Editor’s Faceoff/Perfect Season or Super Bowl Ring?
Forgive me sports for I have sinned.
I plead guilty to jumping on a bandwagon in the first degree. God help me, I cannot cheer against the Indianapolis Colts anymore. I didn't like them at the beginning of the season. I didn't like them last week. I love them today.
And why not? Is it really such a crime? Eleven and O, five to go – I am witnessing history in the making.
Which is why if the Colts' head coach Tony Dungy pulls his starters after clinching home field advantage for the playoffs, I just might go Ron Artest on him. With a perfect record on the horizon and record book immortality in his grasp, Dungy is hinting that he would rest his starters for the playoffs instead of finishing off the rest of the league.
His reasoning behind this is that the team's goal is to win the Super Bowl – which is, well, the dumbest thing I ever heard. Do you know how many teams have had an undefeated regular season in the NFL? The Miami Dolphins did in 1972 and the Akron Pros kind of did in 1920 (6-0-3 record). Do you know how many teams have won the Super Bowl? Thirty-nine.
The Colts still have to play very good teams in their next five games. They have Jacksonville, San Diego and the Seahawks in Sea…but what am I saying? It's like the JV squad taking on the varsity. Make no mistake – the Colts will go undefeated if Dungy allows them to.
Against Cincinnati, the only game the Indy defense looked human, the offense rose to the occasion against a legitimate Bengal defense. The Steelers, a team considered by many to be the second-best in the AFC, looked downright frightened Monday night. The Colts aren't just winning every game, they're hurting feelings out there.
Every year, sports treat us to teams competing for the league championship. Once in a while sports treat us to something greater. In 1998 Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa captivated the country in the home run race. The Colts' perfect season would mean ever more than that because it's a team, rather than an individual accomplishment. Does anyone remember who won the Series in 1998?
The Super Bowl is great. Millions watching, good commercials, wardrobe malfunctions – it's all a blast. It also comes once a year. Teams this good, come once a lifetime. When history knocks, you answer your door.
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