One Super Bowl Preview with a side of apathy

Does it make me a bad sports fan if I don’t care about the Super Bowl matchup? I know the league likes to have its two-week break between the Conference Championships and the Super Bowl, but the loss of momentum is pretty noticeable. Sure, the teams can get a little healthier. And yes, all the journos will have an extra week to dig up all those great stories we care so little about. Larry Fitzgerald’s dad is a sportswriter? Awesome! The Arizona coach used to coach at Pittsburgh, and now has a chance for revenge? Sweet!

The truth is that no amount of stories can make up for a crappy game. Last year’s game was a classic, but of the last ten Super Bowls only half have been decided by a touchdown or less. And even that doesn’t make it a good game. I consider myself a decently knowledgeable NFL fan, but I had completely forgotten that the Eagles had even played in a Super Bowl just a few years ago, so clearly not a memorable game. In retrospect, the only thing I remember is the “McNabb throwing up in the huddle” controversy.

Arizona is riding a nice wave of momentum, but I have to think that the extra week off is going to destroy that. Pittsburgh’s defense is clearly one of the best, if not the best, in the league, and I don’t see them getting shredded like Philly or Atlanta. Either way, this game is going to be a blowout. If Pittsburgh’s defense gets going, Big Ben will only need a couple of touchdown drives to salt away the game. If Arizona gets a few quick scores early in the game, the Steelers are screwed because they aren’t built to come from behind. So, with that overly simplistic analysis, I predict a blowout for one of the teams, and therefore, a crappy game.

You might think this is leading towards one of those “I’ll be more interested in the commercials than the game”, but no. And I hate those people. You’re really going to spend four hours to watch commercials? Unless you’re a girl and have to watch the game with your boyfriend/husband, don’t bother. Hopefully I’ll end up somewhere with free beer, and the night won’t be a total loss.