Pitoniak: Super Bowl hype begins
By: Scott Pitoniak
Updated: January 29, 2012
So, here's a Super Bowl "matchup" story you probably weren't expecting.
Rather than be concerned with how, say the Patriots patched-up secondary will fare against the Giants big-play receiving corps, a website called AshleyMadison.com decided to survey married women to ascertain which quarterback they'd rather have an affair with. (No, I am not making this up.)
By a close call of 54 percent to 46 percent, Eli Manning edged Tom Brady, in an upset more stunning than the one Broadway Joe Namath pulled off in Super Bowl III. According to the website, which claims to promote adultery, Manning's "boy next door" looks were more appealing than Brady's "fashion model" mug.
Brace yourself folks, because this is just the start of the "hard-hitting journalism" you're going to be exposed to this week as the Super Bowl hype begins in earnest.
With nearly 3,000 media members descending upon Indianapolis for the NFL's 46th Roman numeral game, everything will be dissected a million times over as we search for that exclusive story that doesn't exist.
By kickoff a week from today, heads will be as bloated with information as guts are with pizza and wings.
Let the hype begin.
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Although they'll roll out the welcome mats for both Super Bowl teams this week, the majority of Indianapolis residents will be pulling for the Giants and Peyton's little brother in the big game. Their rooting interests have more to do with their disdain for Bill Belichick, Brady and the other Patriots, who have been the Colts' arch nemesis for years in the battle for AFC supremacy.
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The Vegas oddsmakers have installed New England as early 3-point favorites, but Princess the Camel believes they've got it wrong. A resident of New Jersey's Popcorn Park Zoo, she is picking the Giants to pull off the upset. Now, before you dismiss her, you should consider her track record as a prognosticator. Princess has correctly picked the Super Bowl champion five of the past six years and has a 14-6 record during this post-season. I do wonder, though, if her prediction is biased this time around. After all, she is from Jersey, not far from the Meadowlands stadium the Giants call home.
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If it comes down to the fourth quarter, my money's on Eli. He set an NFL record this season with 15 fourth quarter touchdowns, including one in the Giants regular-season victory against the Pats.
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Stat of the day: The Giants are the first team to make it to the Super Bowl after being out-scored during the regular season. New York scored 394 points and yielded 400 en route to a 9-7 record. In the playoffs, however, the G-Men have outscored three teams, 81-39.
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Another Super Bowl championship by the Patriots would solidify Boston's claim as the "City of Champions." The Red Sox won the World Series in 2007, the Celtics won the NBA title in 2008 and the Bruins are the reigning Stanley Cup champions.
Award-winning columnist and best-selling author Scott Pitoniak has covered eight Super Bowls. His latest book, Color Him Orange: The Jim Boeheim Story, is available at all bookstores as well as on amazon.com. His 15th book, Johnny Antonelli: A Baseball Memoir, will be published this spring.
