Written by Chris Hutchison

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Finally, after the dreaded sports media machine packed 3 months worth of hype and overblown stories into 2 hellishly long weeks, the NFL Championship Game is finally here, known these days as the Super Bowl.

The 2 teams playing in this Super Bowl - the 49ers of San Francisco and the Raisins of Baltimore - have never lost one of these games in 6 combined attempts.  That's 1 for Baltimore and 5 for San Fran, putting them in position to notch their 6th Lombardi trophy and pull into a tie with the dreaded Steelers for most all-time - a fact that has fans of that team actually rooting for their hated purple rival to win.

Not me.  I don't want to see the endless blowjob that the media will give Ray Lewis as he shouts for the Messiah to begin the Rapture - he's ready.  I don't want to hear the endless historical revisions intended to demonstrate the greatness of the Raisins' former owner, who was so great that he was the first man since the invention of the vacuum tube to lose money on an NFL team.  And I really don't want to lose the $100 that I bet against Joe Flacco ever winning one of these things because I shot my big mouth off after getting foolishly mired in yet another foolish QB discussion.

So, die Birds, die.

The Browns have never played in one of these games since they renamed it.  They are one of only 4 teams to never have done so, along with the Houston Texans, the Detroit Lions, and the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Don't look for any of them to be breaking that barrier anytime soon either.

Houston and Detroit are both talented teams that will likely be unable to get over the hump due to the inconsistency of their QB's and the lack of enough talent around said inconsistent QB's to overcome it (it's difficult to overcome the untimely mediocrity of Matt Schaub or the erratic decision-making of Matt Stafford).

And Cleveland and Jacksonville are closer to New Zealand than they are to competing for The Pinnacle.

The same cannot be said for BT and myself, as we compete for the zenith of our Picks Contest (such as it is).  Everyone took the Raisins last week and the Falcons-Niners game was a split, so everyone's 1.5-0.5 record put the season tally at thus:

BT: 137-121, Me: 137-121, DJC: 130-128

The line for the SB started as a Pick, but the money has now flowed in the direction of the Bay Area as SF is 3.5 point favorite.

For what it's worth, my System has the Niners as a 3 point favorite, so it's running pretty close.

All odds are from VegasInsider.com:

BAL vs. SF - SF by 3.5

Me - I told BT that I would take the opposite of whomever he chose, and as fortune would have it he left me the team I probably would've taken anyway.  I can easily see this going either way, but I just can't convince myself that the year-long struggles of the Raisins' D was a mirage, and they allowed a ton of points to the last mobile QB they faced (RG3).  Flacco HAS been good in these playoffs (despite the fact that the douche Safety in Denver should've ended his heinous run weeks ago but was apparently struck down by Yahweh), and he certainly could have his way again if they can protect him, but the Niners D should be able to get some pressure on him (even though they didn't against Atlanta - bad omen) and perhaps cause a nice turnover or 2.  In the end, I see the dynamic skills of Colin Kaepernick being the difference.  I wonder what kind of odds I'd have gotten before the season of a Kaepernick SB MVP? 

For the first time in years, hoping for a blowout.  Pick: 49ers

DJC - I have ridden the Ravens, but think the annoying Harbaugh will beat the other annoying Harbaugh. Pick: 49ers

BT - I have two trains of thought on this one:  1) San Fran comes out and dominates winning by 2 TDs.  2) Kaepernick makes mistakes and Ravens win a close one.  I’ll take the Ravens and the points.  PS - Flacco is good!  Pick: Ravens