"Man of The Hour"
Well, Peyton Manning finally won the Super Bowl, so congratulations. Now he’ll be plugging everything from toasters to tires on the tv. As nauseating as that prospect seems, Coach Tony Dungy won the Super Bowl, and one can only feel good for him after all he’s been through on and off the field. As Super Bowls has go, this one will not go down in history as one of the all-time great thrilling classics. The first quarter belonged to the Bears, everything after that belonged to Indianapolis. This was a game Chicago could have won; everything was working in their favor, including a steady rain. And there was no problem with the defense; their “three n’ out” offense could do absolutely nothing. Coach Smith stuck with Grossman and that proved to be the team’s undoing. A couple of Grossman’s interceptions were simply pathetic throws. One touchdown and a field goal is not going to do it, not against a team with the firepower of Indianapolis. It’s the Super Bowl, and a Coach ought to pull out all the stops, including replacing an ineffective quarterback to win the game. Perhaps fans in the Hoosier State are celebrating today, and bully for them. While it may be simply a case of sour grapes here in New England, the entire second half seem so anti-climatic and empty. A pervasive feeling of the blahs swept through the region as the clock ticked down to zero. Other than feeling happy for Coach Dungy, the Super Bowl will go down in history as another in the long list of dull and forgettable championship matchups of yore. Of the 41 Super Bowls, how many have actually been thrilling? Having seen every one, this is a pretty good representation of the games that have actually been worth remembering: a grand total of 13.

III
New York Jets 16, Baltimore Colts 7
V
Baltimore Colts 16, Dallas 13
VII
Miami 14, Washington 7
X
Pittsburgh 21, Dallas 17
XIII
Pittsburgh 35, Dallas 31
XVI
San Francisco 26, Cincinnati 21
XXIII
San Francisco 20, Cincinnati 16
XXV
New York Giants 20, Buffalo 19
XXXII
Denver 31, Green Bay 24
XXXIV
St. Louis 23, Tennessee 16
XXXVI
New England Patriots 20, St. Louis Rams 17
XXXVIII
New England Patriots 32, Carolina Panthers 29
XXXIX
New England Patriots 24, Philadelphia Eagles 21

And so, the NFL season ended with a whimper instead of a bang, which historically occurs with greater frequency than not. Free agency begins on March 1, and the draft comes at the end of April, so teams like the Patriots are rolling up their sleeves and getting ready for the 2007 season. In addition to their AFC East rivals, the Patriots have the NFC East, Pittsburgh and San Diego at home and the Ravens, Cincinnati and Indy on the road, and that’s about as tough a schedule as any team has in the NFL.