Reign in the Rain

So, what's happening in the sports world? Oh, right. Super Bowl XLI was last night.
In case you're living in a cave, the Colts beat the Bears 29-17. (I predicted a score of 31-17 Colts, by the way.)
I will start off saying I am neither a Colts fan nor a Bears fan. My two favorite teams are the Patriots and Saints, so I certainly was not happy with these participants. Despite all this, I was hoping the Colts would win. My younger sister is a crazy, obsessive Peyton Manning fan. We've yet to figure out why, but she refers to him as "Handsome Man," even though she understands he certainly does not fit that description. So, I'm happy for her that her team, who she's been with for several years, won the big one, although I'll never live it down. (See above statement regarding my Patriots fandom.)
As far as the MVP goes, while I understand giving it to Peyton, he wouldn't have been my first choice for the award. I personally would've chosen Joseph Addai and Dominic Rhodes as co-MVPs. Now, I am an LSU girl through and through, so maybe my bias for Addai is coming through, but I truly do not believe the Colts could've gotten to this game, much less won it, without their vastly underrated running back tandem.
I am thrilled for Tony Dungy because I cannot think of a better person to reach this highest level. He is a wonderful man who truly does everything in his life with the utmost dignity. Since he is the first African-American coach to win the Super Bowl, he is forever a representative of that community, and no one could argue with that.
Now, onto the non-winners, the NFC Champion Bears, I really don't know what to say about them. I don't know what their defensive game plan coming into this game was. If it was to just hang back and never pressure Manning, then they greatly succeeded. My dad always says that any quarterback given time to sit back and throw it will destroy you. When the opposing quarterback is arguably one of the best to ever play, there is no excuse not to blitz and get on him every single time. If I were a Bears fan, I would be livid. I know Lovie Smith is a defensive minded coach, so I don't know if it was mainly him or defensive coordinator Ron Rivera, but somebody made some bad decisions. (If the Cowboys are really that interested in Rivera as their head coach, they might want to do some rethinking.)
Coming into the game people were questioning whether Rex Grossman was the worst Super Bowl-participating quarterback ever. I must admit, he mostly took the criticism well, especially since he's been known to divulge too much information at times. That being said, he has to be the worst ever to play in the big game. ESPN's Michael Smith argues that Rex is the game's MVP in that he helped the Colts win. I'm inclined to agree.
Overall, the first Super Bowl to be played in the rain was a decent game, a very sloppy game (eight turnovers, three by the winners), but enjoyable nonetheless. I was fairly disappointed with the commercials though. I enjoyed a few, including Budweiser's "Rock, Paper, Scissors" one. I believe my favorite of the night was one I've heard no one mention. I'm pretty sure it was just for the NFL, and it showed fans of teams not from Indianapolis and Chicago, how devoted they are, not wanting the season to end, saying "It's hard to say goodbye." I thought it was great, and then the ending hit me at my core. It showed my beloved Brett Favre and then said, "For some, it's even harder." I was on the phone with my mom at the time and she wasn't paying attention, so I had to tell her about it. I described the first part fine, but when I mentioned Favre, my voice was breaking too much for me to speak.
Most of the time I talk of the great #4, I find it hard to speak. Friday afternoon, he announced he is returning next season. I was going to write a blog about it, but I didn't think I could compose myself enough to write. I've loved him for years, and the day he does decide to hang it up, will be one of the saddest of my life. I can't make anyone understand how I feel, but no one will ever be able to replace Brett Favre to me.
I'll end this by saying that it's been ten years since my favorite Super Bowl ever, Super Bowl XXXI where, in the SuperDome, Favre's Packers beat Drew Bledsoe's Patriots 35-21. I was only eight at the time, but I remember it like it was yesterday. I was wearing my Packers shirt, sitting in my Packers chair, watching with my dad in our den. That was the day I fell in love all over again with Favre, Desmond Howard, Antonio Freeman, and the late, great Reggie White. No Super Bowl will ever top that one for me. No Super Bowl will ever come close. No team will ever compare with my Packers.
Congratulations Colts fans and everyone in Indianapolis. There is nothing like watching your precious team win the Super Bowl. To all Bears fans and everyone in Chicago, I have been on your side too. Losing is never any fun.
Winning a championship is the best. Losing a championship, the next best.