Well, Chicago, it’s -1000 degrees out today and my nipples have been rock hard since Sunday. To the people having to work today, my condolences. To the people not leaving their house, I am with you. To the people spending the day at your local watering hole cashing in on this adult version of a snow day, hit me up and let’s throw some back.
With that being said, I am going to take you on a trip down memory lane, Super Bowl XLI. The Bears vs the Colts, the #1 defense against the #1 offense, Rex Grossman vs the haters, this was a classic Midwest bash that had everyone in Indiana on the edge of their tractors.
Storylines:
The narrative going into this game was centered around the legacy of Peyton Manning. This is the period of time when the Brady-Manning argument was debated everywhere from the school playgrounds to Bill from accounting at the water cooler. Is he capable of winning the big one? Does he have the clutch gene when the lights are shining their brightest? The media was relentless in their coverage of the topic and it dominated the headlines all week.
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With this much on the line for Peyton, one could say that he would go as far as paying Rex Grossman (born and raised in Bloomington, Indiana) to throw the game. A storyline that got overshadowed was Brian Urlacher being the only man in history to pull off a barbed wire tattoo and not get made fun of for it. So without further ado, let us recap the game that should have ended with Urlacher hoisting the Lombardi trophy.
The Opening Kickoff:
Another big topic of discussion leading into the game was would the Colts kick it deep to the rookie phenom Devin Hester. Hester took the league by storm having 6 total return touchdowns on the year, which made up for about 85% of the Bears offense. Tony Dungy wanted to show that he had big brass balls and trusted his kickoff team to get the job done.
I was in 6th grade at the time and was quite the chunkster — my mom said I was just big boned so that made it all better. I remember just sitting down with a big plate of food and the kick return happened, everyone gets up and starts cheering and high-fiving, meanwhile I had the self-awareness of not wanted to spill any of my food, so I just stayed in place and screamed heck yeah Super Bowl, Super Bears! But why would they kick it to that man? I thought it was game over right then and there. I can’t help but wonder if Pat McAfee was the kickoff man instead of Vinatieri, would he have made the touchdown-saving tackle?
Game Recap:
The Bears have all the momentum right from jump street, and all the pressure is on the Golden Boy himself to get them back in the game. However, the Monsters of the Midway showed they were as good as advertised and put the pressure on him right away. Two of Manning’s first four passes were nearly intercepted, then Chris Harris makes a play.
Peyton seems a little nervous, but knowing that Sexy Rexy would be a man of his word kept him at ease. The Bears responded with a classic three-and-out, and now both teams have officially settled in the game.
When playing against great quarterbacks, getting constant pressure and making them as uncomfortable as possible is usually seen as a good strategy. Ron Rivera, then the Defensive Coordinator for the Bears, elected to not use this strategy. The gameplan was to sit back in a zone and trust that the front four could get the necessary amount of pressure throughout the game. Manning started picking the defense apart like he was Chris Kyle on a rooftop. We just watched the Chargers do the same against Tom Brady and the same result happened, just a head-scratcher of a gameplan to say the least. With that being the case the game remained close and at the end of the first half, the Colts lead the game 16-14.
Halftime Performance:
Do you want to talk about having the audience watching the performance on TV feel like they are at the stadium? Every female (and most males) were absolutely soaked from the waist down watching Prince do the damn thing in the rain. Also at this time, it is rumored that Manning took a page from Warden Hazen’s playbook in the Longest Yard and made sure Rex wasn’t going to back out of the deal.
Second Half:
With the weather coming into effect, the run game was a big part of the second half. Both teams had arguably two of the best centers of their era in Jeff Saturday and Olin Kreutz. Dominic Rhodes, off the bench, ended up with 113 rushing yards on 21 carries (what the fuck?). After going back and forth the third quarter produced three field goals (I miss being able to trust our kicker) and going into the fourth quarter the score was 22-17 Colts.
Now the stage was set for the Bears to add another Super Bowl to their storied franchise. It was all right there in front of them; the godlike status that the ’85 Bears players still have to this day in the city of Chicago, and the everlasting argument of whether Trent Dilfer or Rex Grossman was the worst quarterback to ever win a Super Bowl was at the tip of everyone’s tongue.
But then, 1st and 10 on the Bears 38-yard line…
And that ladies and gentlemen, is a wrap. Peyton is crowned a champion and his legacy is restored. Jim Irsay most likely went on an aggressive 6-month bender, and Brian Urlacher was left wondering if he had hair would that have propelled them to victory.
Not all stories have happy endings, and sometimes life just isn’t fair. But with all the evidence staring at you right in the face, I will ask the question just one more time. Did Peyton Manning pay off Rex Grossman to throw the Super Bowl? I’ll leave it for you to decide…
[THIS WAS CLEARLY SAID TONGUE IN CHEEK, IT’S OK TO HAVE A LAUGH]
