Super Bowl Thoughts

Brucie: Some musings on why the Steelers opened as 3 1/2 point favorites...

First, there is the AFC factor. It is probably not terribly controversial to assert that throughout the season, football fans looked at the best the AFC had to offer and came up with at least four teams (Pats, Broncs, Colts, Steelers) that could be conference champions and who would be favored to beat anyone the NFC could offer. The NFC had the Seahawks, who emerged as the best team, and a collection of this-and-that, none of whom seemed to be legitimate conference champions, let alone be able to compete with the best of the AFC. So when Pittsburgh emerged from the AFC, I think they benefited from this notion that if they were good enough to represent a conference with the defending champ Patriots, the almost unbeaten Colts, and the tough-at-home Broncos, there must be something to them.

Next I think they benefit from not having been overexposed. I haven't seen them play a lot this year, and the thing that impressed me was the team speed, particularly on defense. Maybe my mind is stuck on the image of the Steelers as the big, bad, smash-mouth team that even had 260-pound LBs for gosh sakes, but to see them fly around the field on defense was a real eye-opener. (OK, I'll admit to a senior moment: I am blanking on the huge LB, who, I am embarrassed to admit, played for the Eagles - I am sure it'll come to me, but right now, all I can come up with is his first beginning with "L").

(UPDATE: I got it: Levon Kirkland)

I also remember thinking that Roethlisberger was decidedly unimpressive in the post-season last year (which is true), so seeing him perform so well this year makes fans think that last year was much more than a fluke or a rookie aberration.

Finally, there is the dominance of the NFC by the Eagles over the past four years. Without them in the title game, it seems as if Seattle is getting in on the cheap, without having had to dethrone the champs. Moreover, aside from Shawn Alexander, who has name recognition on the Seahawks? Matt Hasselbeck is viewed with suspicion, and the rest of the club is a big unknown. The Steelers, by contrast, at least conjure up images of Super Bowl victories, even if they are 26 years old.

So I think you put that all together and in the betting public's eye, the Steelers are the favorites. I think they will win, but it wouldn't shock the heck out of me should Seattle win. Anyway, that's my best effort at explaining why the game opened with a decidedly pro-Pittsburgh line. Oh, that and Rush Limbaugh is a Steelers fan!