Browns are out but Bears, Colts have their own strong points

It's Super Bowl time again, and that can only mean one thing: My team is not playing.

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The Cleveland Browns once again are not in the Super Bowl. That again forces me to jump on board one of two bandwagons this weekend and hope my temporarily adopted team will win.

So, which do I pick - the Indianapolis Colts or the Chicago Bears? My choice is a highly scientific approach with several steps.

The history

The Colts have a 1-1 record in the big game if you count when they were in Baltimore. Otherwise, this is their first trip. Chicago won Super Bowl XX over New England 46-10. It was their only Super Bowl appearance.

Advantage: Chicago

The star power

The Chicago Bears are led by quarterback Rex Grossman. His first name means "king" in Latin, but that's trumped by the highly comical English definition of his last name. His talent is even more suspect. Indianapolis has Peyton Manning. If his play at quarterback is half as good as his TV commercials, the Colts have nothing to worry about.

Advantage: Indianapolis

The mascots

This one's a no-brainer. In the animal kingdom, the bear is the mighty king of the North American forests. A colt is a baby horse. Well, at least it's a boy horse.

Advantage: Da Bears.

The odds

As of Thursday morning, Indianapolis was a 7-point favorite over Chicago, the equivalent of a one-touchdown win. It's a strange margin of victory considering that Indy has 11 field goals but only six touchdowns in the playoffs.

Advantage: Indianapolis

The city

Chicago is one of the largest cities in the country, home to Wrigley Field, Soldier Stadium, Ferris Bueller's Day Off and the Sears Tower. Indianapolis is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and ... um ... the Colts!

Advantage: Chicago.

The overall advantage goes to Chicago in my highly scientific Super Bowl picker formula o' fun. I'll take Chicago 27-26, with at least six field goals between the two teams.

Here's what the rest of the office thinks:

Jim Blaylock, photographer

Indianapolis 14-7

Donnie Fetter, staff writer

Indianapolis 34-13

Suzanne Liverett, office manager

Indianapolis 42-38

Barry Paschal, publisher

Chicago 28-10

Rob Pavey, outdoors writer

Chicago 28-17

Valerie Rowell, staff writer

Indianapolis 28-24

Preston Sparks, bureau chief

Indianapolis 28-17

Scott Trubey, staff writer

Indianapolis 23-21