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Dan Peters
Sports Editor
Suburban
Journals of Chicago
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The Bears at
the XLI Super Bowl in Miami Florida
©
Suburban Journals of Chicago photo by Dan Peters
Da Bears
season ends. Colts dominate second half, beat the Bears
29-17
by Dan
Peters
Peyton Manning finally got that huge monkey off his back tonight,
propelling the Colts to a stunning win at a cool and wet Dolphins
Stadium in Super Bowl XLI. The victory was the Colt’s first Super Bowl
victory since moving to Indianapolis in 1984. They won the Super Bowl
in 1971 as the Baltimore Colts.
Peyton Manning showed considerable poise and kept his team calm after
they fell behind early in the game. The trailed by 8 points in the
first quarter. But comebacks are what Peyton manning does best. One
only has to look at the AFC Championship Game.
The Bears on
the Field with Cirque du Soleil, before the start of the game.
Cirque du Soleil Put on a spectacular pre game presentation. The
presentation included six stilt performers who looked like striped NFL
officials atop flamingos. To keep the stadium grass from being damaged,
the performers had the bottom of thier stilts fitted with padding
resembling miniature shoes !!
©
Suburban Journals of Chicago photo by Dan Peters
“It’s hard to put it into words.” said Peyton Manning. “Nobody ever
gave up. We stayed stayed calm and we truly won this championship as a
team.”
Devin Hester’s homecoming to Florida made Super Bowl history. Never
before has a player returned a touchdown on an opening kickoff. His 92
yard return stunned the Colts and electrified the wet crowd at Dolphins
Stadium. This would prove to be one of the few exciting plays for the
Bears.
The Bears were able to electrify the wet crowd early, but were unable
to keep the early game momentum. The Ohio State college football team
can relate to this feeling.. On January 8 of this past year, Buckeye’s
Ted Ginn Jr ran the opening kickoff in the BCS National Championship
game 93 yards for a touchdown, but ultimately lost the game to Florida
41-14.
Bears get
introduced with a bang to the National Audience and Billy Joel Sings
the
National Anthem in front of 74,512 fans, plus millions at home.
©
Suburban Journals of Chicago photo by Dan Peters
Rookie Devin
Hester returned the opening kickoff 92 Yards for a touchdown, A
Super
bowl and team record.
©
Suburban Journals of Chicago photo by Dan Peters
Good Rex? Bad Rex? How about “Train Rex”
After having two good games for the Bears, advancing them to the Super
Bowl, most fans and media wondered which Rex Grossman would show up
tonight in Super Bowl XLI…
In the first quarter, “Good Rex” showed up. Grossman’s quarterback
rating was higher than Manning’s.
Rex Grossman
performed well early, but not enough to get the win. He did manage to
pick
up a million dollar bonus from the Bears for getting them to the Super
Bowl. One can only imagine what the bonus would have been had he won
the game. Maybe next year?.
©
Suburban Journals of Chicago photo by Dan Peters
In the second half, “Bad Rex” made his presence known, making critical
mistakes, costing the Bears any chance of mounting a comeback in this
game.
The defining moment of the game – Grossman threw a deep pass to Muhsin
Muhammad Early in the fourth quarter. The ball was under thrown and
seemed to be full of “air”. Kelvin Hayden intercepted the pass and ran
the ball 56 yards for the back breaking touchdown.
“I was giving Moose a chance to go up and battle on a hitch-and-go,”
Grossman said. “The corner got his eyes on it and made a good play on
it.”
Muhammad said he never had a chance at making the grab. “I was
expecting the ball in a certain place, and Rex threw it in a different
place.”
Through three quarters of play, Grossman, not Manning had the best
quarterback rating 104.5 to Peyton’s 86.2. That number changed quickly
with Grossman’s two fourth quarter interceptions.
Bad Rex & Train Rex …
Grossman himself was responsible for all five of the Bears turnovers.
The most crucial came in the fourth quarter when the Bears had a chance
to rally.
Maybe next
year?Wearing a teal suit with and orange shirt (Miami Dolphins colors)
Prince performed for the rain soaked crowd at halftime. No purple rain
or wardrobe malfunctions at this Super Bowl. At the age of
48, most considered Prince the most
risky performer since Justin Timberlake to perform at the big game. He
kept it
clean. He performed on stage shaped like his famous "symbol" and was
joined by a full
band including the sexy twins. He started by asking the crowd...
Are you all ready to get
nuts tonight?.. and started singing his hit "Lets go crazy" from his
famous "Purple Rain" album. Joining Prince was the Florida A&M
marching band which assisted him in "Baby I'm a star/Proud Mary melody.
Impressive indeed!!.
©
Suburban Journals of Chicago photo by Dan Peters
The first interception proved to be the back breaker. The Bears were
still alive and still in the game when Robbie “Pure” Gould cut the
deficit to 22-17 with a 44 yard field goal.
“I really don’t have any excuses,” Grossman said. We had a chance to
win the game.”
Grossman finished the game 20 for 28 for 165 yards, with no pass
completion going more than 22 yards. His final passer rating was 68.3
Another contributing factor was Grossman’s inability to take snaps in
key situations. “They were great snaps,” Grossman said. “It was just
sliding off my hands. I don’t know what to say.” He could blame the
weather as a contributing factor, but Peyton Manning did not have those
problems.
Despite a poor showing, Grossman’s team mates stood behind him. “Rex
brought us to the Super Bowl. Chicago hadn’t been in the Super Bowl in
21 years. They (media/fans) should back off.” Said defensive end Alex
Brown.
Peyton Manning
performed like a surgeon against the Bears Defense in Super Bowl XLI.
©
Suburban Journals of Chicago photo by Dan Peters
The better team won this Sunday with the better quarterback. Even with
the win, Manning did not seem thrilled as he greeted the media after
the game.
“It’s an emotional game,” MVP Manning said wearily. “I think
everybody’s pretty drained right now. It’s all happening pretty fast
right now. (But) I’m excited. It’s hit me.”
Manning finished the game 25 for 38 with one touchdown and one
interception.
Where oh where did the Bears Defense go?
No team can
expect to win a game turning over the ball. The Bears had 5 on the day.
The rain came down the whole game, at times quite heavy.
©
Suburban Journals of Chicago photo by Dan Peters
You can also say that the Bears ferocious defense stayed back in
Chicago where the temperatures were below zero, and that’s pretty much
what they did against a resurgent Colts defensive line. They rarely
pressured Manning, giving him all the time in the world. To find his
receivers and make key plays to bring the Colts to a halftime lead
16-14. And they never looked back.
Tony Dungy and Super Bowl history…
Tony Dungy made Super Bowl history by defeating his friend Lovie Smith
to become the first black coach to win a Super Bowl. At least Lovie
Smith holds the distinction of being the first African American head
coach to bring their team to the big show.
‘I’m proud to be a representative of African-American coaches and happy
to win this trophy,” Dungy said. He dedicated this victory to “Guys
that came before me, great coaches who could have done this if they had
got the opportunity.”
Just how bad was the weather??
A steady and persistent rain fell the entire game, another Super Bowl
first. It chased some fans away by halftime, forcing many to watch the
game in concourses on TV screens and made it miserable for those who
spent “big money” on tickets to the game. There were large pockets of
empty orange seats – an unusual sight at a Super Bowl where face values
of the tickets started at $600 a seat, with most fans paying double,
even triple that.
“It’s miserable,” said Pablo Santos, a meteorologist at the National
Weather Service’s Miami office
Even though less than a half inch of rain fell on Dolphin Stadium
throughout the game, the persistent drizzle along with a gusty
northeast wind gusting to over 21 mph made the game sloppy and soggy
for both fans and players alike.
Nearly everyone on both sidelines donned raincoats and jackets. Fans in
the stands wore either rain ponchos or garbage bags to keep from
getting drenched. Players often slipped on the natural grass turf. And
by halftime their uniforms were soaked.
By halftime, there were pools of empty “orange” seats throughout the
stadium – an unusual site at a Super Bowl where ticket prices started
at $600 face value, most fans paying double or triple that.
“Not worth it,” said Colts fan Scott Braley of Indianapolis as he and
his son, Scott Jr. left the game at halftime. “My kid is already
sneezing and coughing. Of all places for rain, would you think Miami?”
It could have been much worse had the game been played at Soldier field
in Chicago, where near record cold and winds produced bone chilling
below zero temperatures and wind chill.
Head coach Lovie Smith said “The last game, we played in snow,
sleet and rain. Referring to the NFC Championship game played at
Soldier Field in Chicago. “That’s Chicago Bears weather.”
From now on, nobody should ever mention “Bear weather” again. It really
is not a factor these days in football games.
Lovie Smith vows “ We will be back”, the question remains- will Lovie
Smith be back? Only time and a deep Bears budget will determine that
fate.
© Oak Park Journal photo
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