The Who, What, and Why of Who's Going to the Super Bowl

By Stephen Silver

With the NFL's divisional playoffs scheduled for this weekend, we're only two weeks away from Super Bowl XXXVII. And not only is that a tie for the most roman numerals in Super Bowl history (with XXVIII), but if trends continue this may very well be the most watched Super Bowl worldwide, ever!
The Super Bowl is nothing if not hype, and there's usually a built-in storyline between the two teams that's milked for all its worth in the week before the big game. Here, as a service to you the reader, are all sixteen potential Super Bowl matchups, and the most likely gimmick assigned to the game:

Eagles vs. Raiders: Battle of Teams With Crazy, Drunken, Hostile, Strangely Costumed Fans!
Eagles vs. Jets: Battle of Teams Formerly Coached by Rich Kotite!
Eagles vs. Steelers: Battle of Teams From Pennsylvania!
Eagles vs. Titans: Battle of McNabb vs. McNair! (With McNown Watching at Home!)
Falcons vs. Raiders: Battle of Teams That Wear Black!
Falcons vs. Jets: Battle of Teams With Electrifying Young Quarterbacks!
Falcons vs. Steelers: Rematch of Battle From November That Ended in 34-34 Tie!
Falcons vs. Titans: Battle of Teams That Each Lost the Super Bowl a Few Years Ago and Now Are Good For the First Time Since!
49ers vs. Raiders: Battle of the Bay Area! (and Jerry Rice Too!)
49ers vs. Jets: Battle of Teams That Wrested Division Titles From Last Year's Super Bowl Teams!
49ers vs. Steelers: Battle of the Best Team of the '80s vs. the Best Team of the '70s!
49ers vs. Titans: Battle of Quarterbacks From Colleges You've Never Heard Of!
Buccaneers vs. Raiders: Battle of Jon Gruden's New Team vs. His Old Team!
Buccaneers vs. Jets: Battle of Keyshawn Johnson's New Team vs. His Old Team!
Buccaneers vs. Steelers: Last Year, Steelers Safety Lee Flowers Called the Bucs "Paper Champions"- Now, They Battle!
Buccaneers vs. Titans: Battle of Teams That Had Embarrassingly Ugly Uniforms Until Recently!

PS: I almost wish the Packers had made it this far, making possible a Packers-Steelers Super Bowl, and thus an historic matchup between Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila and Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala.