That's just super.

Super Bowl XL kicks off Sunday afternoon in Detroit, where the Pittsburgh Steelers will be pitted against the Seattle Seahawks. This page finds this year's game a little more interesting in that I've actually bought tickets to see the 'Hawks at Paul Allen's taxpayer-subsidized gargantuan gridiron chapel. Meanwhile, the Alaskan Way Viaduct leading to Qwest Field still hasn't been fixed from the last earthquake, and the Seattle School Board tries to figure out which schools can be closed. One can imagine how the locals in (Dammit, I need some Mo)town, coping with recent layoffs at the big three automakers and continuing urban decay, feel about the parade of corporate 'VIPs' shoving to the front of the line this week.

The NFL likes to refer to the Super Bowl as a world championship. Unlike baseball, basketball, or hockey, all 32 NFL teams are based in the U.S., and unlike the other three major sports where names like Ichiro, Yao, or Jaromir are common, there are virtually no non-Americans in the NFL. However, there was an actual football world championship (i.e. one with teams from outside the U.S.) in the Detroit area this week, and guess who won?

Commercial excess and the most patriotic displays this side of Leni Riefenstahl aside, I'll still be watching on Sunday because dammit, I likes my football. For those of you scoring at home, The Bear 604 Show has successfully predicted the outcome of every Super Bowl in its history (this page's history, not the Super Bowl, which predates the internet and me). Anyway, Seattle proved against the Redskins they're not a one-dimensional team, and Pittsburgh's been punching above their weight for weeks: take the Seahawks against the spread.