The Requisite Super Bowl Post

Chicago's big day has arrived, and there's nothing else this city can talk about. The sports bet line has the Colts up by seven, but if the Bears come together, they won't be beaten. It's unfortunate that the team hasn't always been in sync throughout the entire season, but they've certainly come together during the playoffs, and if the team that beat the Seahawks and the Saints comes on the field, they'll leave triumphant.

As always, the mayors of the two cities have put together a wager. The haul Richie Daley put on the table is not bad. Here's the Sun-Times' description:

The booty laid out at the Cadillac Room at Soldier Field would take a moving van to truck down to Indy.

It includes such Chicago staples as cheesecake, ribs, burgers, sausages, nachos, pizza, beer, wine, nuts, hot dogs, Italian beef, popcorn, pretzels, coffee, candy and cinnamon rolls.

But, Daley has also thrown in 18 new items, including a shirt, belt buckle, necktie, cufflinks, kabobs, catfish, English muffins, pasta, catfish, corned beef hash, caramel cake, sandwiches and a whole pig on a spit. There's even a pastel drawing of Millennium Park by an award-winning senior at Whitney Young H.S. and a chair and ottoman with the Bears' color and logo left over from the Suite Home Chicago street furniture program.

Not too bad. For his part, Indianapolis mayor Bart Peterson has put a number of events on the table, such as tickets to the Indy 500, to the Big Ten basketball championship, and to a Neil Sedaka concert with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. Sure, you might've expected Indy 500 tickets, but Neil Sedaka? These guys really know how to put up a wager. The city of Indianapolis Website has the full details of both the Chicago and Indianapolis bets.

As for Bears fans who didn't make the trek to Miami, they can still have most of the pleasures of a home game at Soldier Field. The NFL refused permission for the Chicago Park District to show the game on Soldier Field's video screen--to protect the all-important ratings, don't you know. You don't get $2.6 million for a 30-second ad by letting people watch the game where Nielsen can't count them. But all is not lost. The Soldier Field parking lots will still be open, making any and all tailgaters welcome. Since we're looking for a high of 4 degrees, with wind chill potentially dipping down to -20, outdoors on the lakefront is certainly the place to be.