Root for Peyton Manning because I said so!

Today, I'm giving you all about 45 minutes of entertainment/ brainwashing just before tomorrow's big game. Because the game is between the Colts and the Saints, I feel like a ton of people are searching for a rooting interest during the big game and ESPN's unbiased coverage isn't helping.

Consider today's post as an educational sermon on why this year's Super Bowl has way more outside factors influencing which camp football fans outside of New Orleans and Indianapolis should join. If anything, you can take away that I'm giving you guys a cheaper way to be interested in the Super Bowl as opposed to making silly prop bets in Vegas or dumping 20 bucks into an office pool.

5 Reasons to watch Super Bowl XLIV and root for the Colts:

1. Peyton Manning. This video is a great clip of Peyton Manning mic'd up during a game against the St. Louis Rams. It really shows how passionate and emotional he can be when faced with adversity. It's also pretty funny how he comes back down to earth as soon as his 332 lb left tackle, Tarik Glenn tells him to sit down. Click here
2. Peyton Manning. Before his breakthrough on SNL, Manning was perceived as that silver spooned kid that never made mistakes and was always politically correct. Even I couldn't stand Peyton Manning. My favorite QB growing up, Steve Young, already had that throne in my book. I remember being a Tom Brady fan because he played the mysterious, overachieving underdog that didn't take flak from anybody. He also happened to date supermodels....and impregnate movie stars, simultaneously. Manning's SNL skit tipped the scales in his favor, especially after this United Way commercial.
3. Peyton, Eli, and Archie Manning. By far the greatest karaoke song.
4. Hitler loves the Colts. Especially Peyton Manning.
5. Peyton Manning's audibles are in Gaelic.

5 Reasons to Root against the Saints

1. Reggie Bush. How can you root for a guy that dates Kim Kardashian, went to college in Southern California, got paid to play college football, destroyed the credibility of his Alma-mater's football program, and won the Heisman Trophy over Vince Young in 2005? The only consolation out there for Reggie Bush haters would have to be this.
2. New Orleans is a dirty sodomy filled city. Been there twice and hated it both times.
3. Sean Payton. When he was Offensive Coordinator here for our beloved Cowboys, I clearly remember him calling ridiculous plays in the worst situations. The most memorable being a 4th and goal from the 1 yd line situation, down by 4, under a minute left against the Chargers. What came next? Fade route to to Keyshawn Johnson. Incomplete pass. Now all of the sudden he's the hottest coach in the NFL.
4. Saints - Party in the MIA Remix. Wow. Not only was the Miley Cyrus version lame, but this is without question the worst Super Bowl pep song ever.
5. Katrina. Get over it. It was almost 5 years ago and we're still hearing about how devastating it was. Let me ask you this...Did you ever once hear a New Yorker try to convince anyone to pull for the Yankees or the Giants after 9-11? How about the Oklahoma City Thunder? Do they request any sort of charity from the fallout of the Oklahoma City bombing of the 90's? All over ESPN they're covering how the city NEEDS this Super Bowl victory for it's rebuilding efforts. Um, no. You need to build a city somewhere that doesn't require levies and doesn't get blasted by Cat 5 hurricanes every 5 years. Think about this...after all of the money that was poured into the rebuilding effort by the federal, state, and local governments, not to mention individual contributions and volunteer hours, what are they going to do if they win tomorrow? Have a $2-3 million Super Bowl parade? On who's dime? Maybe they should have it Houston (where most of the city's population moved to after the storm), or possibly in San Antonio (where the Saints practiced and relocated to for the remainder of the 2005 season).

My point is that just because the city suffered through a tragedy doesn't mean that the rest of the nation has to jump on the bandwagon. The team's success has nothing to do with how the city is represented. Just look at Buffalo, Detroit, Cleveland, Minneapolis, Kansas City. If your team's success determined the general feeling of the city, then these cities would very high suicide rates, unemployment rates (sorry Detroit), etc.

If you couldn't care less about anything that I rambled on and on about...just root for Peyton Manning because he's a good guy.