Another Forgettable Super Bowl?

For whatever the reason, the Super Bowl is consistently one of the least competitive games in the football calendar. Two weeks of hype for a game that continually disappoints, and this year was no exception.

Granted, the first quarter got off to about as exciting a start as one could possibly hope for. The opening kickoff returned for a touchdown? By the 7½-point underdog, no less? I'm sure everyone was thinking that this game could wind up going down to the wire!

After all, this was the first game the Indianapolis Colts had played on grass in the playoffs. And it was pouring, giving the defensive-orientated Chicago Bears yet another supposedly decisive advantage.

And then somehow, amid all the penalties, the kicking mistakes, and the turnovers, the game went according to how most everyone predicted it would. The heavily-favored Colts, representing the superior AFC, dominated their NFC counterparts with relative ease.

The Bears' defense couldn't get off the field, and their offense couldn't stay on it. The Colts almost doubled the Bears in time of possession — they did in fact double them in first downs (more so, actually, 24-11), and out-gained the lackluster Bears by 165 yards — including 80 more than Chicago on the ground! The Bears were getting killed all day at the line of scrimmage.

Even that glimmer of hope that Devin Hester provided proved to be the exception instead of the omen that every Chicago fan was hoping for. Peyton Manning, after a shaky start, was predictably good. Rex Grossman, after a misleading start, was even more predictably bad. At times, it looked like Sexy Rexy was throwing uphill.

Like so many of the Super Bowls before this one, there was no reason to watch deep into the fourth quarter — excluding all the over/under bettors. Everything else was decided, unless you were somehow naive enough to think Peyton Manning wouldn't win the MVP (maybe you thought the voters had a sense of humor and voted for Grossman).

Of the last 25 Super Bowls, eight have been competitive — that's a little more than a third. The sad truth is the season ends on Conference Championship Sunday. The Super Bowl remains the most anti-climatic of any title game in sport.

***

On a side note, Phil Simms was outstanding Sunday in his analysis. One example: after the Colts had converted another in what seemed to be a never-ending string of third downs conversions, there was a shot of Brian Urlacher gesticulating toward the sideline.

Now a lot of broadcasters would have gone with the obvious "Urlacher beside himself" or "Urlacher frustrated." Many more would have exploited the opportunity to suck up to Peyton with a "Manning just too good and Urlacher knows it."

Showing why he really is the best color commentator, Simms actually explained what Urlacher was trying to convey to his coaches. Simms noted "Urlacher saying let's get aggressive, blitz this guy, and not sit back and let him pick us apart" and then used the replay to show how every defender dropped back into coverage.