I have tried, but I can't come up with a creative way to explain how bad an all Manning Super Bowl would be. And I don't mean for Archie and Mrs. Manning. I'm not even worried about Cupper (no, James, I didn't spell it wrong - that is how Peyton says it).

It would be horrible for all of us. There are two weeks between the Conference Championships and the Super Bowl. Can you imagine how many stories we would have to hear about growing up Manning? Can you imagine how many times we would have to look at their parents during the game? ESPN would quit running Sportscenter and run their Manning commercial nonstop. We would be begging for more steroids coverage.

I know the Manning Bowl appears intriguing for about fifteen seconds, but if you think about two weeks of the same boring story, followed by an uneventful Colts blowout, I think you'll change your mind.

On a sidenote - I would much prefer a Giants/Packers matchup in the snow to another GB trip to Dallas. Also, Indy/NE needs to happen. So boys, let's do it for Cupper.

The following is a real conversation that took place during my first week living in the South.

My new Southern friend "So, you're from California?"

Me "Yes."

SF "You surf?"

Me "No."

SF "You know, the South is going to do it again!?"

Me "Lose another war?"

That is where that conversation ended, but it was a clear warning that I wasn't living in Southern California or 1993. More than my address changed the year I moved to Tennessee.

SEC fans are the most passionate and loyal group of fans I have ever met. It goes beyond supporting a team. It is deeply personal. I'm not sure what the South is going to do again, but I think it has something to do with football (or whichever sport the SEC is succeeding in at the time).

Two years ago I attended the Final Four in Indianapolis. UCLA played LSU and Florida played George Mason. I sat next to two Auburn fans who referred to Florida and LSU as 'we' during both games. "We need to rebound!" "We need to push the ball." I root for the Pac-10. I want them to do well in the NCAA tournament and their bowl games, but you'll be hard-pressed to hear me refer to Washington State as 'we.'

I have wrestled with why the SEC fans take things so personally for years. I have developed a theory. I honestly believe the SEC is the modern day Confederate Army. This region of the country lives with the history of losing a war to the rest of the nation. There is a lingering 'little brother has to prove himself to big brother' effect. The unity that exists in the conference is staggering because their hatred of each other is only outdone by their love for the conference.

When Florida beat Ohio State last year, it wasn't just a football victory. It was a statement about little brother being strong enough beat down big brother. Tomorrow night's game means different things to different people. For SEC fans, it is more than a crystal trophy. It is payback from the sting of a loss suffered 143 years ago.

My prediction - General Tressell - 27 Private Miles - 13

Tuesday's conversation will not be LSU's speed. It will be Ohio State's toughness and physicality.

Please keep in mind I grew up in LA LA Land where people show up to championship games in the 2nd quarter and leave at halftime.

MADE IN GOD'S IMAGE - COACHES

Deuteronomy 4:24 For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

God and jealousy don't seem like words that belong in the same sentence. Jealousy usually has a negative connotation. We usually think of jealousy in terms of envy and disdain. But God's jealousy is not negative. It is actually one of the most humbling compliments he could give us.

God's jealousy is a complex passion for our good. It is an intimate commitment to our well-being. It is a fiery refusal to be indifferent to our weaknesses and deficiencies. God refuses to sit by and

casually watch us settle for a mediocrity.

Coaches (good ones) provide an excellent picture of this type of love. Athletics are a microcosm of life. Pride and complacency are traps faced everyday. Highs change to lows in a matter of seconds. Selfishness is always threatening everything.

It is a coach's job to teach players to find a way to make the most of their individual abilities in the midst of the battle. The best coaches mix strength and gentleness, toughness and grace, the highest demands with great understanding. Coaches should have an intense refusal to allow their players to settle for less than their best, and at the same time love the players when they don't measure up. Coaches should get angry, not at their players, but for their players. The anger should be grounded in knowing what the players are capable of accomplishing.

This type of love cannot be given without deep knowledge of the players. Nobody can pretend to know what someone is capable of accomplishing. A fake will be identified quickly. Likewise, this type of love has to be sincere and unselfish. Virtuous jealousy is impossible with personal ambitions that outweigh value of the player.

So, next time you see Bobby Knight 'advise' a player on how to properly run motion offense or Bill Belichick gently reminding Rodney Harrison not to cheat, remember you're witnessing a glimpse of God's glory. He has chosen to reveal himself in the oddest of creatures - coaches.

I had a professor in college that was always talking about the lenses through which we see the world around us. He was the first to teach me that everybody has a worldview, or a foundation that lies at the root of how the rest of the world is seen and experienced. I have recently realized an inconsistency between my faith and my love of sports.

I heard these quotes from Kevin Twit in a lecture on Faith and Pop Culture:

"Even if you're not seeking to glorify God, if you're a Christian or a non-Christian, you're using stuff that God made to glorify himself, and his glory still breaks through. You can't help it. I tell people (and sometimes Christians get upset) that Marilyn Manson uses the creativity God gave him to curse his name. He can't help it. He probably wouldn't be happy about me saying that. "

"Everything fails to glorify God as it should and nothing fails to glorify God at some level because he has left himself with a witness."

Twit didn't comment on sports in his lecture, but he could have. Sports has taken on a dominant role in our culture. I have heard athletes compared to the gladiators of old. While I see the similarities, I think there is a greater connection between athletes and the ancient gods than the ancient gladiators.

Think about what we want from athletes. We want greatness with humility, power with grace, transcendence with nearness. We don't want to watch a game. We want to worship. No wonder athletes (from middle schoolers to professionals) are screwed up. We have elevated worshipers to the place of receiving worship. We have traded the Creator for His creation.

The easy (and thoughtless) solution to the problem is to just label sports as bad and avoid competition so we don't get tangled up in sin and idolatry. But to do that would be neglecting to give God the glory he is due for his creation (aka - sin).

Athletes are amazing. It takes skill and grace to hit a 90 mile-an-hour fastball, shoot a 20 foot jump-shot, or perform an Olympic dive. The men and women who are gifted enough to do these things were made by the God who knew them and formed them in their mother's womb. They were knitted together by and for the Lord of the universe. Every good gift, including passes, shots, and dunks is from God. Athletes, like trees, rivers, artists, and the rest of God's creation are here for his glory.

So, if you love sports, thank and worship God. He is Lord of all, even free-throws.