Those first fourteen seconds were the most mind-numbingly awful seconds of my life, as it pertains to spectator sports. I was just numb. I sat there on the couch - feeling my appetite for the yummy Mexican cheese dip I was making going down the toilet in a hurry - and was just...speechless. I was without speech.
Listen: Brown one pound of ground beef, then add a jar of salsa (chunky, please!) and a box of Velveeta (cubed). Cook over low-medium heat until it all comes together. Season to taste - chili powder, habañero sauce, chopped jalapeños or poblanos, whatever. You might want to add some milk or water to thin it down. Scientific proof exists that melted Velveeta is chemically identical to outdoor-grade caulk (not true, though moderately funny). Serve with round, yellow-corn tortilla chips and plenty of ice-cold beer. Sweet action!
Also, you may want to have these links available as we go through this breakdown of the game. Click here for the box score, and here for the play-by-play, both courtesty of ESPN. And get a beer. We’re celebrating here tonight in the Blog-O-Rama.
On the very first play of the game, Devin Hester ran back Adam Vinatieri’s opening kick 82 yards for a touchdown. None of the Colts were even close, and even though it was horrible to watch as a Colts fan, credit must be given to Hester, who had run two kicks and three punts back for touchdowns in the regular season - he is this year’s Dante Hall, who ran riot for the Kansas City Chiefs a couple of years ago (I want to say it was the year the Chiefs started 9-0, but I could be wrong, and I don’t even recall what year that was, although I’m pretty sure it was 2003 or 2004) - because he made all the right movies.
And I guess you sort of had to expect it - hell, Jim Nantz had barely finished saying that the Colts had had trouble all year in special teams coverage before the ball landed in Hester’s hands and, for the Colts, as Kurt Vonnegut puts it in a book of his that I am reading now, the excrement hit the air-conditioning. Also, Hester was born in Riviera Beach, Florida, which is not all that far from Miami, which must have made the Super Bowl feel like a homecoming of sorts for Hester.
Things did not immediately improve, as the next Colts drive ended in a Chris Harris interception. That turnover, however, did not result in points for the Bears, who went three-and-out on the ensuing possession. At this point we’re still early in the first quarter, but I am feeling like all the life has been sucked out of me, like they put me on The Machine from The Princess Bride and cranked it up to eleven.
On the next Colts drive, Manning completed his only touchdown pass of the night, to Reggie Wayne, who was wide open because the safety in coverage moved away from the play. Manning was hit as he was going down, and Reggie Wayne had to turn all the way around, with his back to the end zone, to make the catch. If the safety doesn’t move, it’s probably a pick - it’s the same kind of pass that Grossman had picked by Bob Sanders later in the game, except that Manning didn’t have as much height on the pass as Grossman did on his.
This, of course, was delightful to see, but the botched extra point attempt got me nervous all over again. As it turned out, I would not calm down for most of the game - although I did turn the volume down on the TV late in the fourth quarter once it looked like the Colts had the game in hand, because I wanted to hear Bob Lamey call it as the game ended. But more on that later.
On the ensuing kickoff return, Gabe Reid fumbled, which sparked what can only be described as a turnover outbreak, not unlike the horrific tornado outbreak that occurred in central Florida a couple of nights ago. Five - count ‘em, five - fumbles, three by Chicago, two by Indianapolis, ALL recovered by the other team. This lasted from about six minutes left in the first quarter all the way to halftime, and the scoring in between the turnover marathon was 10-7 in favor of the Colts, with the result being that the Colts went into halftime with a two-point lead and a ton of momentum, even though Adam Vinatieri missed a field goal at the end of the second quarter.
Turnovers are a key in any game, and the most important part about turnovers is how well a team regains its composure once it turns the ball over. This, for my money, was the deciding factor in this game - the Colts gave the ball up three times, all in the first half; the Bears gave it up five times, with two of those coming in the second half. The first turnover in the second half was the Kelvin Hayden interception which he ran back for a touchdown. The play was challeneged, because it looked like Hayden might have stepped out of bounds not just once, but twice, during the return. The replays showed, however, that he did not. It was one of the closest things I have ever seen in football. The first time he almost stepped out, he would have stepped out if he had put his heel down - but he did not. The second time was further down the field, but wasn’t as close. The play was upheld and the touchdown stood - and that was the point at which the Colts, leading 29-17, really looked like they had the game in hand.
Near the end of this turnover festival, however, something happened that was quintessential Colts football. On 2nd and 13 from their own 29, Manning dropped into the shotgun and tossed a short pass to Marvin Harrison, who caught the ball and fell out of bounds while dragging his feet. The Bears challenged the play on the grounds that Harrison did not have both feet inbounds.
Here’s what happened, in order: Harrison started to fall (really it was more of a lean, because he meant to do it) out of bounds with his right foot planted firmly on the ground; then he caught the ball (there was no question of possession - this is Marvin Harrison we’re talking about after all); then he dragged his left foot along the ground as his right came up into the air; and then he fell out of bounds. The call was reversed, which was the correct call; and it’s the kind of football that only the Colts can give you.
No other receiver in the league is going to make that kind of catch - and no other quarterback in the league is going to put the ball right where it was, which was a place where only Marvin Harrison can catch it. Harrison doesn’t make that catch if Manning isn’t the one putting the ball where he puts it; and Manning can’t reasonably expect another receiver to catch that kind of pass - because it’s the kind of thing that Manning and Harrison work on together, the kind of thing they have been getting better and better at over the years. It’s one of the reasons why they are the most prolific quarterback/receiver combination in the history of the National Football League.
And that’s why I think that any meaningful discussion of Manning as the best quarterback of all time - for the record, I don’t think he is there yet, but probably will be one day - MUST also include discussion of Marvin Harrison as the best receiver of all time. Neither Colt has the numbers or the Super Bowl rings of Joe Montana and Jerry Rice; and though the numbers will probably come, I don’t know about the rings. It’s late in the game for these two to start winning Super Bowls.
But Montana got started before Rice, and Rice kept playing long after Montana retired. I don’t want to take anything away from Montana and Rice, but their careers happened to overlap at the right time, and for a long right time. Manning and Harrison have been dazzling us like this for the entirety of their careers, except for the two years Harrison was in the league before Manning was drafted. It seems virtually assured now that both will finish their remarkable careers in Indianapolis - and there is nothing to say that their days of winning Super Bowls are over. They might not get the three rings together that Montana and Rice got (yes, both Montana and Rice have four rings, but Montana got his first before Rice entered the league, and Rice got his last after Montana left San Francisco) - but if two little Super Bowl rings are the only things separating Manning/Harrison (who already have the numbers together over Montana and Rice) from being discussed in the same breath as Montana/Rice...then by all means, let the discussions begin.
After the Colts scored the last points of the game, Thomas Jones rushed for an additional 16 yards for the Bears, and this was maybe the saddest moment of the game for me (overall, once you obliterate all that in-game nervouseness with the balm of the fact that the Colts won). By rushing for those 16 yards, he put the Bears over 100 yards rushing for the game, which was the only time in four playoff games this year that the Colts gave up more than 100 yards rushing. It would have been a lovely thing for the rush defense to be able to say that they had held all of their playoff opponents under 100 yards - after having given up 100 yards to EVERY opponent in the regular season. But that’s picking at nits - the much-malgined rush defense (and I did much of the maligning) was a HUGE part of why the Colts are the Super Bowl champions.
I’m not going to get into the stats, because the stats don’t really say much about the game - not in a game that featured eight turnovers. That’s pretty much the only stat you can talk about anyway, and I already have done that. One thing about the postseason stats, though - it would be disinegnuous to go into work tomorrow and crow about how the Colts led the postseason in a lot of statistical categories. It stands to reason - they were the only team in the playoffs that played four games.
I want to close this with some thank you notes. First, thanks to Shane, whose rapid-fire blogging inspired me to comment to his blog and then give birth to the Blog-O-Rama, where I have had an enormous amount of fun posting about the Colts, reviewing movies, thrashing the conservative and religious right (as well as the hands-down worst President in American history), making light of the absurd, and just plain writing my ass off.
Second, thanks to the Colts - Jim Irsay, Bill Polian, Tony Dungy, Tom Moore, Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark, Joseph Addai, Dwight Freeney, Bob Sanders, Adam Vinatieri, and all the rest of the Blue Crew - for this most spectacular and amazing season. I root hard for four teams - the Chicago Cubs, the Indiana University football and men’s basketball teams, and the Indianapolis Colts. None of those teams had, until tonight, brought home a championship since the basketball Hoosiers beat Syracuse in 1987, when I was only 11 years old and could not really appreciate it.
Third, thanks to the New England Patriots, for beating San Diego. I don’t know if the Colts could have beaten the Bolts - but that they got to beat the Patriots in the Hoosier Dome to go to the Super Bowl is just right. Also, please note that no last second field goals were necessary for the Colts to win the Super Bowl. The total margin of victory in three Super Bowl wins for the Patriots is nine points - a three-point margin in each win, and three points shy of the margin for the Colts over the Bears. And three straight wins for the Colts over the Patriots. Three Super Bowl rings for the Patriots, yes - but no more monkey-on-the-back advantages, either.
Last, thanks to Bob Lamey, The Voice Of The Colts - whose passion for this team is, in a word, unrivaled. Listening to Bob Lamey makes every second of Colts football an order of magnitude more emotional than watching the game on TV or seeing it in person - and more satisfying. He is sometimes negative and angry when he calls a game, but it’s only because of the depth of emotion he feels for the Colts; and when he gets to make those calls when things are going right for the Colts, well...all I can say is that when he makes that call, all of that emotion pours out of the radio and directly into the heart of any real fan within range of hearing. He calls it as he sees it, is possessed of a wealth of knowledge about the team and the game of football, and contributes more than he is given credit for to the experience of being a Colts fan. Thanks, Bob.
So ends the 2006 season in the National Football League. With a record of 16-4, the Indianapolis Colts win the Super Bowl - and Peyton Manning wins the Super Bowl MVP. Sweet action!
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