Super Bowl XLI: Colts, Bears...Interesting Matchup

The Super Bowl is the biggest sporting event in the world. Players careers are often defined in this 60 minute game. Super Bowl XLI offers football fans everywhere a chance to witness one of the most interesting matchups in recent history.

For the NFC, we've got the Chicago Bears. The Bears' head coach, Lovie Smith, was the first African American head coach to make it to the Super Bowl. In three seasons with the Bears, Smith has led them to the playoffs twice, leading them to Super Bowl XLI this year. Smith, an outstanding defensive minded coach, is coaching arguably one of the greatest defenses in NFL history.

The Bears are well known for their defense, but what about their offense? The Bears have an offense that has a young quarterback in Rex Grossman. Grossman and the Bears started the season off strong, but then people started to criticize Grossman, who had a passer rating of 0.0 in one game, and 1.3 in another. Though Grossman had some poor performances, the Bears defense carried them and they ended the season with a 13-3 record.

The Indianapolis Colts, on the other hand, are well known for their powerful offense, led by future hall of famer Peyton Manning. The Colts head coach, Tony Dungy, was the second African American head coach to make it to the big game, winning the AFC championship in a dramatic come-from-behind upset of the New England Patriots a couple of hours after Lovie won the NFC championship in a blowout of the New Orleans Saints. Tony started the season off 9-0 for the second year in a row, after a devastating loss to Pittsburgh in last seasons playoffs. Dungy is trying to be the third person to win a Super Bowl as a player (1978 Steelers) and a head coach.

The Colts defense, however, did not do so well in the regular season, giving up an average of over 170 rushing yards per game. Like the Bears team was carried by it's defense, the Colts team was carried by it's offense. Despite their poor defensive performance, the Colts ended the season 12-4.