by Matthew D Homan
Philadelphia is scheduled to start the slaughter in a few minutes. Arizona will be stained red with the blood of the Cardinals. Arizona is the outsider in this all-east coast post-season, not to mention that they are by far the inferior team, regardless of the recent surprises. That’s all over now. Sorry Arizona. The fact stands that you exist in a mediocre division, the NFC west, and the in the east they play real football. But given how this season has gone, upsets all over the board that is, let’s pretend that Arizona has a chance.
On Arizona’s plate is the fact they have never (not once) been in a Super Bowl and have achieved two-thirds of their playoff victories this season. It would be another one of those fantastic Cinderella stories in a made-for-TV movie. The only scenario more dramatic will be next season when Brett Farve signs a coaching deal with the Lions and takes them all the way to the Super Bowl, something he could never do as a player. Mark my words, Unbelievers, it will happen. 2009 is the year.
But it’s all a fantasy. The Cardinals will never win today.
So the real question is who will play the Eagles in the Super Bowl, and whomever that team may be – Baltimore or Pittsburgh – they will win. McNabb and Westbrook don’t have a chance. If it’s Unitas’ Ravens, it will be an amazing game with a lot at stake. Joe Flacco has already made some amazing history, being the only rookie quarterback to win two playoff games, and will no doubt be an asset next season, no matter the outcome today. But can you imagine the Flacco being the first rookie quarterback to win a Super Bowl? They will riot in the streets.
Philadelphia’s road through the playoffs has been arduous, but McNabb has proved himself a Hall-of-Fame worthy veteran quarterback. No one expected them to get as far as they did. The poetry of a Philadelphia Super Bowl berth, and, dare I say a win?, is too tempting to avoid thinking about. Whoever wins the NFC Championship today, I’m hoping they go all the way. For Pittsburgh to win it all is standard, but for one of the NFC contenders to win is justice.
Now for Eli Manning’s suspected contract; that $110-$130 million contract to be negotiated by the Giants sometime during 2009. Eli will join the handful of quarterbacks to be paid that ridiculous amount to play football. And with the economy the way it is (ominous and getting deadly), writers have been asking if New York can even pull this off, given the amount of cash exchanging hands. But is that the real question to be asked? Really, should this deal go down? Is it proper for a 28-year-old quarterback to take over $100 million for a seven or eight year contract when you take into consideration the state of the economy? So many fans of the NFL are working class people, who if not already kicked in the face by the foul economic situation of America they soon will be. Is it fair to them? They are already overpaying for tickets, jerseys, and NFL channels. Maybe Eli could take the high road and settle for a mere $90 million, or maybe even rough it a bit and take $80 million. People would call him a saint.
All this contract and economy news has prompted me to make an important life decision: I’m going to start playing the lottery. I figure if I have a percentage of chance to make a fraction of what NFL players make per-contract by purchasing a little ticket with some numbers on it, I should jump at the opportunity. Things are bad and getting worse, people. You’ll be wishing you did the same.
Predictions (I predict boring games):
Championships: Philly by 10, Baltimore by 2
Super Bowl XLIII: Baltimore by 1