From Peyton and the Colts' masterful season (and his place in history), to the Saints rising from the ashes, any good horse will be beaten long after death.
But what are a few interesting factoids and trivia bits not flooded into the media gates? Those can often escape from a media attack by their lack of meat for journalists to bite into. Without further adieu, here's a few of the subtler stories regarding the upcoming Super Bowl.
New Orleans wide receivers, for example, have shown a penchant for avoiding the traditionally high jersey numbers for wideouts. Courtney Roby, Robert Meachem, Lance Moore, and Devery Henderson all wear teen numbers. Marquis Colston goes one lower, with a quarterback-esque number 12.
Among those Saints wideouts, Devery Henderson went to LSU without intent to play football. Going to school via a track and field scholarship, he was told by the school to try out for football. The net result was a national championship and an SEC record for touchdowns in a season.
Garrett Hartley, not even on the team as the season started, is used to high-scoring offenses. In high school he once was called on to kick 90 extra points in one season. Paired with 14 field goals, he put the ball through the uprights 104 times in that single year.
Jim Irsay has long been integrated into the Colts team. Some years after his father Bob purchased the team in 1972, Jim worked at the ticket counter. He made good on family-based career advancement by working his way to GM within two years. The Irsay family's initial investment in the Colts: $15 million. The current team worth: a little over $1 billion, or half of what Avatar banked worldwide.
Some coaches are built to coach college. Nick Saban and Steve Spurrier can attest. There's a different mindset that makes managing one set much easier than another. Jim Caldwell appears to have gone the opposite route. While coaching Wake Forest, Caldwell racked up a career 26-63 record. That .292 win percentage has been turned on its head so far in the pros, with his first season currently running at .888 (16-2).
Manning family connections extend beyond the simple Archie-Saints storyline. Peyton Manning has one older brother, Cooper. The 35-year-old eldest Manning sibling was forced to forgo football beyond high school because of a congenital spinal condition. He instead has become a stock trader who, by way of his wife, is best friends with Drew and his wife Brittany Brees.
That same Drew Brees won a Socrates award at Purdue for the top academic collegiate athlete. He also is also unable to accept most drinks bought for him during bourbon street celebrations. His gluten allergy means any grain-based alcohol is off-limits.
Most young head coaches have reached their status by travelling down a coaching-exclusive tree. Saints coach Sean Payton however, is one of the few who can add playing credentials as well. His career began in 1987 with the Chicago Bears. It also ended in 1987 with the Chicago Bears. Payton played in three games with a grand total of 23 attempted passes. His career QB rating was below 30.
While this is in many ways considered the year of the dome (excluding the Super Bowl, seven of the 10 playoff games were played in "domed" or enclosed stadiums, and the "dome" team won all seven) and is guaranteed to be culminated in a dome-team champion, only one team coming from a domed stadium has won an outdoor Super Bowl to date.
That one team? Indianapolis, with its victory in this very same city three years ago. The Saints hope they can be the second. If the regular season was any indicator, the Saints offense should have no difficulty with the outdoor stadium, as they put up 46 against the Dolphins earlier in the year.
And finally, the most talked about part of the Super Bowl—its commercials. This year, a single 30 second spot will cost a total of $3 million dollars for the air time on average.
No comments:
Post a Comment