A Super Blow-out

Short of the Steelers team bus not arriving, Super Bowl XLIII has the look of a rout. (Looks like the bus showed up to the game - not sure if all the Steelers were on it?) Why then, do we even need to preview? (So people like myself can make foolish predictions.) First, the Vegas lines have this game pegged around only a touchdown spread in favor of the Steelers, so clearly folks have been drinking the Cardinal Kool-aid. (Or the Cardinals will ride a wave of emotion and continue a surprising playoff run.) Secondly, there's more to the game than the outcome. In fact, by the second quarter you'll be using alternative entertainment -either focusing on Super Bowl side pools or looking for something else to watch. (Or you'll be entrenched in an exciting game)

We'll start with a brief game preview and the three main reasons I predict a Super Blow-out in favor of the Steelers. (And will ultimately be proven wrong.)

- Defense wins championships. Between 1987 - 2006 seasons, no defense ranked outside the top 8 in points allowed won a Super Bowl. According to Pro Football Reference.com, the Steelers ranked number 1 in that category this season while Arizona ranked 28^th. I'm going with history and taking the defensive team. (So this prediction worked out....as the Steelers did win the game.)

- Karma - The last time there was a 9 win team in the Super Bowl was 1979 where the 9-7 NFC West Division champion first time Super Bowl participant L.A. Rams lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers by double digits. Replace Rams with Cardinals. (Apparently karma works both ways.)

- Gut - This game reminds me of Super Bowl 37 when Tampa Bay stomped out Oakland rather convincingly. The Raiders came in as a pass-first team that folks thought would be able to take advantage of a suspect Tampa pass defense. Tampa pressure led to a couple Rich Gannon turnovers and the game got ugly quickly. Arizona, another pass first team, will struggle to contain the Steelers pressure which will lead to turnovers giving the Steelers offense short fields. Arizona is a nice story and they've played well over the last few weeks in getting here. But the Cardinals were up & down all season long while the Steelers have been consistently good. Expect the Steelers to pound the Cardinals and win their league leading 6^th Super Bowl trophy. (At the end of the day, the Steelers were unable to mount as much pressure as I expected nor were they nearly effective enough on the ground game. While Cardinal RB's James & Hightower did not have monster days, they were effective enough running the ball to give the Cardinals passing game life and keep the Steeler defense off balance. So off balance, that it was the Steeler offense that saved the day with an long touchdown drive in the final minutes. )

If my prediction pans out, party-hosts will be faced with lots of food and (outside of Pittsburgh) bored guests. Side pools are a common Super Bowl diversion to give folks something other than the outcome of the game to care about. Categories often focus on game related activities, such specific player stats. The key to creating a strong Super Bowl sheet is make sure the questions are varied and that new categories are introduced in the 4^th quarter as no one wants the side pool winner to be determined in the first half. Some fun second half questions might be - (Side pools are fun in a close game as well......)

- Who will have more camera shots in the 3^rd quarter - Arizona head coach Ken Wisenhunt or Arizona Offensive coordinator Todd Haley?

- Within 5 seconds, at what time will Ben Roethlisberger take a knee? (A true Cardinal fan would answer - 'Never'!)

- Which team's defense will be on the field when the clock hits double zero?

If you really want to spice up your game - include commercial questions as folks love the Super Bowl ads. Some possibilities -

- What TV-show will NBC hype by showing the most commercials for?

- Who will have more on-air screen time, Tiki Barber or Jerome Bettis?

- How much of the auto industry's federal bailout will be spent in Super Bowl commercials?

- How many NBC stars will be in the crowd? (This is fun because it can start lively debates on who qualifies as a star, ie, Steve Carell - yes, Linus Roache - no!)

If you're willing to change in the channel in search of a more competitive game - Animal Planet brings you Puppy Bowl V opposite the Super Bowl. It's exactly as it sounds, a lot of cute puppies amplified by somewhat odd commentary. If, however, you can get your crowd rooting for specific puppies - you may find folks screaming at the TV. Like everything else on Animal Planet, alcohol enhances enjoyment of the Puppy Bowl significantly. (Suffice it to say, I caught snippets of the Puppy Bowl during a few commercials and was just in time to see the "streaking" puppy. It was an awkward moment.)

In summary - bet the house, farm & kids on the Steelers to win - 42 to 14. (At least when the editors of AC decided against publishing my preview before the Super Bowl, I won't have to worry about anyone now homeless and without their kids following my advice.) And, if you're hosting a party, be sure to have some other plans ready to keep your guest entertained. (Or just stick to watching the game. It might be a pretty good one.)

Note: All football statistics used from Pro-Football-Reference.com.