This time tomorrow night, the Black Eyed Peas will probably be performing, the Pittsburgh Steelers will probably be missing All-Pro rookie center Maurkice Pouncey (who is out with a high left ankle sprain), and Aaron Rodgers will be working on the most prestigious chapter yet of a very promising career.
Today, Target was packed, and, where I work, ground beef and baby back ribs were flying off the shelves. I saw carts full of chips, chicken wings, soda, and beer as people prepared to throw parties for the biggest television event of the year, Super Bowl 45. Last year's Super Bowl, the historic New Orleans Saints defeat of the Indianapolis Colts, edged past the final episode of MASH as the most-watched television program ever, and this year has the makings of a very promising contest.
Consider: the Steelers, what with a history of gridiron badassery (and excellence) and two of the last five Super Bowl championships, are becoming a somewhat newer version of the early '00s New England Patriots, or a football version of the New York Yankees. For that reason, many people are voting against them, voting for the 'underdog' Green Bay Packers. However, that same reason (long-time excellence/success) compels many people to vote for them. At work today, I saw Steelers hats, shirts, sweaters, jerseys, scarves, and even a little Steelers flag on a car antenna. They're popular.
But so are the Green Bay Packers. The Packers haven't been to a Super Bowl since 1998 (loss to the Denver Broncos), which came a year after their last victory, the 1997 win led by some guy named Brett Favre. For the current generation-and probably for the last few as well-the Packers are synonymous with Favre, who has since had a fall from grace including ugly moments in the clutch for the Packers and his new teams, the New York Jets and the Minnesota Vikings, but also personal/public scandals. Favre is also a bitter word in the mouth of Aaron Rodgers, who has heard about Favre, and heard comparions to Favre, his entire career thus far. Rodgers, who has erupted as an All-Pro player with the highest-ever passing percentage in the playoffs for someone with at least 100 attempts, is the primary reason, I think, for neutral folk to vote for Green Bay. Counterpart Ben Roethlisberger, who has led the Steelers to the '05 and '08 Super Bowl Championships, recently said he admires Rodgers as an athlete, but hopes he doesn't have a good game in Super Bowl 45 for Pittsburgh's sake.
Thus far in the playoffs, Pittsburgh, the AFC's #2 seed, edged past mistake-prone rival Baltimore in the Divisional Round, then held on for dear life in the conference title game against the New York Jets. Green Bay, on the other hand, the NFC's 6 seed, claimed a sound victory over the Philadelphia Eagles, blasted the #1 Atlanta Falcons in a major upset in Atlanta, then suckerpunched the #2 Chicago Bears in Chicago in the NFC Championship. On that basis alone, I'd say Green Bay has the momentum, but after two weeks of just practice, momentum doesn't have a lot to do with anything.
Pittsburgh has six Super Bowl championships; Green Bay has three.
The story of personal and professional redemption for the reviled Roethlisberger (who has been accused of sexual assualt twice in the past year and a half, and missed the first four games of this season on a commissioner-issued suspension) continues, as Big Ben tries to become just the fifth quarterback to win three Super Bowl titles. The other four are Pittsburgh's own Terry Bradshaw, San Francisco's Joe Montana, Dallas' Troy Aikman, and New England's Tom Brady. Unlike any of them, however, Roethlisberger has yet to be named MVP of a Super Bowl, and has actually yet to play very well in a Super Bowl. He has another chance now.
So, tomorrow, some 100 million-plus Americans are going to be gathered around a TV or radio or computer, eating snacks, chugging drinks, talking, laughing, placing bets, and watching the Packers and Steelers go at it. Some will watch for the commercials, some for the half-time show, some because everybody else is watching it, but they'll all be a part of the monumental even that will be Super Bowl 45. The game will be played in Cowboy Stadium-Dallas, Texas-starting at 6:30 p.m.
No comments:
Post a Comment