The last game of the year stirs many feelings, but the only one I’ve got coming from my end is anticipation.
The wait since learning these two would play each other has been nearly unbearable, and this game should deliver, for the first time in a long time, these teams possibly feel like the two best ball clubs in the National Football League.
On with the pick…
Baltimore @ San Francisco (-3 ½).
Both of these teams are perfect against the number in these playoffs, so the tight points spread is understandable.
Also, the favoring of the 49ers shouldn’t come as any shock either, because they’ve been the best team in American Football for a lot of this NFL season (or, at least, since their quarterback change).
Each defense is legit, but the Niners D is scary in a dome; plus, the 49ers O with time to prepare and on turf spells disaster for the Ravens.
All that being said, this game should produce a ton of fireworks; I just don’t know how much of them will be from the Niners option read-running attack and Baltimore’s deep ball.
We’ll just have to wait and see.
And now, the commercial bets…
Car Companies (+5) @ Beer Companies.
Car makers have given us the best Stupor Bowl commercials the last three years—the Clint Eastwood one last year, the Eminem one the year before that, that KIA one with the stuffed animals—yet they most certainly aren’t favored over the beer-making giants.
InBev alone will shell out something north of ten million for Sunday’s broadcast, and that’s just one of them.
Beer has more money, but the automotives have the history.
Junk Food @ Soft Drinks (-1 ½).
This is another one that comes down to money, yet unlike the contest between beer and cars, the money isn’t the issue; quality is.
Coke and Pepsi are the big two for soft drinks, so memorable commercials are a given, but the candy, chips and condiments have a few sleepers, like Snickers and more notably M&Ms.
Other than those two, however, there isn’t much hope. The major soda and beverage companies are always good for one or two really good ones, and that should put them over the top in this nail-biting fight.
More Dire Straits…
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