Taking Sides Again
I’ve thought about going to Vegas for Super Bowl weekend for a few years now. I’ve heard that there is a pretty cool buzz around the city for the big game and I could imagine that watching it at the Caesar’s sportsbook would be a lot of fun. Unfortunately the closest that I’ve gotten is meeting up with some grad school friends to watch the conference championships back in 2003.
That was the year the Oakland Raiders made it to the Super Bowl to face off against Tampa Bay. My friends and I watched the Raiders beat the Tennessee Titans and Bucs beat the Eagles at the Bellagio. We had hoped to watch the games at the sportsbook as we had other sporting events on other trips. Unfortunately we showed up late and there was no room. Fortunately the casino set aside an area near a bar to watch the game. It was a lot of fun to hear the fans for the different teams cheering as the games went back and forth, particularly the Raiders fans. One of my friends was a Raiders fan and was one of the louder spectators.
I don’t actually remember whom I was rooting for or even remember what I bet on. I do remember my other friend AbogadosDeNegros betting on the Raiders and Tampa Bay hoping to jinx them because he wanted to see two black quarterbacks, Donovan McNabb and Steve McNair, in the Super Bowl. Of course since my friend ADN has the anti-Midas touch both McNabb and McNair lost, but at least he made a little money to console himself with. It was a great experience and I would definitely recommend it, especially if you don’t want to the pay $25 a hand to play blackjack on Super Bowl weekend.
This weekend I’ll be watching the games from home instead of from Vegas. But that won’t stop me from picking sides so without further ado, here’s who I’ll be rooting for this weekend.
New Orleans Saints at Chicago Bears
Even though I was rooting for the Eagles last week, I really was happy to the Saints advance. As I mentioned last week, I’m a fan of both Drew Brees and Reggie Bush. I’m not sure how much their success has helped restore the city of New Orleans, but it’s nice to see that an area that was hit so hard by one of the most devastating natural disasters in this country’s history get a small reason to celebrate. So how can I not cheer for the Saints this weekend, especially when they are facing the team that cost me a fantasy league playoff spot, the Chicago Bears.
On paper, I really do think that the Saints are the better team and if they faced off against the Bears on a neutral field, the Saints would probably win. Unfortunately this game will be played in Chicago and the weather forecast is calling for snow and a high of 30 degrees on Sunday. The Saints play indoors in the infamous Superdome at home and it generally seems that dome teams don’t play well on the road in January. Sure there have been recent exceptions to the rule like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the aforementioned 2003 NFC championship game against the Eagles in Philadelphia. There was also the Falcons/Packers game in Green Bay back in 2002 when people still thought Michael Vick would be the next great quarterback. So it’s not inconceivable that the Saints will win, they’ll just have one more obstacle to overcome with the weather.
New England Patriots at Indianapolis Colts
I really do dislike Peyton Manning. There’s just no getting around it. I didn’t think it was possible but Manning found a new way to increase my disdain for him. After the Colts win last week, in which the Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri scored all the points for his team, Manning actually complained that he should get more credit for the team’s win since he gets all the blame when the team loses. That was truly pathetic. If you want the credit, throw a couple of touchdown passes and don’t get picked off. If you don’t want the blame, don’t play like a loser as you have in the past in big games. I don’t see Vinatieri or Marvin Harrison in all those Mastercard or Gatorade commercials. You’re the team’s quarterback. Act like it.
Despite how much I loathe Manning I still am going to have support the Colts this weekend because I do like Vinatieri, Harrison, and the team’s coach Tony Dungy. I also want to see the Patriots humbled a little bit, especially since they weren’t willing to pay Vinatieri what he wanted and let him walk away as a free agent after he had done so much for the team. This is probably the Colts' best chance to finally beat the Pats, but if I were putting money down on the game, I would probably put in on the Pats. That’s how little confidence I have in Peyton Manning. But I’m still going to root for him and the Colts and hope that he finally learned how to play in January when it counts.
That was the year the Oakland Raiders made it to the Super Bowl to face off against Tampa Bay. My friends and I watched the Raiders beat the Tennessee Titans and Bucs beat the Eagles at the Bellagio. We had hoped to watch the games at the sportsbook as we had other sporting events on other trips. Unfortunately we showed up late and there was no room. Fortunately the casino set aside an area near a bar to watch the game. It was a lot of fun to hear the fans for the different teams cheering as the games went back and forth, particularly the Raiders fans. One of my friends was a Raiders fan and was one of the louder spectators.
I don’t actually remember whom I was rooting for or even remember what I bet on. I do remember my other friend AbogadosDeNegros betting on the Raiders and Tampa Bay hoping to jinx them because he wanted to see two black quarterbacks, Donovan McNabb and Steve McNair, in the Super Bowl. Of course since my friend ADN has the anti-Midas touch both McNabb and McNair lost, but at least he made a little money to console himself with. It was a great experience and I would definitely recommend it, especially if you don’t want to the pay $25 a hand to play blackjack on Super Bowl weekend.
This weekend I’ll be watching the games from home instead of from Vegas. But that won’t stop me from picking sides so without further ado, here’s who I’ll be rooting for this weekend.
New Orleans Saints at Chicago Bears
Even though I was rooting for the Eagles last week, I really was happy to the Saints advance. As I mentioned last week, I’m a fan of both Drew Brees and Reggie Bush. I’m not sure how much their success has helped restore the city of New Orleans, but it’s nice to see that an area that was hit so hard by one of the most devastating natural disasters in this country’s history get a small reason to celebrate. So how can I not cheer for the Saints this weekend, especially when they are facing the team that cost me a fantasy league playoff spot, the Chicago Bears.
On paper, I really do think that the Saints are the better team and if they faced off against the Bears on a neutral field, the Saints would probably win. Unfortunately this game will be played in Chicago and the weather forecast is calling for snow and a high of 30 degrees on Sunday. The Saints play indoors in the infamous Superdome at home and it generally seems that dome teams don’t play well on the road in January. Sure there have been recent exceptions to the rule like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the aforementioned 2003 NFC championship game against the Eagles in Philadelphia. There was also the Falcons/Packers game in Green Bay back in 2002 when people still thought Michael Vick would be the next great quarterback. So it’s not inconceivable that the Saints will win, they’ll just have one more obstacle to overcome with the weather.
New England Patriots at Indianapolis Colts
I really do dislike Peyton Manning. There’s just no getting around it. I didn’t think it was possible but Manning found a new way to increase my disdain for him. After the Colts win last week, in which the Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri scored all the points for his team, Manning actually complained that he should get more credit for the team’s win since he gets all the blame when the team loses. That was truly pathetic. If you want the credit, throw a couple of touchdown passes and don’t get picked off. If you don’t want the blame, don’t play like a loser as you have in the past in big games. I don’t see Vinatieri or Marvin Harrison in all those Mastercard or Gatorade commercials. You’re the team’s quarterback. Act like it.
Despite how much I loathe Manning I still am going to have support the Colts this weekend because I do like Vinatieri, Harrison, and the team’s coach Tony Dungy. I also want to see the Patriots humbled a little bit, especially since they weren’t willing to pay Vinatieri what he wanted and let him walk away as a free agent after he had done so much for the team. This is probably the Colts' best chance to finally beat the Pats, but if I were putting money down on the game, I would probably put in on the Pats. That’s how little confidence I have in Peyton Manning. But I’m still going to root for him and the Colts and hope that he finally learned how to play in January when it counts.
posted by The Pocho at 12:57 PM
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