souper bowl

Since I have a sports blog, I owe it to my loyal readers to make a post about THE BIG GAME. After all, the best sports writing comes out during this time of year. Every columnist has something to write about. To me, reading these articles adds to the tension in the air right before kickoff. I decided to geek out a bit and run through some stats and articles about the soon-to-be epic matchup on Sunday.

First, let me reference sports analyst Woody Paige’s great article in the Denver Post. He writes about Archie Manning (Peyton’s father) and how he moved his family to New Orleans to play football. Archie is on both sides of the fence. He would love to see the Saints win their first Super Bowl and bring ‘dancing’ back to Bourbon street as well as his son win another championship. This is an intriguing back story.

Now for the fun.

(I could not find indoor stats for both teams’ offense.)

Stat 1: The Saints have only had 7 playoff appearances, this run is the only conference championship won in franchise history.

Stat 2: The Indianapolis Colts have the 5^th ranked defense this playoffs.

Stat 3: The Saints had the #1 offense in the regular season and now sit at 7^th in the postseason.

Stat 4: The Saint have 132 penalties yards this playoffs.

Stat 5: The Colts have allowed the fewest sacks this season.

Stat 6: The Colts have scored three touchdowns this season on turnovers and kick returns; the Saints have scored 10.

Ill stop there.

I understand stats do not necessarily say anything. Anything could happen this Sunday. Injuries, illnesses and other unforeseen circumstances can alter the outcome. We have all seen the ProLine commercials that prove this but I still would bet on the Colts to win, simply based on their approach. To quote ESPN Page 2’s Gregg Easterbrook (to whom I borrowed a couple stats) “The Colts approach football like a machine. The Saints approach it like a party.” It is a true clash of styles. Read his article at: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=easterbrook/100202&sportCat=nfl. But I advise. Only read what he has to say about sports nothing else. I have no idea why Miss America is in this week’s edition of Tuesday Morning Quarterback. Anyway, this Sunday will be a big offensive shootout with highlight reel poised to be a youtube classic.

So with further adieu start placing your bets for Sunday now.