Super Bowl Prediction: Prince Will Kick Ass

I was up at 6:30 a.m. Game Day which is standard for a major football fan. Super Bowl Fever? I've already got Pro Bowl Fever for next week! The best thing about this game is that there can't be a tragic football outcome, as far as who wins - something I couldn't always say in the Dallas Cowboy glory years.

I lean towards the Colts winning for the Coach and QB. I was wrong about Peyton Manning. Coming out of college, he seemed like a square establishment jock. As a kid, I went through the same thing with Johnny Unitas - speaking of Colts. He was this old guy who I identified with the super-square NFL while I sided with Broadway Joe Namath and the New York Jets. I liked the AFL. Nothing will ever come close to that Super Bowl for exhilaration. Every time I see the score 16 to 7, I'm reminded again.

Late in his life, I realized that Johnny U was a cool guy and somewhat of a rebel. He refused to attend NFL events because of the shocking mistreatment they show for the older players. Their disability payment plan is a major scandal and the fans should do something about it.

I thought Peyton Manning was a dud as a person while Washington State's Ryan Leaf was going to tear up the NFL. Maybe that's why I don't make predictions as much anymore. Peyton actually turns out to be an entertaining guy along with being great. Meanwhile, I had to google just to remember Ryan's name.

This could be the year Peyton changes his life with a Super Bowl ring. It would really make a difference for his whole family, especially after Archie Manning sweated away on the early, hapless Saints.

I could also see Chicago winning and that wouldn't be the worst thing. Brian Urlacher deserves something more than banging Paris Hilton. He deserves a championship. He is a beast on the field, and one of those defensive players who is fun to watch from the snap, like Lawrence Taylor.

"So quit stalling and make your prediction." I'll go with the Colts, 32-24, but I'm already second-guessing.

One prediction I'm much more sure of is that Prince will kick ass. Yes, he's kinky. Yes, he's got a slight prophet complex - he really does want to guide us to the Purple Rain. But this is absolutely one of the greatest musical talents ever to come along. He's world-class on guitar, drums, keyboards, bass, and vocals.

One other thing: After watching the greatest musical talent of my times screw up their lives with drinking and drugs, how cool is it to see a musical great who's a workaholic, but that's it? How refreshing is that? Prince is also a very creative business person, who was way out front of the musical download generation. Yes, his lyrics tend to be about being horny, mixed with some about God, but so what? The music is brilliant.

Nowadays when you go to see Prince the crowd looks normal, but back in the day - that 1988 concert in Seattle for example - the crowd looked like a casting call for a porno movie. I saw women with those lace gloves with the finger part cut-off and all manner of leather and kinkiness. I went as a musician and there have only been a few times where I was so sure an act would be great: I put him with James Brown and Ray Charles, also performers I saw several times each. These people aren't about nostalgia. Their impact moves forward, always staying current on some level. Musical greatness like this defies the whims and trends, and will last, the way that Duke Ellington has lasted.

Prince will go on being super-bad till the moment the little guy hits the floor.

There's my Super Bowl Prediction: Prince Will Kick Ass!