Sports Watch
YOU can take two paths to predict the winner of Super Bowl XXXIV in Atlanta next January. Head, heart argue
over NFL picksThe first is with your head. That means the Minnesota Vikings will be playing the Jacksonville Jaguars for the National Football League championship.
With the Vikings winning, of course, to end their Super Bowl futility the same way that the Denver Broncos finally did.
Or, you can go with your heart and pick the Miami Dolphins to win the American Football Conference title so that Dan Marino can finally get his Super Bowl ring.
The Dolphins' NFC opponent on Super Sunday in Atlanta? Again, the heart says the San Francisco 49ers. And it would be only appropriate.
The 49ers defeated the Dolphins in Super Bowl XIX at Stanford Stadium in Marino's only Super Bowl appearance.
It came during Marino's second season at Miami. By then he had already established himself by winning MVP honors. He began his NFL career by being the first rookie quarterback to start in the Pro Bowl the year before.
The Dolphins lost, 38-16, but everyone thought it would be just the first of many Super Bowl appearances for Marino. That he'd get his championship ring sooner or later.
WELL, Marino's still looking. A Super Bowl victory is the only thing lacking in his remarkable resume, which includes being the career leader in passing yards, touchdowns, you name it.
Last of the super NFL quarterback class of 1983, which included John Elway, who retired happy with back-to-back Super Bowl victories, Marino knows that his football biological clock is ticking. He's nearly down to his last timeout.
So you can see why my head picks the Vikings and my heart the Dolphins to win the last Super Bowl of this century.
Actually, Minnesota finally winning a Super Bowl -- they're 0-for-4 against four different teams -- would also be a heartwarming story.
And, if you're into Fantasy Football, how's about Minnesota meeting Buffalo in Super Bowl XXXIV? Two 0-4 Super Bowl teams. What a matchup.
I know, I know. Get real. The Vikings can get there, but not the Bills.
THAT all said, here are my multiple-personality picks for the NFL this season:
Going with reason, not sentiment, I pick Minnesota to hold off Tampa Bay in the NFC Central, the 49ers to bounce back in the NFC West and the New York Giants to prevail in the so-so NFC East.
The wild-card spots will go to Tampa Bay and the Dallas Cowboys. You read right, the Pack won't be back yet.
The Vikings will advance to the Super Bowl with playoff victories over the Buccaneers and 49ers.
In the AFC, it'll be Jacksonville all the way after running away in the Central Division. The Dolphins will eat up "Tuna" and his New York Jets in the East, while the Broncos will have no trouble winning the West.
It'll be a different story once the playoffs start. Denver will get bumped off by the wild-card Jets.
Seattle, the other AFC wildcard, will be eliminated by the Dolphins, who will beat the Jets again and advance to the AFC title game against the Jaguars.
So who will win the AFC and try to defend Minnesota's Randy Moss and Cris Carter in Super Bowl XXXIV?
Like I said, the head says the Jaguars, and the heart, the Dolphins. Wish I could decide.
There's something to be said about suffering from multiple-personality disorder. You can have it both ways.
Bill Kwon has been writing about
sports for the Star-Bulletin since 1959.