Superbowl XL—Sat, Feb 4 12:05:25 VEN 2006
Yep, tomorrow is the big game. The last meaningful NFL game of the 2005-2006 season, and the last televised sporting event before we have to endure 9 months of baseball, golf and Olympic figure skating cluttering up our TV airwaves. *Sigh* Preseason starts the first week of August, 26 weeks from now.
The Smart Money went 9-5 through the playoffs (for a 22.7% Return on Investment -- slightly more than you'd have gotten had you shorted Google stock from the opening of the playoffs through yesterday. The Dow went down 1.51% through the same period of time.)
The spectacle that is Super Bowl XL started nearly a week ago. Countless articles have been written about Ben Rothlisberger's beard, and Matt Hasselback's bald pate. Detroit residents can actually see decent football in their own town for the first time in decades. The Minnesota Vikings are across the border in Winsor, Canada, where they can smoke Cuban cigars, bet on the game, and receive full-nude lap dances until the wee hours.
And the international press corps have shown up (excluding the Venezuelans, who are instead at the Caribbean World Series, since last year's game drew terrible ratings here)
Fewer articles have been written about the roman numeral XL, which is strangely appropriate considering the average waistline of Detroiters. And Rothlisberger is blogging (and it seems like he's actually writing it, not having it ghost-written by Public Relations douchebags).
And only one article was written about something new in TV broadcasting... for the first time next year, one of the Thanksgiving games won't be on terrestrial television, except in the teams' home markets. Yes, the fledgling NFL Network (currently available only on satellite systems, but this development is going to bring it to most cable systems) will be airing Thursday NFL games (and a couple of Saturday games), including Thanksgiving's Dallas/Washington game.
But that's not what you care about. You care about the game, praying that Mick Jagger doesn't suffer a wardrobe malfunction, and trying to decide how many times Jerome Bettis's borded-up, abandoned Detroit house will be shown through the telecast.
So, without further ado...
The Game:
Tomorrow, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Seattle Seahawks will go to Motor City, formerly the fattest city in the US before the UAW sent their line workers to Tennessee, to play on the Fieldturf under the dome of Ford Field. This is the first Super Bowl to be played on Fieldturf.
Detroit, being Detroit, used the shreds of recalled Firestone tires (remember the Explorer/Exploder debacle?) mixed with sand as the infill of the turf, which was installed in 2002, when the stadium was built.
This probably going to be one of the best Super Bowl games in years. The first-seeded Seahawks are coming to town as the underdogs (at least as far as the oddsmakers are concerned -- the sentimental favorites of bettors seems to be Jerome Bettis and the Steelers).
The best plays on the field will probably happen while Seattle has the ball. The combination of QB Hasselback and RB Shawn Alexander, will keep the Steelers' defensive line in check, which should open up the secondary. Depending on Hasselback's accuracy, the strength of Pittsburgh's bizarre blitzes, and Steelers' Safety Troy Polamalu, there should be some truly epic plays downfield.
On the other side of the ball, Steelers' QB Rothlisberger has shown himself quite adept at picking apart secondaries. RB Bettis's homecoming is bound to bring both him and the crowd into the game -- look for 75 yards from him before the first half's over. But, ultimately, most of the time, the ball's going to be in the air, which will lead to some excitement -- a rarity during the Super Bowl.
The Line:
The Steelers are favored by 4. The over/under is 47. The Smart Money takes the Over and the Seahawks +4. The Smart Money also takes the Over on the First Quarter (o/u 9.5 points) and takes the "First score is a field goal or safety" proposition (1:1.5 money line -- bet a dollar to win a buck and a half)
Enjoy the game everyone!
-Jeff