Play by Play 

3rd quarter - Score is at 16-14 for the Colts.

The game is running away from the Bears. The Colts rushing is wreaking havoc and even the Bears heavy defense can’t get a hand on the white shirts. Not just slippery balls but slippery shirts. For a great defense, the Colts are making the Bears look like they need to go back to school just to learn how to land a solid tackle. The Bears offensive line isn’t looking so hot either.

Two quick field goals from nice offensive field movement from the Colts. Suddenly its 22-14 for the Colts. 

Good field recovery from the punt, an unnecessary roughness penalty from the Colts and suddenly the Bears have good field advantage. They really are gutting it down. Grossman isn’t a Beyonce but I can’t help but cheer for this future non-Hall of Famer. Bears are at the 31! Grossman tries a long pass but feels too much heat from the Colts defense and throws it nowhere. Grossman fails to convert the 3rd down even when it looked like he was clear to get to a first down! FG attempt good by Gould at 42 yards. That’s the type of FG heroics we see from Vinatieri so Gould is holding his own. 22-17 Colts. A minute to go in the 3rd and the Bears get something on the board for the first time after half-time.

Good return by the Colts to get them to their 35 yard line. Damn! Colts hit a wall and get pushed back. Long throw looks good. Field judge said he’s out of bounds! Important call challenged by the Colts and lost but Coach Dungy rechallenges! Big moment. OVERTURNED! He’s in and the catch counts. Colts are 3 down and 2. What a pivotal call! And the Colts are back, running and passing around the Bears and inside Bear territory.

Break for the 4th. How are the Bears hanging on? That’s my question of the night. The Colts are looking absolutely super dominant, offensively and defensively, and yet the Bears are still doing something. Grossman gets them barely back into FG position but it’s still good enough. Good enough… that’s what?

4th quarter

Quick penalty to the Colts for false starting. Loss of 5 yards. The Bulls really need to shut them down! Ridiculous amounts of false start penalties but hello Peyton Manning. What a yapper blabber. Bears time out and let’s see how they start the 4th. It’s sooooo important for them to really pay attention to just this play movement and keep the Colts from running forwards on their 3rd quarter momentum. What on earth. It’s like that sand-bagging scene in the The River where Sissy Spacek and Mel Gibson are madly laying down bags but then the river just gets the better of them. Difference is, the defensive linebackers on the Bears are really looking sandbagged. Manning looks like he’s looking for Steve Young type big passes. Buddy, you may be Peyton Manning but Marvin Harrison is not Jerry Rice. Wait… Harrison is smashed and wobbles off the field. BIG NEWS. Colts with a wounded leg is exactly what the Bears are looking for for dinner. Oh well… it looks like Harrison’s ambulatory again.

Bears possession. Excellent pass reception for a good gain by Muhammad…. but OH NO… dreadful pass… Hayden intercepts and it’s a touchdown for the Colts. GAME OVER. Challenged by the Bears but whatever. I think I can start brushing my teeth now. Bad play call by Grossman. Poor guy. 29-17 Colts. Bears need two touchdowns with 11 minutes to go. Possible? Yes. Probable? As probable as finding a Frenchman who speaks English with no accent when you need one. This is terrible for the Bears because Grossman’s error has cost them all momentum.

Sometimes I wonder if these instinctive motions to start new paragraphs is linked to these terrible Bears turnovers.

Bears on their 40 yard line and Grossman gets intercepted again. I wish I had some Wild Turkey. Face is looking like guacamole. 6th turnover and this is how, my friends, you lose a Superbowl. A really good talent for throwing interceptions. But in all fairness, what else do you try when you’re in the 4th quarter and you need two touchdowns? Perhaps he should take a page from Brady and go for shorter less ambitious passes but his coach is panicking on the side. Peyton Manning up to pass… yawn… Manning didn’t win this game so much as the Bears lost it to the Colts great defensive team. Manning has an unproductive series of downs and now we get a time-out. 9 minutes to go and two touchdowns needed.

Hey! People are leaving the stadium. Dudes… you get tickets to the Superbowl and you leave early? Damn… sucks to be a wet Bear tonight. Closeup of Grossman’s face. Lucky there’s rain. If he starts crying, no one will no better. Awwww… Grossman, dude, chill. There’s always going to be someone who dies in a Superbowl. At least you’ll be telling your grandkids on Mars about how you played a NFL game in Miami before it was covered in water. Punt called with Manning having a useless outting… finally! C’mon Hester… let’s see the legend again!

Hester gets a mediocre return. Grossman is talking to his offensive coordinator and, while he’s looking straight at him, the dude is not looking back. No eye contact. I’d fire that offensive coordinator right now. You never break the team before the game is over. He’s your quarterback and if you don’t show him any confidence, he’s not going to find it from a Black Hole of staring out at a wet field. Oh… trivia: Tony Dungy will become the first black coach to win the Superbowl! Hey hey!

Play resumes. Bears on their 25th. Nothing really happening. Good field movement for a first down Bears but the clock is still counting down! Bears crunching up the field but still fail to get a first down. Clock stopped, not from Jones, but from a Colts injury. 4th and 10 and the Bears have no other option but to go for it. Incomplete. Grossman made a good pass but slammin’ tackle knocks the ball out. Death nells ringing.

Harrison is out but I don’t see the Colts throwing much. They’ll want to just keep their hands on the ball now. Rhodes is doing his thing and this seems so academic now. Maybe Manning will shoot for glory and go for a big Harrison pass. I’d try it with 3 minutes to go. But maybe he wants Rhodes to run it in? So, question… who’s the MVP? Rhodes? Addai? Ooops… Rhodes hits a dead Bear wall and loses around 8 yards… but there’s a flag. Holding by the offense? Ok… whatever. I’m going to hit the return button and pray for some weird Bear momentum.

2 minute warning. Rhodes goes nowhere. 4th down. FG time or shoot for TD? They go for the TD and Rhodes is shut down. Bears ball at their 17th. Do I need to keep saying tall order? Do I need to remind you how impossible this situation is? Well, not for much longer.  First down by the Bears but the clock keeps ticking. Grossman, throw to the side. Damn… his receiver doesn’t step out of bounds. We need to start asking ourselves what colour Gatorade looks good on Dungy. Another good first down by the Bears but the clock is ticking. More movement up the field and hey… the Gatorade was water! Dungy is wet… and it’s over.

It’s over. It’s over. Peyton Manning and the Colts have won the Superbowl. Dungy wins his first Superbowl in 11 seasons. Congrats tough guy. It has to be bittersweet after the tragic loss of his son last year. I want to weep but no. I’d like to say this is more a Dungy victory than a Manning triumph. Manning, for me, still hasn’t proven his mettle and given his team the dominant and legendary win that Brady did his first Superbowl. OK. A Superbowl is still a Superbowl but for a player of his stats and reputation the numbers weren’t amazing in the Final.

The pivotal moment of the game? Grossman’s 4th quarter interception throw. Buttafingers didn’t decide the game so much as bad Bear passing. If I am Rex Grossman, I wouldn’t pick up the phone, listen to the radio, read the newspaper or watch TV, let alone go to the Supermarket, for awhile. Stinker and possibly psychologically terminal for a young quarterback, Grossman’s performance was the type of thing quarterbacks have nightmares about. Not the greatest Superbowl I’ve ever seen. Peyton Manning gets the MVP and gets a red Caddy. I wouldn’t say he’s the MVP. Sometimes, the team that wins wins because there isn’t an MVP but I’d like to give a special trophy to Lovey Smith for having a great smile and Joseph Addai for pulling the Colts back when they needed it. Pey-Day for the Colts, and on that bad joke, I’m signing off.