Colts/Patriots, Eastside/Westside, Yin/Yang

That was your Super Bowl ladies and gents. We saw it all yesterday. A real knock-down, dragum' out affair, complete with a great comeback and vindicated heros - Manning and Dungy - two guys who have always come up short in the big game, but have now teamed together to finally make it to Football's biggest stage.

Remember, last week, we got into the whole Chargers/Patriots - Eastsider/Westsider parallel. Well, here's my take on this week's outcome, in relation to that theory - with a little dressing added on top: The Patriots have gone too Westside. Tom Brady, from what I heard, is dating actresses and supermodels, in other words, he's moved to Millcreek. This is not wrong in itself. After all, the Colts are historically, a Westside, offensive-minded team. However, the Colts have been balanced out by the hiring of Tony Dungy, a great Eastside, conservative mind, to run the team. And sure enough, the Colts defense kept them in the playoff tournament through two and a half games, before the offense finally opened up and showed its true colors in the second-half yesterday. Yes, the marriage of East and West can work beautifully. And here's why it didn't work with the Patriots, who really squandered their chances yesterday, similar to the way that Dr. Dee obseved the Chargers squandered theirs a week earlier: (Note: theme shift coming) - while the Colts have achieved the perfect balance of Yin/Yang through their marriage of East and West, the Patriots now rely too heavily on the Yang...

Bill Belichick has been seperated from his wife since 2004. The Patriots last Super Bowl win followed the 2004 season. I don't think this is completely coincidence. While some may say, great, this frees Bill up to work even more than his legendary long hours, I think it has also upset his balance. The Patriots have lost their female touch, or their Yin. Brady dating super models and actresses , who probably have more Yang than most men because of the competitive nature of their professions, doesn't help the situation either. Yes, the Patriots are built for war, but football is about more than war, it's also about properity and peace. You have know how to manage the entire game. The Patriots got off to a big lead, but then didn't have the motherly instincts to properly nurse it, and therefore gave it away so they could get back to the battle and satisfy their Yang instincts. Unfortunately, being constantly at battle uses up too much energy, and the announcers noted several times that the Pats looked tired down the stretch.

Now, the Colts, have historically been a "soft" team, having too much Yin, and their quarterback may be gay, for all I know. He sure is a helluvan' actor. Dungy brought the warlike, father-figure into the picture and laid down some loving discipline on the franchise. When the Colts offense couldn't get untracked trough the first two rounds of the playoffs, and through most of the first-half yesterday, there was no panic. No, Dungy applied a steadying hand to keep things calm, and he also got his Bob Sanders-led defense to carry the load with some hard-hitting Yanglike play. Then, when the offense blossomed in the second half yesterday, it was a thing of beauty. The warline Yang of the Colts defense had laid the groundwork for the Yin to bloom. The interception on the final play (not to mentioned the three runs to slam the ball into the end zone for the winning points) were evidence of the Yang protecting what the Yin had established...

No, the Bears don't stand a chance.

Cheers.
Ralph