Super Sunday Prediction: Speedy Edition

First and foremost, let me just say that the one good thing about February is that several of my friends were born during that month. So I apologize if I implied that your birthday (or you being born) was terrible just because of it happening during the worst month of the year. Next, I'll finish my rant on February this week, but for now let's talk about the Big Game. Rather than go into my usual overly-verbose style, I'm just going to list off ten facts, observations, and other musings I've had lately.

1. I think that the least talked about aspect of Green Bay vs Pittsburgh is a triumph of the NFL's brilliant revenue sharing approach. No other major sport could field championship caliber teams from markets as small as Pittsburgh and Milwaukee, much less have them be considered traditional powerhouses. 
2. When owners and players see such a successful model, they have to destroy it as quickly as possible. In my lifetime, no major sport has survived an extended strike/lockout without immediate dire repercussions to its popularity. In 1994, baseball canceled the World Series because of a grievance between millionaire players and billionaire owners. While the sport eventually recovered (although no longer the most popular sport), it took the Steroid Era to do so (which many baseball fans believe to be a deal with the Devil). The NHL's strike effectively removed it from the pantheon of major sports.
3. The Steelers can outplay any team in the NFL. Unfortunately, they can only do that for about one half a week.