history, or they're history.

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THOUGHT: Is this the lamest year for Super Bowl commercials or what??

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Just went to NFL.com and voted for Joseph Addai as MVP.

Hey, look, another interception! Bob Sanders in the house----but there's a flag. GREAT article on Sanders in the Richmond paper yesterday. Too bad I CANNOT FIND IT at their site.

Bears back with the ball with 7:20 to go. Jones goes to 100 yards rushing, but probably too little, too late.

Hmmmm....I'm beginning to think Rhodes could be MVP. How about BOTH as co-MVPs??

Time for the NFL commercial contest winner......2:01 to play. Hey, it was very good!!! I rank it at #4.

And the final two minutes dwindle away.....

SO:

1) Tony Dungy becomes the third person to win a Super Bowl as a player and a coach. He's the first African-American to win it. Much maligned after Tampa Bay fired him, Indy immediately went for him and tonight, it's payoff for the entire organization.

2) Peyton Manning is NOT this generation's Dan Marino.

3) They won with DEFENSE and a RUNNING GAME. 50 years from now, history will look back on this team and say: What??!!?? They won??!!?? But they didn't play Colts football.

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And finally.....on a personal note, here's the real reason I rooted for the Colts tonight.

My best friend at church growing up was a big Colts fan. He went thru the ups and downs of Bert Jones, playoff disappointments, the middle of the night move, Ron Meyer coaching, Mike Pagel at quarterback.......and saw Peyton and company mature into a Super Bowl contender.

Tonight, a shout up to heaven, where Mike looks down and sees his Colts finally win the big one.

Congratulations, Mike. This one's for you. :)