one giant step for Manning?

Politics is football carried on by other means. Thus, on Super Tuesday an overdog faces off against an underdog, the Perfect Team confronts the wild card qualifier, the scheming genius tangles with the likable little brother. Let's prognosticate. 

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The underdog only recently arrived on the scene. A first round pick in the 1994 draft, he impressed the scouts with a verbal vertical leap that was off the charts. Following in the footsteps of a Presidential Hall of Famer (Lincoln), he promised to be the Great Emancipator of American politics; he would free the political system from the slavery of lobbyists and the negativity of past decades. After beginning the campaign with a long drive, he scored first (a field goal in Iowa). Yet, the game has become a battle for field position, with setbacks (Nevada) and one turnover (New Hampshire) in the early going. But now, the young quarterback is behind by 4 percentage points, and the final quarter is underway. Will this precocious challenger be able to "shock the world" in the waning seconds of the game?

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What about the opponent, the leader who was ready to win on day one, the one who could withstand scandal, and go on to run up the score on hapless opponents? Will her hubris to go for it (unleashing long bomb ex-President Bill) on fourth down -- in an obvious field goal situation in South Carolina -- come back to haunt her? Surely, she has the game plan and experience to pull off the perfect season. Or, in defeat, will she sprint off the field in the final seconds, offering begrudging praise to the underdog ("he got the endorsements, we didn't.")?

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I like something about both the young quarterback and the evil genius coach. Everyone likes an underdog and the audacity of his bid for the highest office inspires hope. I also like the grey-hoodied coach, plain but ruthlessly efficient, destroying opponents and treating each victory as inevitable. How does one pick between them: the improvised brilliance of the underdog's the hail mary pass towards destiny or the meticulously orchestrated defensive plan of the old coach intended to smash the upstart in the mouth?

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The Final Score....right after this commercial break.

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photo credits: Eli Manning (Newsday); Bill Belichick (The Onion)