America Bowl Postgame Wrap-Up

Thanks to everyone who read America Bowl, talked about it, linked to it, wrote about it, illustrated it (see awesome drawings above, with their own links), questioned my sanity, only partly questioned my sanity, used it as a business metaphor, and made valuable suggestions (yeah, I know the Van Buren decision was controversial). To make it easier to read the whole thing in order, from one to 44, you can begin here at Game 1: George Washington vs. Super Bowl I.  The bottom of each game recap now has a convenient link to the next number. Also, you can click here for the Complete America Bowl Scorecard with all the results and links to all the individual write-ups. 

  What can we conclude about America from America Bowl?  Besides the obvious fact that we love football and like Presidents? The breakdown by quarter shows a clear trend:

	1	2	3	4	final
Presidents	8	4	6	2	20
Super Bowls	3	7	5	9	24

The Presidents dominated early, crushing in the first quarter and still leading at halftime. The Super Bowls surged late to win it. Why? Theories abound. The guess here is that the NFL has tweaked its rules to make its games more competitive and higher scoring. The league can do what it wants. The Presidents have to answer to everybody. It's tougher for them to get it done. Ain't that America -- we wouldn't have it any other way.

 What's next?  Hey, football season is over, but have a happy Presidents' Day! We can't say we'll do this again next year.  But here's something to think about: Vice Presidents versus Bud Bowls.

Game 44: Barack Obama vs. Super Bowl XLIV

  There was some pre-game debate about how this one was going to work. Would we compare Barack Obama against the whole Super Bowl XLIV, or only the game's first quarter? Obama has just reached the first quarter of his four-year term, after all. Is it fair to judge him against a Super Bowl that played out to the end, so everyone knows how it turned out?

  Well, yes. That's what a Super Bowl is. Four quarters of football. If you'd judged Super Bowl XLIV by its first quarter, it would have been a bit premature: the Colts won the quarter, 10-0, the Saints couldn't get a thing done against an unbending Indianapolis defense, and the game didn't seem exciting or surprising at all.

    In the second quarter, the Saints started to find their groove. They ran 26 offensive plays, compared to 6 for the Colts. They couldn't reach the end zone yet, but kicker Garrett Hartley drilled two field goals, and the New Orleans defense held the Colts scoreless, to make it 10-6 at the half.  The Saints busted out of halftime by recovering a bold onside kick. Six plays later, QB Drew Brees hit RB Pierre Thomas with a pass behind the line of scrimmage at the Colts' 20, and Thomas twisted his way into the end zone to give underdog New Orleans its first lead. 

  Unflappable Colts QB Peyton Manning led the experienced Colts back -- 76 yards in ten plays, capped by Joseph Addai's own pinball-wizard run to put the Colts back on top 17-13.  A Saints FG made it 17-16 heading into the final 15 minutes. Then the Saints' D stepped up, forcing the Colts into a long FG attempt that missed, and Brees stormed back. With 5:46 left, he hit TE Jeremy Shockey running a slant at the goal line, and a clutch two-point conversion put the Saints back up, 24-17.  

  Still, the Colts had managed seven fourth-quarter comebacks during the season, and Manning can never be counted out. Manning himself was trailing after the first quarter of Super Bowl XLI before coming back to beat the Bears. Another Colts TD almost seemed inevitable, and then as Indy drove downfield it happened: Saints CB Tracy Porter stepped in front of Colts receiver Reggie Wayne, picked off a Manning pass, and took it to the house. Saints 31, Colts 17. A gigantic upset, a terrific game, and a storybook ending for the city of New Orleans.

  Obama entered office amid the same kind of hopes many fans had for the Saints. He was the first African-American President in history. Already an historic figure when he took the oath of office, he promised more change. He had the smarts and the charisma, the popular mandate and the Congressional majority do get it done. Then he got smacked by reality.  

   A down economy forced Obama to commit billions of dollars to a massive stimulus plan.  He said he'd close the controversial prison at Guantanamo Bay, but couldn't work out the details. His attempts to reform healthcare were met by a tenacious "prevent" defense, intended to keep him from scoring any points. By the end of his first year -- his first quarter -- Obama could take credit only for not letting things get worse. It took a strident State of the Union speech and a feisty, televised discussion with Republican leaders to remind many people why they'd voted for him.

   Score this one for the Super Bowls. It's hard to compare Obama's Presidency favorably to Super Bowl XLIV. After a sputtering start, the game just kept getting better. Outside of America Bowl, at least, Obama still has time on the clock, and -- because we won't stop cheering for great football games and hoping for great Presidents -- he still has a chance to do the same.

Final score of America Bowl:  Super Bowls 24, Presidents 20.

Come back tomorrow for a complete post-America Bowl recap.

Game 43: George W. Bush vs. Super Bowl XLIII

This is a must-win match for the Presidents here in America Bowl. They're down by two points, with two matches to go. There are no timeouts left.  There is no margin for error. Here comes George W. Bush.

Bush, son of 41st President George H.W. Bush, came into office by squeezing past Al Gore in the disputed election of 2000. He got some tough breaks and found it hard to get a rhythm going. The Internet bubble burst, the stock market plummeted, and it turned out that Texas energy giant Enron was a sham. Terrorists struck America on September 11, 2001. Terrorist leader Osama Bin Laden escaped U.S. forces in Afghanistan. The U.S. invaded Iraq to stop "weapons of mass destruction," which were not found to exist. "Mission Accomplished" was declared in the Iraq invasion, and Saddam Hussein was brought to justice, but bombings and chaos continued.

Photos were released of U.S. soldiers torturing prisoners at Abu Ghraib. Hurricane Katrina did not go well. The federal deficit reached an all-time record. Are we done yet?  Financial meltdown, anyone?  Bush left office with low approval ratings, but the nation at least hadn't experienced another terrorist attack after 9/11.

Super Bowl XLII started slowly, then just kept getting better. Early, it was all Steelers, going for their sixth ring. Just when the Arizona Cardinals, down 10-7, were about to drive it into the Steelers' end zone late in the first half, Steelers LB James Harrison picked off a Kurt Warner pass and ran it back 100 yards for the longest TD in Super Bowl history. Pittsburgh added a FG in the low-scoring third quarter to make it 20-7. Six-burgh!

No team in Super Bowl history had come back from a 13-point deficit to win. But in the fourth quarter, Cardinals star WR Larry Fitzgerald made a leaping end-zone grab to make it 20-14. A Steelers holding penalty in their own end zone caused a safety: 20-16.  Then Warner hit Fitzgerald streaking at midfield on a post pattern for a 64-yard TD, incredibly, to put Arizona up 23-20 with 2:37 left.

QB Ben Roethlisberger drove the Steelers back into the Cardinals' red zone. With 49 seconds and no timeouts left, he fired a laser pass deep to the left corner of the Cardinals end zone -- it whizzed past the fingers of WR Santonio Holmes. On the next play, they tried the same thing in the right-side corner. Holmes stretched and held the ball on as he dragged his toes to stay in bounds. Steelers win!

On the sidelines as confetti fell, Roethlisberger was handed a cell phone. It was Barack Obama, the new President, congratulating him on the victory. Obama didn't know it at the time, but he was also conceding the Presidents' defeat in America Bowl.  Super Bowl XLIV vs. Obama, coming up next, could be a good one, but it will be played only for pride.

Score after this match:  Super Bowls 23, Presidents 20.

Go to next match.

Game 42: Bill Clinton vs. Super Bowl XLII

Perfection is an unforgiving master. The New England Patriots entered Super Bowl XLII with an 18-0 record, on the cusp of recording the only 19-0 season in NFL history. T-shirts proclaiming "19-0" were printed. All New England needed to do was defeat the underdog New York Giants, a team the Patriots had already beaten during the season. Bill Clinton, from as early as high school, groomed himself to become the perfect politician. He was brilliant and studied hard. He was handsome and skilled at winning people over. All the pieces were in place.  Here's what happened.

Clinton entered the White House in 1993 amid a down economy, but soon was presiding over a long stretch of relative peace and great prosperity. The explosion of the Internet and the stock market boom created millionaires everywhere, invigorated America's entrepreneurial spirit, and changed lifestyles. Jobs were up, crime was down, music was free. Life seemed easy. But Clinton had an Achilles heel. Even before he won the Presidency, news of extramarital affairs had begun to emerge, and it would only get worse, giving ammunition to his political opponents. In 1995 he had an improper relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky, and his denials led the House of Representatives to impeach him in 1998 (he remained in office).  It was a disgrace that would forever taint his standing in history.  By the time Clinton's vice president Al Gore ran for President in 2000, Gore didn't even use Clinton's name to help him.

The Patriots didn't undo themselves. It took perhaps the greatest play in Super Bowl history to threaten the Patriots' perfection. The game had been a tough defensive battle for three quarters, and the final frame began with the Patriots up 7-3. The lead would change a hands a few more times.  Giants QB Eli Manning led an 80-yard drive, which included a 45-yard pass to rookie TE Kevin Boss and ended on a TD pass to WR David Tyree to put the Giants up 10-7 with 11:05 left. After some back and forth, Tom Brady and the Pats drove back with a clock-munching drive. Brady found Randy Moss in the end zone to regain the lead, 14-10.

The Giants had about two minutes to make history. On a key third-and-five from his own 44 with 1:15 left, Manning dropped back and soon found three Patriots reaching over Giants blockers to grab his jersey, clutching at his number 10 from behind. Somehow he twisted out of their grasp, ran back a few yards into a safe spot, and looked desperately for a receiver. He chucked the ball downfield toward Tyree, who raised both hands and brought the ball down on top of his helmet. Are you kidding me? Tyree pressed the ball tight against his head and held on for his life as Patriots safety Rodney Harrison leveled him.  The only thing more incredible than Manning's scramble was the ridiculous catch.  Four plays later Manning found WR Plaxico Burress in the corner of the end zone to give the Giants a breathtaking 17-14 win.

Yes, perfection is tough. That's why they call it perfection. Despite his flaws, Clinton had a good run. But he didn't have the helmet catch. This match goes to the Super Bowls, now up by two points in America Bowl with two matches left.  George Bush and Barack Obama are the Presidents' last hope -- can they do it? Take your protein pill and put your helmet on -- here comes the season finale.

Score after this match: Super Bowls 22, Presidents 20.

Go to next match.

Game 41: George H.W. Bush vs. Super Bowl XLI

We don't have Royal Families in American government or football. Here's about as close as it gets. Prescott Bush was a Wall Street banking tycoon from Connecticut who became a U.S. Senator in 1952. He never made it to President, but he had a son and a grandson who did. Archie Manning was a quarterback for the New Orleans Saints from 1972 to 1982.  He never made it to the Super Bowl, but he had two sons who did. Family connections don't guarantee a ride to the top in the NFL or the USA, but these guys show it sure doesn't hurt.

Archie's sons Peyton Manning and Eli Manning both won Super Bowls (putting them atop the NFL father-son family tree that includes Phil and Chris Simms, Kellen Winslow I and II, Joe and Dan Klecko, and of course Mosi and Lofa Tatupu). Peyton entered rain-soaked Super Bowl XLI in 2007 respected as a great quarterback but with a reputation for not winning the big ones. And it didn't look good this time either when Chicago Bears return specialist Devin Hester took the game's opening kickoff back 93 yards for a score -- the first TD on an opening kickoff in Super Bowl history.  Later that quarter, a Thomas Jones run set up a Rex Grossman-to-Muhsin Muhammad TD pass that gave the Bears a 14-6 lead after one quarter.

But Manning and the Colts defense pushed back. By the half, the Colts were up 16-14. They then turned to a ball control offense, setting loose running backs Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai to eat time. They combined for 190 ground yards. The Colts D, spearheaded by safety Bob Sanders, forced three Bears fumbles in the game and intercepted Grossman twice in fourth quarter to seal a 29-17 win.  When it was done, Tony Dungy was the first African-American head coach to win a Super Bowl.

George Herbert Walker Bush sailed into office as Ronald Reagan's longtime VP.  His international expertise as former Director of the CIA, and his connections to big business and the oil industry, seemed to color some of his key moves. The Berlin Wall came down under Bush's watch. When Iraq invaded oil-rich Kuwait, Bush launched Operation Desert Storm to push Iraq out -- and begin a new era of U.S. involvement in the Persian Gulf.  Domestically, he did not control the ball.  He said "Read my lips. No new taxes!" but there were more taxes. The government paid a king's ransom to failed, poorly regulated Savings and  Loans. By 1992, the economy was hurting super-badly, and Bush lost his seat to Bill Clinton.

Score this for the Super Bowls. They go one point up as we head into the thrilling final weekend of America Bowl.  Consider this our own version of the two-minute warning.    

Score after this match: Super Bowls 21, Presidents 20.

Go to next match.

Game 40: Ronald Reagan vs. Super Bowl XL

Super Bowl XL in 2005 was blanketed in feel-good symbolism but on the field was an error-plagued dud. Ronald Reagan came in with a similar approach as the 40th U.S. President -- but he made it work.

The Steelers were back in the Super Bowl after a ten-year absence, trying again to win their fifth Super Bowl ring -- or "One for the Thumb," as the braggy rallying cry went. This game would be the final stop for "The Bus," 13-year-veteran running back Jerome Bettis, who'd never won a Super Bowl.  It would be another chance to win one for Steelers head coach Bill Cowher, who'd been at the helm since 1992 but lost in his only previous trip to the big game, 27-17 to the Cowboys in Super Bowl XXX. The Steelers began the season poorly and were seeded 6th in the AFC playoffs, then they made a storybook surge to reach the Super Bowl. The Seahawks, led by QB Matt Hasselbeck and RB Shaun Alexander, had an NFC-leading 13-3 record but still came in as underdogs.

Pittsburgh's 21-10 win was messy and controversial. Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger, in becoming the youngest QB to win a Super Bowl, threw for just 123 yards, no touchdowns, and 2 interceptions -- for a rating of 22.6.  Really?  Besides his 75-yard TD scamper, Steelers RB Willie Parker racked up 18 yards. Bettis, the team's goal-line pile-driver, didn't see the end zone. The Seahawks were plagued by dropped passes and so many drive-killing penalties that coach Mike Holmgren probably still has nightmares.

Reagan rode in promising a hopeful new "morning in America." For the most part, he delivered. The economy and the national mood lifted during his two terms from 1981 to 1988.  Some wondered whether the former actor -- at age 69 the oldest man ever elected President -- was up to the task. He sure did like to simplify stuff.  He said: "All the waste in a year from a nuclear power plant can be stored under a desk." His idea for a space-based "Star Wars" defense against Soviet missiles seemed outlandish. But it may have helped negotiations with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev that led to a scaling back of nuclear arms. Ultimately, unable to hold together, the USSR dissolved.  Reagan also ran up a huge deficit and let corporations run wild in a "greed is good" era of leveraged buyouts, big-hair bands and shoulder pads. He let underlings carry out the illegal shenanigans of the Iran-Contra scandal.

But Reagan remains an icon of American swagger and self-sufficiency. And so The Gipper wins one for the Presidents, who end a four-game losing streak and even the score as America Bowl's clock ticks down.

Score after this match: Super Bowls 20, Presidents 20.

Go to next match.

Game 39: Jimmy Carter vs. Super Bowl XXXIX

Patriots versus Eagles. Talk about an "America Bowl." Sounds like the sides for a flag football game at Toby Keith's backyard barbecue. American Flag football.

This game threatened to break out into excitement on several occasions, and it stayed close all the way. By beating the Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX, Pats QB Tom Brady lifted his career record to 3-0 in Super Bowls and 9-0 in the postseason. Basically he was making a mockery of the NFL's "Any Given Sunday" mantra -- that idealized notion that any team can beat any other team if they really want it. On the contrary, it seemed like the more a game mattered, the more invulnerable Brady and his Patriots had become.

Philly scored first, and Eagles receiver Terrell Owens, coming back from a broken leg, was stunning with nine catches for 122 yards. But by the end of the second quarter Brady had his rhythm. He hit receiver Deion Branch to spearhead touchdown drives late in the second quarter and early in the third. Pats RB Corey Dillon started finding holes; his runs allowed Brady to use play-action passes to keep it moving. With the score tied at 14-14, Brady, rattled off a quick flare to Troy Brown and a dropped dump pass out of the shotgun to running back Kevin Faulk. Then in a beautiful play-action, Brady faked a hand-off to Branch, and Branch sprinted to the sideline to haul in a pass. Five plays later, Dillon punched in another TD, and the Patriots were up 21-14 (and a FG made it 24-14).

 The Eagles had a little time to come back -- but acted like they had a lot. With 5:40 left, they took almost four minutes to drive downfield and make it 24-21. When a Patriots punt gave the Eagles the ball at their own four, the only thing QB Donovan McNabb had time for was to chuck a game-ending interception. Philly fans ever since have doubted coach Andy Reid's clock-management expertise and McNabb's stamina (allegedly he was nauseous and exhausted during the final scoring drive). 

Jimmy Carter came into office amid high hopes and tough times. The former peanut farmer and Naval officer from Georgia found it difficult to get traction during a period of inflation, recession, disco, and general national crankiness in the late 1970s. His affable personality magnified the sense that maybe he was just too wimpy to get it done. It's unclear whether anyone got nauseous, but it didn't end well.  In November 1979, 52 Americans were taken hostage in Iran and held for 14 months, a period that included the Presidential election of 1980, in which Carter got the goobers beaten out of him by Ronald Reagan.

Carter, make no mistake, was genuine patriot. But he was no Super Bowl XXXIX.

Score after this match: Super Bowls 20, Presidents 19.


Go to next match.

Game 38: Gerald Ford vs. Super Bowl XXXVIII

In 1974, Gerald Ford and the stunt of streaking gained prominence in America. Both phenomena were, in no small way, products of the media. The media had brought down Richard Nixon, whose cover-up of the Watergate scandal was exposed by enterprising news reporters, forcing him to resign in '74 and leave the nation's highest office to Ford, the only U.S. president never to be elected as either a President or Vice President. Streaking -- running in public naked -- became an outrageous fad in 1974 and was covered everywhere in the news, which was the main reason people did it. That year Ray Stevens scored a Billboard number one hit with "The Streak," a novelty song whose final verse included a fake news report about some indecent exposure during halftime at the basketball playoffs. 

It is not well remembered that there was a streaker during halftime at Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2004. A British guy named Mark Roberts sneaked onto the field disguised as a referee, stripped down to a thong, and ran around until Patriots linebacker Matt Chatham tackled him. What we most remember about the game of course (sadly, because it was a crazy-good game) is Janet Jackson's tawdry "wardrobe malfunction" during the official halftime show. Mr. Roberts' run in the buff came after Jackson's act. What a bad day to streak!  Next to Jackson's choreographed display, his act seemed even more rinky-dink than already it was.

What had happened between 1974 and 2004? The world changed. Rinky-dink went pro. Corporate entertainment and nonstop media became pervasive. Our entertainment options were exploding, forcing even the NFL to work to keep our attention. And not just at halftime. By tweaking its rules year by year, the league figured out how to produce higher scoring, more evenly matched, more thrilling games. 

Super Bowl XXXVII was tremendous entertainment. Back and forth it went. The Patriots scored, then the Panthers...then Patriots, Panthers, Patriots, Panthers. The fourth quarter was unbelievable, with 37 points scored. QB Jake Delhomme led the Panthers to two TDs to take a 22-21 lead with 6:53 on the clock.  New England got the ball back and drove 68 yards for a touchdown -- a Tom Brady pass to Mike Vrabel -- plus a two point conversion: Patriots 29-22. With time ticking down, the Panthers punched back. Delhomme capped a drive with a TD pass to WR Ricky Proehl, making it 29-29 with 1:08 to play.

 Overtime? No, sir. Brady led the Pats inside Carolina's 30, and Adam Vinatieri kicked a 41-yard field goal to win the game as time ran out.

  Ford, himself a former football player, stands no chance of matching this classic. He pardoned Nixon, signed the Helsinki Accords to thaw the Cold War a bit.  He lost his job to Jimmy Carter, who comes up next in America Bowl. Can you feel the momentum turning? We're all tied up now.

Score after this match: Presidents 19, Super Bowls 19.


Go to next match.

Game 37: Richard M. Nixon vs. Super Bowl XXVII

Ask yourself this. Which of these two statements is more unbelievable:  "Richard Nixon has resigned from the Presidency in disgrace" or "Ladies and gentlemen, your Super Bowl champions: the Tampa Bay Buccaneers"?

The Bucs had become a benchmark for badness in the NFL. They started in the league in 1976 and lost their first 26 games. Going into the 2002 season, they had compiled exactly twice as many losses as wins in their storied history: 131-262-1. But new coach Jon Gruden took them all the way this season, crushing the favored Raiders 48-21 in the first Super Bowl to feature two teams named after pirates. The tenacious Tampa D picked off Raiders QB Rich Gannon five times. Suddenly, we didn't have Tampa Bay to kick around anymore.

Unlike Gruden, Nixon's ambition to come out on top got the better of him.  His political comeback, after he'd lost the election of 1960, was gutsy. But he trusted no one. He made lists of enemies. The cover-up of the Watergate break-in eventually pointed to him, and he was done. In the end, his strengths and weaknesses meant little compared to his legacy: leaving a generation distrustful of government. 

And so Nixon is done here too. Super Bowl XXVII wasn't a great game, but there were no major scandals (though Gruden had previously coached the Raiders and knew their plays). Nobody resigned in dishonor (though the Buccaneers became the first team in Super Bowl history to score three defensive touchdowns.).  The Presidents drop another key game. The Super Bowls are knocking on the door.

Score after this match: Presidents 19, Super Bowls 18. 

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