Super Bowl XLII is an Epic Tale of Good vs. Evil

Super Bowl XLII will go down in history as unprecedented. I think that's already safe to say. This pre-authorized unprecedented status is thanks to the unprecedented amount of hype, speculation, and drama surrounding the event. We have Tom Brady's suspicious leg cast, the Giants' suspicious pre-Super Bowl flu bug, Bill Belichick's suspicous "mad scientist" persona, and the lingering cheating allegations hanging like a dark cloud over New England's historical undefeated season.

And then we have the New York Giants, the hardworking team who wasn't even supposed to make it to the NFC championship game, much less the Super Bowl. We have Eli Manning playing extremely solid football and, for once, taking the limelight away from his superstar brother.

All of these angles point to one major theme for Super Bowl XLII: good versus evil. (As a bitter Green Bay Packers fan, you have no idea how much it pains me to label the Giants as a force of "good.")

Considering all of the dramatic pretext, the game itself will have a lot to live up to when Sunday rolls around.

I can't help but think of Star Wars. On one side, we have Emperor Belichick and Darth Brady. On the other side, I guess we'll have to call Eli Manning Luke Skywalker. Granted, he's nowhere near as cool as Luke Skywalker, but who really is? (Except for me.) And I haven't decided yet if Michael Strahan is Han Solo or Chewbacca.

University of Phoenix Stadium--the site of the final epic showdown--even looks a little bit like the Death Star, doesn't it? Okay, maybe I'm pushing it.

The big difference between Super Bowl XLII and Star Wars is that we already know that Luke Skywalker managed, against all odds, to defeat the forces of evil. (After all, it happened a long, long time ago.)

However, the Super Bowl isn't scripted for maximum excitement and a happy, fulfilling resolution the way the movies are. The Super Bowl, like any other old football game, is designed for the best team to win. That's the way it should be, of course. But that's also the way the forces of evil are more than likely likely going to stomp the living s*** out of the forces of good on Sunday.