I’ve yet to write a post-Super Bowl piece yet. I was going to say a few things last week, but never got around to it. Here’s a few things.

The game itself was not terribly exciting. It started off with a bang - just like the BCS title game - with an opening kickoff returned for a touchdown by the Bears. My first thought was “Ohio State”. I thought the Colts might run the Bears off the field at that point. And were it not for a few turnovers, they may have. But sloppy weather made the game a little sloppy and less exciting. The Colts dominated, it seemed to me, but the score didn’t show it as much.

Unfortunately, the commercials are no longer an attraction. It used to be that they were better than the game. Now, even during a relatively boring game like this year, the commercials don’t help. There were a few good ones, but overall they were underwhelming.

I wouldn’t have expected to say this, but I’ve actually had a little bit of a change of heart regarding Peyton Manning. I’ve never liked him over the years. I began “not” liking him during his college years at Tennessee, primarily because he played for Tennessee. I haven’t really cared for him as a professional, either. I thought he threw his offensive line under the bus after last year’s playoff loss. Even though some said that was uncharacteristic of him, that didn’t help me like him any more. (Although, I will admit a few of his commercials have been pretty good.)

However, seeing him finally “win the big one” (twice, if you count the New England game), I have to say I felt good for him (but not too much.) I’m not sure why. I can’t explain it. Perhaps it’s the same reason I felt a little bit good for someone else a couple of years ago. His name was Roy Williams (and I can’t believe I’m actually admitting this.) As a Duke fan, I hate to see UNC win. But, Roy’s a good guy, a great coach, and I was glad he finally got rid of that “best coach to never win it all” title, even if it meant Rashad McCants got to be a national champion. The same with Manning, I guess. It was kind of nice to see him have that weight lifted and take home the big prize. No matter my feelings for him, he is a great quarterback, and one of the best ever already, IMO. And now people won’t have to question it.

It was even better to see Tony Dungy win it all. A lot has been made about his Christian faith and what role that played in his coaching and his life. I’m not glad he won because he’s a Christian like me, but rather because he appears to be a great man, and one of character and integrity. Not to mention the adversity in his family’s life near the end of the previous season, when his son died. I’m glad he won because you like to see nice guys finish first. He’s the kind of guy that you feel deserves to win.

Of course, he’s also the kind of guy who’s life is complete even if he doesn’t. In a Men’s Fraternity study that a large group of us have been going through at my workplace, we watched a couple of video’s the last 2 weeks regarding Dungy and his faith, which also included some of his players talking about their own faith and Dungy’s impact on them. The second, this past Friday, was his speech at the 2006 Super Bowl Breakfast last year, when the Colts were not in the game. He talks about his coaching, his family and his faith. It was a great speech and I sought it out on YouTube. It’s about 17 minutes total. Following is the speech, in two parts (I think the YouTube limit is 10 minutes, thus the two parts.)

Part 1:

Part 2: