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The Coward's Way Out Is At Least a Way Out

 This is the latest I have ever posted a Super Bowl prediction on this blog. That's because I don't have one. Or maybe I mean I have two, which is even more cowardly.

One of my strongest sentiments about football comes courtesy of Paul Brown, the coach Bill Belichick regards as the greatest in history. "You can't lick speed," Brown once said, explaining why Fundamentals of Running was the first page in his playbooks.

That was back in the '50s, when the game was so much more a slog and tug of war than it is 70 years later. It isn't an exaggeration to say the NFL is a different sport than it was back then, a sport designed by rule and natural athletic selection to make foot speed a dominant factor at every position -- center included.

Nobody's all-around faster than the Kansas City Chiefs. On offense, there may never have been a faster team. Certainly they have the quarterback to maximize that advantage. As a result, the Chiefs are never out of a game. Give them three minutes and they can give you three touchdowns. Did it in the last Super Bowl as I recall.

So I can't really pick against the Chiefs. But I sure can't pick them to win either. I gave up betting against Tom Brady years ago. Something about career winning percentage. Something about this being Brady's 10th Super Bowl in 20 seasons as a starter. That's every other freakin' year! 

The Tuck Rule game. Malcolm Butler's interception. 28-3. Brady's not just great, he's got luck on his side, the luck that follows greatness around more often than you'd suppose. Fortune favors those best able to use it.

So no pick here. I'm not clairvoyant. I can't tell whether the Buccaneers or the Chiefs will have the game's last possession, so I'll just guess that team will be Super Bowl champs by 10 p.m.

posted by Michael Gee @ 3:57 PM