NFL Picks: Super Bowl

Packers! Ste$*%#@! Super Bowl 45!

I love the Super Bowl so much that not even the presence of my all-time least favorite organization can bring me down. It's time to party! I'll issue an abbreviated version of my typical commentary on the scale and epicness of the Super Bowl, which is as follows:

If you say that the Super Bowl is "overhyped" or "overblown" or anything like that, then you are a straight-up idiot. It's the single most important sporting event in the nation - would you rather we just sip Diet Coke and watch a condensed version of the game on the Versus network? Anyone who complains about the size and scale of the SB is just looking for something to whine about and has not in any way thought through their point.

OK, onto the Packers versus whoever. I had the only misfire from the Conference Championships, as everyone else went 2-0 and picked up a game on me because I picked the Jets. I did, as I explained, pick the ste*&$%# in my straight-up pool, and thus remain in 1st place there. More on that later.


Conference Championships
Andy: 1-1
Figgs: 2-0
Nick: 2-0
Bucko: 2-0
Gopo: 2-0

Nick's Money Picks ($): 1-0


Playoffs so far
Gopo: 8-2
Bucko: 7-3
Andy: 7-3
Nick: 6-4
Figgs: 4-6

Nick's Money Picks ($): 2-4
Figgs' Money Picks ($): 1-4


Super Bowl XLV

Sunday 6:30ish
PACKERS (-2.5) vs Ste$%^&*
Andy: The Green Bay Packers! I have a number of disorganized thoughts, and I demand you read through all of them before seeing what any of the other FCF'ers wrote. First off, I couldn't be happier for Bucko - after almost nine long, arduous months of being a long-suffering Packers fan, enduring those five or whatever games they lost this season, he'll finally realize that elusive dream he's had for literally hundreds of days: to see his team at long last reach the Super Bowl. I feel like as a Cleveland fan I can sort of understand what he's gone through on his way to the promised land, what with my never having seen a Cleveland team win a title and watching the Browns win 0 playoff games in the past 15 seasons, but that seems like small potatoes compared to Bucko's journey to this point.

Second, I couldn't be happier for Gopo - after seeing his favorite NHL team win the Stanley Cup two years ago, watching his favorite NBA team win six titles in the '90's and currently sitting among the league's elite, having his city's MLB team win the latest World Series, and enjoying his favorite NFL team claiming two of the past five Super Bowls, he'll at long last get the chance to see a team of his...maybe win yet another one. It's about time he got to experience that championship feeling...again, after that traumatic drought of nearly two years. That has to have been tough but Gopo always puts on a brave face. Hey, can you start rooting for the Indians so they'll be guaranteed to win the World Series numerous times? You're a good luck charm!

As for the Packers pick - I'm hedged yet again by having taken Pittsburgh straight-up in my other pool. I honestly do think they'll win - the breaks always seem to go their way and they'll pull out some bullshit to win, I just know it. I won't have them cost me both my sanity and my money - it's gotta be one or the other. Of course they'll still probably fuck me over with a meaningless late TD or something so I lose on the total points tiebreaker (I went with 38 because the most common NFL score is 21-17 and I think the o/u of 44.5 is set a bit high for the #1 and #2 scoring defenses in the NFL), but I gave it my best shot. As for taking the Pack here - well, Gopo leads me by a game in our Postseason Prognosticating, and this is my only chance to grab a share of the lead. Believe me when I say I would be more than happy to lose my shot at the prize money in the other pool to have Pittsburgh lose, so I say without reservation: Go Pack!

Figgs: I immediately was going to pick against shitsburgh, no matter what. Then I saw the line at GB -2.5, and thought the smart money was for sure on that team down south. Then I thought about it for a minute. I may be a drunk, a sexist, a womanizer, and a degenerate gambler, but I have a little thing called pride. PACKERS!

Nick: I will not sacrifice the Super Bowl. We've made too many compromises already; too many retreats. They invade our space, and we fall back. They assimilate entire Ohio counties, and we fall back. Not again. The line must be drawn HERE! This far, no farther! And I will make them pay for what they've done! Packers.

Bucko: Packers, a pick literally phoned in to Andy. He actually txted "Put me down for the Packers and Rodgers MVP."

Gopo: Steelers. Can't pick against the team at this point, but I'm confident of a strong Steelers game either way. That doesn't mean they'll win, but I think this team will be prepared to play and will play hard the entire time. I can't see this being a blowout by either team as Andy pointed out the defenses have been strong all season in keeping their teams in the game. Both teams have also shown an inability to put teams away when they're up - that leads me to believe this game will come down the last half of the fourth quarter. I also think that the under is the way to go if you're into wagering on such things - Super Bowls generally start out with a slow first quarter, so you're basically betting on the teams scoring 40 points in three quarters. The injuries to the Steelers o-line might decide the game, but that group has rallied all year. I won't be surprised to see them pull it together one more time, but I also wont be surprised for them to finally fold. It's been a good run, and I didn't think this team would get here; I'm hoping for a well played game that Pittsburgh finds a way to pull out. If the D or O can make a key play in the fourth, that might be enough to steal this one. Either way, should be a fantastic game. Go Steelers!

Nick's Bets
Aaron Rodgers for MVP (7/5)