Here it is, one final look inside the crystal ball for this NFL season. My prediction for Super Bowl XLV between the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers this Sunday in Dallas.
My first prediction is that there will be dozens of shots of Jerry Jones as everyone gushes about the Jerry Dome. I also predict Jerry will do his best to smile and look like a happy, gracious host. Inside, though, he will be burning, ticked off that his grand plan was foiled. That plan, of course, was build the Jerry Dome, get the Super Bowl, have the Cowboys become the first team to host a Super Bowl in their home stadium, win the Lombardi Trophy. Rule the world!
Ah, but Jerry will just have to settle for the gracious host bit.
Anyway, what you really want to know is who will win the game. Green Bay is a 2.5-point favorite, and I have to believe the Packers are taking home the prize.
In all honesty, they just remind me so much of the 2007 Giants when they rolled into the Super Bowl as the No. 6 seed, a wild-card team that had to do all of its work on the road, and toppled the mighty New England Patriots.
Everything just seems to have fallen perfectly into place for the Packers, and I think this will be Aaron Rodgers' time to put himself firmly on the list of the game's great quarterbacks. Besides, unless you are a Steelers' fan, aren't you just a little tired of Ben Roethlisberger? And of the Steelers and their six Super Bowl titles.
It's time for somebody else to win, and I think this Sunday the Packers will do just that./
-- NFL odds
Championship Week: 1-1
Post-Season Record: 7-3