The Real Story Of This Year's Super Bowl

Time to jump off the political wagon for a day and talk...football. I didn't have a favorite in last night's Super Bowl. You kidding, I'm a Browns fan! But I knew the deal; the big chance for the Pats to beat the 72' Dolphins perfect season. But that really wasn't the big story last night. Not if you're a Manning. Maybe not even if you are a father.

Archie Manning is a name that doesn't conjure up tales football greatness, unless you happen to go to Ole Miss where the speed limit on campus is still 18 miles per hour in honor of Archie Manning's jersey. I was a kid playing football myself during Manning's heyday at Ole, Miss. You couldn't play football, or be interested in game in the late 60's without having at least heard the name Archie Manning. At Ole Miss, Manning had 4,753 career yards, and 56 TDs . That record has never been broken by any other Ole Miss QB, including his son, and this year's Super Bowl MVP, Eli Manning. But then Archie was drafted to the New Orleans Saints in 71' and that was it. The talents of a great quarterback were squandered. Yeah, he broke all kinds of passing records in the NFL. and most of those passes were thrown under extreme duress. I'm not sure Manning even experienced stepping up into the pocket, or having plenty of time. New Orleans had a front line that easily could have been mistaken for another ineffective "line"; the Maginot Line. And so the old adage that you can't sore like an Eagle when you're surrounded by Turkeys was never better defined.

Despite his hard luck, Manning left a legacy. Three sons. the oldest, Cooper, having to leave a promising future in the game for health reasons, the torch was passed to Peyton and Eli, and well, we all know how that turned out.

And there lies the real story of last night's Super Bowl. Not New England's failure to be perfect, but the triumph of a family football dynasty. Last year Peyton was in the spotlight, and this year it was little brother's turn, and Archie? Well, Archie is doing what all fathers who watch their son's eclipse their own accomplishments do. Archie is busy being proud.