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Bears-Colts: A Thinking Fan's Super Bowl

Friday, February 2, 2007; Page C12


Ispent most of this week thinking about Super Bowl XLI (that's 41 in Roman numerals). I guess I'm not alone. About 140 million people will tune in to watch some part of the game, according to some estimates. Here's what I have been thinking about the big game.
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· Everyone is making a big deal about the quarterbacks. Sure, the Indianapolis Colts' Peyton Manning is much better than the Chicago Bears' Rex Grossman, but football is a team game. The team with the best quarterback does not always win.


· I love the helmets of both of this year's Super Bowl teams. The blue horseshoe on the Colts' white helmet is cool, and the Bears' red letter "C" on their dark helmet is a classic.


· There's another "big game" on Super Sunday -- the Super Bowl commercials. Because so many people watch, companies pay big bucks to advertise their products during the game. A 30-second commercial during the Super Bowl can cost as much as $2.6 million. If you don't like football, you can still have fun watching and rating the commercials.


· Speaking of TV ads, if Manning helps the Colts win the Super Bowl, he probably will be in twice as many next season. And he's already in a million commercials.


· February is Black History Month. Super Bowl XLI is making history because it is the first Super Bowl with black head coaches -- Tony Dungy of the Colts and Lovie Smith of the Bears. Dungy and Smith are both terrific coaches. Dungy has made winners out of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Colts. Smith took over a losing Bears team and led them to the Super Bowl in just three seasons.


· By the way, Lovie is Smith's real name. He was born Lovie Lee Smith in the little town of Big Sandy, Texas. His folks thought they were having a girl and decided to name him after his great aunt, Lavana. I guess his mom and dad were not thinking that their baby boy would grow up to be a head football coach when they named him Lovie.


· They say that offense wins games, but defense wins championships. The Colts had the 21st-ranked defense in the 32-team National Football League. The Bears, led by linebacker Brian Urlacher, had the fifth-ranked defense. And the Colts defense was dead last against the run. My guess is that the Bears' big, bruising running backs, Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson, will run right through the weak Colts defense.


· Watch for Devin Hester, the Bears' exciting kick returner. He ran back three punts and two kickoffs for touchdowns during the regular season. He even ran back a missed field goal 108 yards for a TD. Hester's big-play ability might make the difference in a close game.


· Three of the last five Super Bowls have been decided by just three points. I think this one will be close, too. But I think the Bears will be able to move the ball against the Colts defense and keep the ball away from Peyton Manning.


· My prediction: Bears 31, Colts 27.


Fred Bowen writes KidsPost's sports opinion column and is an author of sports novels for kids.


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