OK – corny title but I couldn’t resist it. I have, after all, been existing on about 5 hours sleep over the last few nights – the last two sitting up in the early hours watching the NFL playoff games. My dog still decides what time I am going to get up again.

I wimped out of a Superbowl prediction this year as I am always wrong. Well one correct call over the years as I have noted here before and yes, I was the only person I knew who said the Bucs would do it and no – sadly I didn’t put money on it! But since then both my predictions, the Superbowl games themselves and the end result have been woeful. That’s largely, of course, because I belong to the ‘Any Team But The Patriots’ club. Not because I dislike the Patriots as such – although I would like to see Tom Brady’s smirk wiped off his face – but because I am a long term Raiders fan. Almost hard to admit that but it’s true. And Raider’s fans are, of course, united in their dislike of the Patriots – and if you don’t know why you’re not a true fan!

But this year’s playoff games have, so far, bought a smile to my face. So often finding myself supporting the losing side I actually got three out of four this weekend which is some kind of record. Not predictions of course, just having my preferred team win the game. And if the San Diego Chargers had actually come out playing football it would have been a full house.

I wanted to see the Colts beat the Ravens. It’s always such a slugfest with the big defensive teams and the Ravens are masters but the Colts deserve a shot although I don’t really like their chances against the bloody Patriots. I know they beat them in the season but when it comes to the playoffs something seems to happen to the Colts – they get conservative and mired and Manning can’t take the pressure. Which is exactly what happened to the Chargers. I fear a Patriot’s win but I’ll stick it out to the end. At least Manning and Dungy would have played the last four minutes with more intelligent play-calling than the Chargers managed who had a perfect opportunity to run the ball up the field with Tomlinson, letting the clock wind down and putting up a last minute field goal and instead tried to air it out.

I was happy also to see Chicago prevail over Seattle. I am a bit of a closet Seahawks fan but I don’t believe there is any way they could have stood up to either the Patriots or the Colts in a Superbowl and that would have turned them into another Buffalo! Anyway – my wife is a Chicago fan from the days of Walter Peyton so I was happy to go along and see them win.

But wasn’t the best game of all the Eagles and the Saints? What a riveting and nail-biting game that was. And what deserving winners New Orleans were. They are playing some of the most elegant and exciting football in the NFL today and their win almost bought tears to my eyes. What’s more, I can’t see Chicago stopping them even with the game being played at Soldier Field.

So for me it’s got to be the Saints and Colts this year. Which almost certainly means it will be the Bears and Patriots. And if it’s the Bears and Patriots I don’t see a repeat of 1986 which was played, coincidentally, at the Louisiana Superdome.