Billion-Dollar Ballpark, Penny-Pinching Poster

If I didn't know any better, I'd say this poster was for an R/V Show.

The unveiling of next season's Super Bowl logo is always a neat little event during the buildup to the current game, as it provides conversation material and even a goal for the 30 teams on the sidelines and their fans. Depending on one's aesthetic tastes, the logo can be a contentious issue, like the response to the flying Arizona of Super Bowl XLII -I wasn't a fan at first, but it's kinda nifty now.

But the drab colors and flat-angle shot of Jerry World are thoroughly uninspiring, and don't do the pomp and circumstance of the Super Bowl justice. The scary part is this could become the standard for successive logos, which kills the uniqueness of each venue and season. And ss the game yesterday proved, fortune favors the bold, like on Sean Payton.

Whether it's going for it on 4th and 1.5 yards on the goal line or the unprecedented onside kick to open the second half, Sean Payton went for broke like a riverboat gambler -even Rex Ryan could have learned from this, as evidenced by the ill-fated 54-yard attempt by Jay Feely in the AFC title game. The Colts were bottling up the Saints' rushing attack early on, so Payton went to his bread and butter of slants, motions and quick throws before the markers for YAC gains as MVP Drew Brees -he didn't sign with the Saints because he wanted to save New Orleans, the Dolphins just slapped him in the face- carved up the Colts' secondary after the first quarter.

Speaking of bold, Gregg Williams' big words and insistence on blitzing finally paid off after 3-3/4 quarters of getting shredded by Peyton Manning thanks to a pass rush that opened up an opportunity for Tracy Porter to jump a go-to route and seal the game. You could say the Saints played a great game of rope-a-dope, giving up major chunks of yards but saving their penchant for opportunistic turnovers at the most crucial moment of the game.

So congratulations to the Saints, and thanks to their exploits, how can the fans of other tortured teams not think 'why not us?'

P.S. Solid games from tha UUUUU alums Shockey and Mangini-castoff Vilma played big roles too. |_ _|