Party like it's 1947

I used to hate Kurt Warner with a passion.

Used to.

Mainly because the Rams were the toast of the NFL and he led them over my Titans for a Super Bowl Championship.

Then after a few years, he sucked and tumbled off the face of the football world and right into the lap of the Arizona Cardinals.

And now I find myself rooting for the guy. After reading this piece about just what kind of guy Warner is, I couldn't root against him. And if you really think about it, Warner has never put himself in front of the team and has been extremely gracious during the downturn of his career.

That being said, with the Cardinals going into the playoffs, I figured that they had no chance whatsoever. Much like no one gave Warner a chance - he was bagging groceries and had to work his way up through the AFL to the NFL (beginning as the third stringer). However, Arizona, which was hosting its first playoff game since 1947 when they were the Chicago Cardinals, beat the upstart Atlanta Falcons 30-24 today.

It's kind of strange how sports can change your mind.

Powder Blues rule the night again

So fellow blogger Casey tells me. After various texts back and forth about how terrible Madden is at commentating a game, he called the game with that bold prediction about the jerseys.

Badass jerseys + winners of the previous four must win games = upset over the Colts and ... yep, it's back... THE MANNING FACE!

For the second straight year, Eli Manning will be in the hunt for the Lombardi trophy longer than his brother. How ironic is that? Who saw that coming? Will Eli turn out to have a better career than his brother?

What people are thinking...

With our handy-dandy mind-reader we've been able to figure out what certain people have been thinking after the Super Bowl...

Eli Manning: Dinosaurs are cool! Look I can make a dinosaur noise, RAWRRR! See, didn't that sound like a dinosaur.

Bill Belicheck: Well apparently I get a rebate on selling my soul to the devil now.

Terry Bradshaw: I smell jerky!

Las Vegas: Awwww, hell.

Rex Grossman: If Eli can do it than I can do! Come on, right guys? Why are you taping me to my locker again guys? What's that big nest of bees doing over there... and why are you putting honey on my chest right now?

Peyton Manning: I'm so proud of my little brother. Thank goodness we started doing commercials together. The League of the Future will catch on.

Tom Coughlin: Now maybe NY will stop wanting to fire me. Please?

Trent Green: What? The season is over? When did this happen? I don't even remember it.

John Madden: I could use a Tur-duck-hen. Does Bradshaw have Jerky?

Jeremy Shockey: Ha! Try and win without me guys. Try and beat the Patriots, yeah that's right, I'm going to get wasted up in the luxury suite on national television and you guys can just go pound sand. Oh wait.. damn... you're winning... stop that you're ruining my free agent contract! Plex -- I thought we were tight man.

Joe Buck: How'd you like my performance in my Super Bowl commercial? Why won't you acknowledge me off the air Troy? I am not a joke, Troy? People are not laughing behind my back, Troy? Did you fall asleep again, Troy?

Jerry Manning: Man, wow, sucks being the older brother.

Archie Manning: I'm glad that early 70s microwave accident didn't ruin any of my stock.

Tom Petty: Glad I got that hair dye just in time.

Kurt Warner: I remember that feeling. Instead now I am a backup in the state where the Super Bowl was just held.

Brett Favre: "There was an old woman, who lived in a shoe..."

'72 Dolphins: Thank you Giants. Eli, we love you. Eh em. We mean....that love....it was simply platonic.

Tony Romo: Jessica, heehee. Tickle fight!

Tom Brady: Hello ladies. How you doin?

Peter Griffin: SHAPOOPEE!

Roger Clemens: You know you all should really pay attention to the Super Bowl. I mean forget about baseball, it's really not America's sport anymore. Forget about baseball. Steriods, yeah forget about those too. And uh, just forget about me as well please, and make sure to check back in when they do the Hall-of-Fame voting.

Jake Plummer: I need some comfort food.

Tiki Barber: Well that couldn't have gone any worse for me. Unless of course snakes rained from the sky and bit me. Then that might be considerably worse, but otherwise it's been a pretty terrible weekend for me.

Randy Moss: I should have stayed in Oakland and starred in that animated feature "Space Blitz" with Bugs Bunny and Blippo the amazing pot lighter. Oh, that was a hallucination, great, now I'm glad I came here.

Blink 182: We should get back together to do the half-time show.

The State of Montana: The NFL says that we are the 53 state in line for a team if they expand. Behind Hawaii, L.A., London and Guam.

The Empire Strikes Back (for the 4th time)

Tomorrow is the day. The Super Bowl is finally here. The biggest football game of the year is even bigger this year as the New England Patriots look to become the second team in NFL history to have a perfect regular season and then win the Super Bowl.

They also would become the first NFL team to go 19-0.

But this Patriots team is no stranger to the big game, oh and no stranger to winning it either. It’s because of that that I dubbed them a few posts back The Evil Empire. Yes, many wondered what to call a dynasty that grew even more powerful, and Evil Empire is it.

As for the New York Giants, they are far from glamorous. Their last Super Bowl they lost to a Trent Dilfer led Baltimore Ravens. (Oh, and the Ravens cut Dilfer after the win and have sucked horribly bad since. Way to go guys)

Anyway, the Giants are still living in the glory of upsetting the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXV. That was a long time ago. Plus, this Giants team must now face the Empire that is the Patriots and for that reason they have become the Rebel Alliance.

But both sides need characters to fully complete the transition, so here is the list of players in the game.

Evil empire

Tom Brady – Evil Anakin Skywalker (pre Darth Vader)
I say pre Darth Vader because Darth Vader was such a badass, while everybody hated Anakin. Brady is too much of a pretty boy to ever be as cool as Vader.

Bill Belichick- The Sith Lord
This one is obvious. Not only were they both the leaders of the Empire, but they both wore the same torn up hoodie.

Wes Welker- Storm Trooper
Often overlooked, yet the Storm Troopers were the real heart of the Empire. Welker has proven that he is a great receiver, yet always takes a backseat to Moss.

Randy Moss- Count Dooku
The righthand man of the Emperor. Without the deep threat that Moss provides, would this team be the same? 23 touchdowns is definitely something. Dooku also chopped off good Anakin’s arm. As Moss will do to the DB that covers him.

Laurence Maroney- Darth Maul
Maul wasn’t in the story for very long but when he was, he ruled. Maroney is overlooked in the fact that Brady is on the team. But like Maul, Maroney knows how to kick some serious butt.

Tedy Bruschi- Boba Fett
The bounty hunter Fett and the head hunter Bruschi share a similar hobby. Ripping opposing characters apart.

Rebel Alliance

Eli Manning- Luke Skywalker
For some reason Manning and Mark Hamill pose a striking resemblance. Plus, Eli is the prince of a very powerful family. But for the most part, I think he forgets.

Tom Coughlin- Yoda
Coughlin usually is seen with the same facial expression as Yoda. The main difference though is that Yoda is green and Tom was brilliant red color after the Green Bay game. Although, with the frostbite, he might still turn green.

Michael Strahan- Chewbacca
Chewy was the big fuzzy guy that you didn’t take serious until he was ripping you limb from limb. Same thing for Strahan. With that gap in his teeth you are laughing at him until he grabs you for a snack.

Osi Umenyiora- Hon Solo
The new leader of the defense. Solo was always overlooked for the star Skywalker, Umenyiora is often considered the number two on this defense after Strahan. But the fact of the matter is that Umenyiora is the new leader of this D and Strahan has become the sidekick.

Plaxico Burress- Obi-Wan Kenobi
With his performance during the playoffs, Burress has become a true master of the force. Now we’ll see just how powerful his use of it is, if he plays in the game tomorrow.

Brandon Jacobs- R2D2
Reliable, durable and always there when you need him. Jacobs and R2 are always in the scene, even if over shadowed by another. For R2D2 it was Hamill, for Jacobs it’s Manning.

Amani Toomer- The Ewoks
Toomer has been with the Giants since almost they were founded. Yet, he is still overlooked. As were the Ewoks. The Empire didn’t consider them real threat until the Ewoks whooped the Empire’s butt. Perhaps Toomer will do the same.

I guess we’ll find out tomorrow if Belichick has built this Empire better than the original contractors built the Death Star. Or will Manning finally be able to use the force and pull off the biggest upset of all time.