By Jeremy Brunner

What a pair of games. The AFC and NFC Championships both lived up to the hype. Okay, the Bears ran away with their game, but it was close for a while. But the Peyton Manning coming-of-age-show was dynamite. It was a game that featured not one, not two, but three touchdowns scored by linemen. How bizarre was that? Last week, in the Pats win over the Chargers, when Troy Brown forced a fumble after an interception, I said that was a team-of-destiny play. Then when a lineman scored for New England in the first quarter against the Colts, I said the same thing. The only way to overcome a team-of-destiny play is to come up with one of your own. Indianapolis did that when Jeff Saturday recovered a Dominic Rhodes fumble in the end zone for a TD. Many are comparing the Colts to the Boston Red Sox, finally toppling the New York Yankees in the playoffs. In both cases, the Colts/Sox still had to win the championship game or else all would be forgotten.

Manning really plays the lovable loser card well. He is following in the John Elway/Phil Mickelson/Red Sox footsteps perfectly. But I liken his career more to that of Michael Jordan. Remember that Jordan didn't win a NBA title until age 28. Manning has his shot at his first Super Bowl at age 30. Jordan spent years as the most talented player in the league, but was never able to put it together in the playoffs. Manning won MVP's, set all-time passing records, and also had his troubles in the playoffs. Michael Jordan appeared in tons of commercials, while Peyton is in more ads than Budweiser. MJ lost several times to the dominant force in the East, the Detroit Pistons. But once Jordan finally beat his rivals, the floodgates were opened and a dynasty was born. Now, there is too much parity for the Colts to become a dynasty, but I think Peyton would be delighted with one title in a row.

Okay, the two have their differences as well. But its a special moment when a league's most marketable, ridiculous stat producing superstar finally advances to the championship round for the first time. Just sit back and enjoy the birth of a legend. Unless of course, Manning loses to the Bears, then he takes the A-Train back to loserville. And Rex Grossman starts stealing some of those commercials.

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