You either have it or you don't

With the Bears game in the books, the Colts are gearing up to face the Patriots, Bill Belichick is putting on his homeless sweatshirt and Tony Dungy and Peyton Manning are taking turns holding each others' heads as they throw up in the bathroom.

As much as I detest the stupid story lines that are rammed down my throat every week - I know, Rex is uneven, Hurricane Katrina will be forgotten if the Saints win it all and Brady vs. Manning is bigger than God vs. Satan VII - I really like this AFC matchup.

It's not just that I hate Manning - let's just get that out there right now - but that it's the perfect dichotomy of players in the two quarterbacks.

I've long been a believer that intangibles - while difficult to quantify - are often overlooked and undervalued. This has long been my downfall in fantasy leagues, as I'll pass on number-piling monsters in order to take a player I can actually respect and Brady and Manning are great illustrations of this.

On paper, Manning racks up huge numbers each year, while Brady will get you a few points here and there, never really coming through with a breakthrough week to the point that in deeper leagues, he rides the pine in favor of quarterbacks who will throw their arm out every Sunday like they're trying to catch Dan Marino's records in two seasons or less.

This is not news to anyone.

Every hack with a pro football column, blog or e-mail account has made this point in varying degrees all week, but it doesn't mean I'll enjoy this game any less.

I love how this also extends to other sports as well, from having the requisite ice water in your veins to close out games in major league baseball to those scrappy wingers who are always in the top 15 in scoring years after year in the NHL, despite having no discernable talent.

On paper, the Colts have a defense that has risen to the occasion this postseason, a big time quarterback in Manning and a team that is built to play on the turf in the dome. Yet, the Patriots are being seen as the team to beat tonight and Brady is the reason for that.

No one can tell you why he's so successful in the playoffs, just like no one can tell you why Joe Montana, Wayne Gretzky, Michael Jordan or Joe DiMaggio just kept winning. Sure, talent can take you a long way, but at that level, how much more talented are you than your competitors?

Along those same lines, look at the notable players who were on par with the stars of their era - Dan Marino, Ted Williams, and a borderline vote for John Elway - who never seemed to put all the pieces together. Forgive me for just spewing all of this out without much to hold it all together - I honestly find the whole thing fascinating.

Even now, they are flashing the graphics showing playoff records for the two players and a half dozen reporters are pre-writing their opening pararaphs so they can fully focus on the press box buffet.

For me, I like how it gives the world a little more balance and helps things make more sense to me. There are winners and their are losers and regardless of pedigree, hype or talent, the winners finds ways to win and the losers continue to lose.

We saw it with Martyball's spectacular failure last week, with Herm Edwards' refusal to use Larry Johnson correctly in the opening round and the Giants saying a quick goodbye to their national TV audience.

Reagardless, it'll be fun to watch with the knowledge that if the Colts pull off the supposed upset, Northern Indiana will implode upon itself. With the regional favorite and the in-state team headed for Florida, it might cause widespread rioting. And that's a situation where we're all winners.

(Update at 9:17 p.m. - Well, so much for that, huh? Wow. Just wow.)

(Photo from NFL.com)