I like both teams, believe it or not. I don't have the prejudice against a Holmgren-coached team doing well. As for the Steelers, I got over most of my antipathy towards the team when the Cowboys trounced them in Super Bowl XXX. (I have a harder time getting over my dislike of Lynn Swann who is running as a Republican for governor in Pennsylvania.)
I love the hype of Super Bowl Sunday. I'm into all of it. The replaying of the highlights from every Super Bowl on ESPN, the funny commercials, the five-hour pre-game show. For one day I allow myself to forget what a mess professional (and semi-professional college) sports has become in our country and just enjoy the game.
No matter what teams are playing, no matter how overpaid or underpaid the players are, when the game is over, the winners are exultant and the losers are crushed. The game means a lot more than just a bigger paycheck to the players, too.
The Super Bowl has become an American holiday. It's where we Americans get to show the rest of the world what glitz, glamour, and achievement are all about, possibly in that order. And the best part of the holiday, it comes on a sunday, which means you slackers better be to work on time tomorrow.
Anyways, I digress from my original point. I think the Seahawks are going to pull the upset and win 27-16. I think both teams will feel each other out in the first half, swapping field goals. I think the game may come down to a final drive for the Steelers, only to have second-year quarterback Ben Roethlisberger try to force one. Seattle scores a touchdown shortly after the interception, effectively ending the game.
Oh, and I think Al Michaels makes the first gratuitous gambling reference in the second quarter.
