Monday, January 25, 2010

What's Going On In Between the Super Bowl Commercial: A Beginner's Guide- Part I

Ok- so I started this blog MANY months ago and never updated it, but NOW is the time! This will be the first in a several part, crash test in football. Everything you need to know to survive a Super Bowl Party!

Let's start with the basics- Who, What, When, Where, and Why

WHO
New Orleans Saints- This is the Saints' first Super Bowl appearance EVER. This is big news down in the bayou- expect to hear lots of stories comparing the Saint's trip to the Super Bowl with the city's recover from Hurricane Katrina.

You will also hear the expression "WHO DAT" a lot. This is the rallying cry of the Saints' and their fans- "Who dat say dey gonna beat dem Saints." Surely, a proud moment for all English teachers in New Orleans. ;)

The Saints are quarterbacked by Drew Brees. The team is coached by Sean Payton. Also, for a pop culture reference, the Saints' running back, Reggie Bush, is dating the-famous-for-no-apparent-reason, Kim Kardashian.

The Saints started their season 13-0, before losing the final 3 games of the regular season. They defeated the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings in the playoffs to make it here.

versus

Indianapolis Colts- The Colts are making their second Super Bowl appearance in 4 years. The Colts are lead by Peyton Manning. If you haven't at least heard of Peyton Manning, you probably haven't turned on a t.v. in the last 5 years. And I say this with nothing but love for Peyton, but he does appear in pretty much every single television commercial ever and he hosted SNL. Peyton is the son of former Saint's quarterback Archie Manning and Peyton is from New Orleans. But, no fears, Archie has already said that he'll be rooting for his son's Colts to win the big game. Expect to hear about this approximately 3 dozen times during the big game. Also, you'll see video footage or photos of young Peyton in a Saints' jersey.

The Colts' head coach is rookie coach Jim Caldwell, who is only the 5th first-year coach to make it to the Super Bowl. The Colts started the season 14-0 before losing to the New York Jets in a controversial move by the head coach to pull the starters to avoid injury and rest before the playoffs. Many Colts fans were disappointed as the team had a good chance of going undefeated for the year. The 1972 Miami Dolphins are the only NFL team to have remained undefeated for the whole season, including the playoffs, so going undefeated would surely have been a great feat to obtain. The Colts defeated the Baltimore Ravens and the aforementioned Jets in the playoffs.


This match-up is exactly the kind of match-up that the Super Bowl should be. The two top-ranked team in their divisions (AFC and NFC) make it to the championship game. Additionally, they are the two teams to go farthest in the season without losing. Add in some great human interest stories and you've got yourself the makings of a great game.

WHAT
Super Bowl XLIV (that's 44 for those who don't remember your roman numerals)

WHEN
Sunday, February 7th at 6:25 pm, EST, on CBS

WHERE
Sun Life Stadium,* Miami, Florida (Though the NFL is calling it "South Florida," I guess this is to make more of the state feel like they are included.)

*Be surprised if anyone other than NFL officials or CBS commentators call it Sun Life Stadium. More likely to be referred to as Joe Robbie, Pro Player, or Dolphin Stadium.

It was in this same stadium that the Colts won their last Super Bowl in 2007. The old Baltimore Colts won Super Bowl V in the Orange Bowl Stadium, also in Miami. Will history repeat itself?

WHY
The winner takes home the Vince Lombardi Trophy, bragging rights, and probably lots of $$$. This is what it all comes down to.


In our next installment, I'll start teaching you the basics of the game. If nothing, you'll come out of this with a basic understanding of the game to survive a Super Bowl party without dozing off in between the commercials. Hopefully, though, you'll come out with a greater appreciation of the game.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

You've left out the stadium's 8-month run as "Land Shark Stadium!" :)

Brenda said...

I will never refer to that stadium as anything but Joe Robbie Stadium. And I'm very much rooting for the Saints, partly to make up for my hoping they didn't break the Dolphins' record. :D