Nico Gist 10/2/2010 8th grade Block #3 32-30, Final

Beethovens Third Symphony rang out through the hallway. I got it! I yelled over the rail to my sister on the first floor. I walked into my parents room and grabbed the phone. I pressed the green Talk button as I raised the phone to my ear. Hello. Nico, I told you I was going to get the phone, Tasha spoke into the receiver downstairs. What? No you didnt! Hang up. Geez, sorry. She hung up. Im sorry about that, I I started to apologize to whoever had called us before I realized it was a recording. If this is the Gist home, please press one. If this is n I cut off the recording by pressing one. Congratulations. I am pleased to inform you that you have won the grand prize for the Official National Football League Sweepstakes. An email has been sent to you with the information necessary to claim your prize. I stood there silently for a few moments and then walked in a daze to my room and threw myself down on my bed. Then I screamed into the pillow. My mom opened the front door while I was walking to my room. Now she was next to me. Whats wrong, Nico? she asked worriedly.

I tilted my head to the side and replied, I won that contest. Were going to the Super Bowl.

2 months later

In two days, Im going to be at a real NFL game in a luxury box, I emphasized that part, for the SUPER BOWL! There was nothing (and I mean nothing) that could possibly have hidden my excitement. YES! After that particular outburst, several people looked over their shoulders at me through the crowded airport terminal. My family and I were waiting for our plane to Dallas sitting in our not-so-comfortable chairs in LAX. Now boarding Group A, the lady at the airline desk spoke into the microphone. The screen usually bearing advertisements for the airline echoed her words. Thats us! I commented happily. It didnt take long for my family to get through the line and onto the plane. The prize had of course included transportation, so we were riding First Class. This airplane had personal movie screens for every passenger, so it was easy to pass the time. I had barely finished my movie when we landed. The next two days were spent having fun in the city and having plenty of relaxation time at our fancy hotel. When it was time to go, a limousine pulled up in front of our hotel. Whos that for? my sister Tasha asked, admiring the long, sleek car. Thats for us, I replied back to her. She looked very happy after that. The limo made the incredibly bad traffic on the way to the stadium somewhat bearable. The limo was really cool, but the true fun began when we got to the stadium. It was packed with people displaying either blue and white for the Indianapolis Colts or purple and gold for the Minnesota Vikings. Personally, I was wearing my Brett Favre Vikings jersey. Favre was my favorite player from the Green Bay Packers, and when he moved to one of my favorite teams, it was perfect. One thing that made this game hugely important (for both Favre and his fans) was that it was most likely Favres last game before he retired.

Each of these teams had several stars; the Vikings had a fantastic defense (second only to the Pittsburg Steelers) and the best running back in the NFL in Adrian Peterson. The Colts had Peyton Manning, arguably one of the best quarterbacks ever, and great wide receivers such as Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark, and Austin Collie. It took a while, but finally the game was starting. The captains from each team along with the refs joined together at midfield. The main referee's magnified voice rang through the stadium. This side is heads, he turned the coin over, and this side is tails. Indianapolis will call the toss. He flipped the coin into the air and Dwight Freeny, the Colts' Defensive End, said tails. The referee's voice rang out again. The toss is tails , and then, Indianapolis has chosen to defer. The game was about to begin. Percy Harvin of the Vikings received the kickoff and returned it to the 36 yard line. Brett Favre and Adrian Peterson came onto the field with the rest of the offense and walked into the huddle. Down, Set Green 42, Hut, Hut, Hike! Brett Favre called at the line of scrimmage. He dropped back and looked for Visanthe Shiancoe on the out route to the right sideline. The throw was right on target, and the Colts couldn't get him down until he had passed the first down line. The drive continued down to the Colts two yard line. Other than the first few plays, the Vikings had run the ball most of the drive but they hadn't been stopped so far. Hike! Favre called and then he pitched the ball to Peterson. He ran the ball in untouched. Touchdown Vikings! Ryan Longwell made the extra point with ease.

Adam Vinatieri kicked a thirty-seven yard field goal on the Colts next drive to make the game 7-3, Vikings. The Vikings were stopped short on their next drive, but the Colts came back to take the lead with a sixty-five yard bomb from Peyton Manning to Reggie Wayne. The Vikings drive proceeding after this again ended short when Favre was hit hard in the back by Dwight Freeny as he passed the ball and was intercepted by the defensive back. This closed out the quarter. The Vikings, except for their first drive, had played poorly so far. Favre had 87 yards, but no touchdowns and one interception. Peterson had 43 yards and one touchdown. Manning, on the other hand, all ready had 127 yards and one TD. The second quarter began with the Colts driving down to the 32 yard line but then missing a field goal of 49 yards for Vinatieri. The Vikings had apparently decided to pull their act together after the first quarter; they went on a six-minute drive that finished with a 39 yard field goal from Longwell. The Colts countered with another big strike: 44 yards from Manning to Dallas Clark. That made the game 14-10, Colts. The score didnt change for the rest of the quarter. At halftime, I decided to put the luxury suites staff to use. Previously, I had been so focused on the game that I hadnt had enough time to take advantage of the situation inside. There were plenty of servers for us, a pizza oven, a double-sized fridge with lots of food and drinks, beanbag chairs, a 60 inch, plasma screen, HD TV to watch the game on (not that we needed it with the Jumbotron right in front of us), and a full dinner menu. I had a thin crust Hawaiian pizza with a Sprite while I discussed the first half with my dad.

At the Super Bowl this year, the band that was playing happened to be one of my favorites. I watched intently as U2 walked out onto the stage. Hello everybody! Bono called out to the stadium. I liked all of the songs they played: With or Without You, Pride (In the Name of Love), City of Blinding Lights, and for the finale, Magnificent. A group of dancers also came out and did two dances. Finally, it was time for the second half to begin. I hoped that this half would be more exciting. My wish came true. The second half started with a few big passes for the Colts and a two yard touchdown from Joseph Addai. The Colts were pulling away from the Vikings. It was now 24-10 and the Vikings hadnt had a touchdown since the first drive. That changed on the very next play. I decided to turn the TV on so I could hear the commentators. The Colts now are kicking off to Percy Harvin. Hes got the ball in his own end zone, and he brings it out to the 24 yard line before hes downed by Wait! Somehow, hes broken free of the gang tackle and Percy Harvin has an open field in front of him. Hes going the 40, the 30, the 20, the 10, and the Vikings have a touchdown! Twenty-four to sixteen! And the Vikings are back into this! Longwell tacked on the extra point to bring Minnesota within a touchdown of the Colts. The next two drives were cut short of field goal range. Then, with three minutes remaining on the clock, the Vikings got another chance at the end zone. The Colts were forced to punt after a sack by Kevin Williams. Percy Harvin, filling in for the injured punt returner, got the ball again and found daylight. The commentators were yelling in the booth. Percy Harvin is going for two return touchdowns on the game! All thats left between him and the end zone is the

punter, Pat McAfee. Ooohhhh! He trips Harvin up at the 21 yard line. A beautiful play by the Colts punter! The Vikings would score two plays later on a 17 yard pass to Bernard Berrian. At the end of the third quarter, the score was tied at twenty-four. Favre had accumulated 214 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Manning was having a great day. He had 341 yards and two touchdowns. Peterson, of the Vikings, had powered his way to 18 carries for 127 yards and a score, and 32 receiving yards off 4 passes. The fourth quarter was going to decide the game. It was evident that Peyton Manning had come off the sideline with a new determination, because he led the Colts on an 8-play, 72 yard drive, capped off with a seven yard bullet to Austin Collie. The extra point, however, was not as enjoyable for the Colts. A Vikings defensive lineman crashed through the line of scrimmage and, with arms held above his head, leaped toward the kicker. Its blocked! the Jumbotron read in flashing colors. I looked at the scoreboard. Vikings- 24, Colts- 30. The Vikings struck back with a 56 yard rush by Adrian Peterson on the opposing drive. Two plays later, on First and Goal, Brett Favre handed the ball off to Peterson yet again. This time, things didnt go as planned for the NFC Champs. On the one-yard line, the ball was stripped by Robert Mathis and recovered by the Colts. But not all hope was lost for Minnesota. On second down at the two-yard line, Jared Allen burst through the offensive line and knocked Peyton Manning to the ground. As he was hit, Peyton lost the ball, and it now rested in the end zone as the Colts second running back, Donald Brown, fell on the ball. Safety!

With the 2-point safety, the Vikings were within four of Indianapolis. The clock now said 5:18. The Colts punter came off the sideline for the punt. The Vikings regular punt returner was now back in the game. The ball was kicked high and far. It took a bounce before he went to grab it, only to have it bounce off his fingers. Pierre Garon dived on the ball. The Colts had it back with great field position. The Colts ran out the clock till there was only 1:03 left on the clock. Peyton Manning faked the handoff to Donald Brown and dropped back to find the short pass to put them in field position. Antoine Winfield read the play and leaped in front of the pass intended for Reggie Wayne. Interception! Winfield was immediately tackled by Wayne, but the damage was already done. Brett Favre now had one last chance. The Vikings had to go 76 yards in 0:57 with no more timeouts, and they couldnt let Peyton Manning get the ball back. First Down. Favre threw a screen to Toby Gerhart, which he turned into an eight yard gain with a broken tackle. Unfortunately, he wasnt able to get out of bounds. The clock ran down to 0:45 while Favre called the play at the line of scrimmage. Hike. Favre dropped back and slung the ball deep downfield to Sidney Rice. The defender was positioned well and the pass was incomplete. Sixty-eight yards to go with 0:41 left on the clock. The Vikings walked to the line of scrimmage at their 42 yard line. The next play was a reverse pass. Percy Harvin went in motion toward Favre, who handed the ball off to him. At the same time, Sidney Rice ran toward Favre and Harvin. Harvin handed the ball off to Rice and then ran a deep route. Rice found Visanthe Shiancoe on the sideline for a gain of 13 yards. The clock was still running. Favre raced up to the line of scrimmage and, as soon as everyone was set, spiked the ball. This left the clock at 0:35. On second down, Favre dropped back and looked for an open

receiver. The pass rush was weak and the offensive line protected Favre for several seconds. Seeing Robert Mathis coming in from the right side, Favre rolled out to the left. Still, no receiver was open. Giving up, he took off running. The nearest Colt came up to meet him, but Favre sidestepped him out of bounds at the Colts 36 yard line. There was 0:26 seconds remaining on the clock. It was third down and one for the Vikings. Favre dropped back to pass, but he couldnt see Dwight Freeny coming at him from behind. He was delivered a bone-shattering hit and lost the ball. The linemen, having seen what happened, made for the ball in a mad scramble. Both Colts and Vikings dived on the ball as it rolled slowly across the field. The 42 yard line had turned into a huge dog-pile of bodies reaching for the bottom of the stack. Tweet! Tweeeeeet! the referees blew their whistles to signal the end of the play. They pulled players off the top of the pile until it dwindled down to just a few players. All of the Colts players were pointing their hands in the direction of the Vikings goal line. The refs didnt agree with them though. The lead referee walked away from the group of players. The Vikings have possession of the ball. Fourth down. Please reset the game clock to 0:13. The Vikings had lost 6 yards on that play, but more importantly, Favre was still on the ground. The trainers raced out on the field. It looked pretty serious, but Favre was able to get up with the trainers help. He hobbled over to the sideline where he proceeded to demand that he play the last play or two even though his coach, Brad Childress, was saying no. Childress was eventually convinced, because Favre went back on the field. The Colts were pretty sure of what play was coming next: a Hail Mary. The Vikings lined up in shotgun formation with five wide receivers. The Colts were only rushing three men, and the

two safeties were playing in the end zone. Down Set, Hike! Favre called. He waited. The offensive line was holding up well. Eight seconds left Favre hobbled to the right a bit and then heaved the ball downfield as he was hit. 0:06, 0:05, 0:04 The ball hung in the air. It arrived in the end zone and everyone leaped up. This time, luck was with Minnesota. Sidney Rice leaped over the Colts defenders and snagged the ball out of the air. Tweeeeet! Whistles blew from all directions. The referees held their hands up in the formation of a goalpost. Touchdown!!!! I yelled as I jumped up, not paying any attention to the food Id flung off of my lap. Time had expired. Vikings win!! Brett Favre lay on the ground in disbelief, but he soon got up and sprinted down the field to lift Sidney Rice up into the air. The scoreboard screamed, Touchdown! just as I had. Now it changed to the Super Bowl logo and below that, Vikings- 32, Colts- 30, Final.