The Colts vs. Da Bears!

Oh, the Rivalry! And That's Off the Field.

RENSSELAER, Ind., Jan. 24 - The happy couple, Indianapolis Colts fans,
bounded into the tattoo shop on the main square of this small city,
unaware they had just crossed into enemy territory.

"We're getting married," Ruben Cantu exclaimed with his fiancée,
Maranda Riley, at his side. Soon, wedding talk turned to Super Bowl
talk, as so much conversation here does these days.

Little did Mr. Cantu and Ms. Riley know that despite his Indiana
address, the shop's owner, Tim Gross, professes undying allegiance to
the Chicago Bears, the Colts' opposition in Super Bowl XLI this
Sunday.

"So, congratulations," Mr. Gross told them. "Now get out."

Where Chicago Bears territory and Indianapolis Colts territory
collide, as they often do here, it is hard for fans to know exactly
where even their neighbors stand.

Never have two teams so geographically close competed for professional
football's ultimate prize. Culturally, they are Midwestern siblings.
Physically, they are but 180 miles apart along Interstate 65. Around
here, Sunday's game has become better known as the "I-65 Super Bowl."

The north-south border between Illinois and Indiana extends from the
lower tip of Lake Michigan to Kentucky. The border between Colts and
Bears territory is less clear, but many fans agree it runs right
through this town in northwest Indiana. "We are torn, we really are,"
said the mayor, Herbert Arihood.

The dividing line is as fluid as it is invisible, snaking at odd
angles through homes, restaurants, offices and bars, turning husband
against wife, brother against sister, shop owner against customer.

"You're either one or the other," Mr. Arihood said. "In my position I
have to retain neutrality, and it's hard to do, because the people
really like their football."

Only five other Super Bowls have been played by teams within
geographic proximity, none as close as the Bears and the Colts. In
1991, the New York Giants met the Buffalo Bills, whose home is roughly
300 miles from Giants Stadium. In 1995, the San Diego Chargers played
the 49ers, from San Francisco, about 500 miles north. And in 2000, the
St. Louis Rams tussled with the Tennessee Titans, who play in
Nashville, about 300 miles away. The closest up to now were Super Bowl
III, between the New York Jets and the Colts, who, back in 1969, were
based in Baltimore, 190 miles away, and Super Bowl XXXV, in 2001,
between the Giants and the Baltimore Ravens.

"It's like the planets aligned in a weird way and we got what we'd
been hoping for for years," said Shane Crownover, an artist in the
tattoo shop who defended Mr. Cantu and Ms. Riley by announcing, "Hey,
I'm for the Colts, too."

That is when the boss, Mr. Gross, by all accounts a pleasant man when
not talking football, made his own announcement: "Anybody who doesn't
want the Bears to win is fired!"

Mr. Crownover was undeterred, saying he was used to a house divided.
His wife roots for the Bears.

"It's totally unbelievable," he said. "You couldn't ask for a more
exciting game."

For some people, it is also a welcome bit of what they say is
unaccustomed attention for the Midwest and its teams. "It's always the
Yankees and the Lakers; I'm so tired of it," said George Kuhel, a
retired electric company manager from St. John. "The media just pounds
on the East Coast and the West Coast, and we never get our credit due
even though we play great ball."

David B. Klenosky, an associate professor at Purdue University in West
Lafayette, agreed, saying: "This is good for a change, equity in
sports. Spread the wealth around."

In ordinary times, Illinois and Indiana, which share a good bit of
commuter traffic and extended family ties, are not known as
antagonists.

But when it comes to football, "we're talking two neighboring states
but two different reputations and styles," said Robert P. Schmuhl, the
chairman of the American studies department at the University of Notre
Dame, near South Bend.

The Bears, from the City of Big Shoulders, are a rough and tough team,
not afraid to play in a blizzard. They are known for their strong
defense. The Colts are an offensive powerhouse led by one of the
league's marquee players, the quarterback Peyton Manning.

The Colts have star power. The Bears have grit.

"But when you get down to brass tacks," Dr. Schmuhl said, "there's one
winner, and fans recognize that."

The Colts' fortunes began to rise just as the Bears were in a dry
spell in the 1990s. Some Midwestern fans were looking for a winning
team and drifted toward Indianapolis. On the other hand, many older
football fans in Indiana feel strong ties to the Bears because the
team practiced at St. Joseph's College in Rensselaer from 1944 to
1974.

And some fans will be content no matter who wins.

Over dinner in a Mexican restaurant, Marie Perez said that she and her
family, Bears fans all, would "be bummed not to win."

"But we would also say, Hey, it's the Colts," Ms. Perez said. "They're
so close, it's really O.K." /From http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/30/us/
30rivalry.html?em&ex=1170306000&en=da1c8c3d5122fbc 8&ei=5087%0A

So the couple was - I assuming it was kiddingly - asked to leave the
tattoo shop. Hey, it could've been worse. The owner could have offered
to give the man and woman matching Indianapolis Colts tattoos in a
similar style as the recently reported Boca Juniors soccer team
tattoo.

D'OH!

--
Curt