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via ESPN

Let’s hope they go out on top this season.

I’m pretty sure that I’m not the only one, but I was less than thrilled by this year’s Super Bowl ads, it didn’t seem like there were any that stood out from the pack. I don’t think I ever got past a subtle laugh — now the game, that is a completely different story, one of the better Super Bowls I’ve seen in some time.

What were your favorite ads? Any that you thought were complete duds?

A weekend of outstanding playoff games has led to what should be an outstanding Super Bowl game, both the Saints and the Colts have high flying offenses and turnover inducing defenses. I’ll be taking the Saints — heck might even go out and buy a t-shirt to make my Saint’s bandwagoning for the last 6 years bonded by thread.

One team is going to the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history and the other is a NFL dynasty, a game of underdog and institutional champs. A game where Archie Manning must choose between the blood bond of father and son or the blood, sweat and tear’s bond of his former colors. Anyway you look at it, the game should be an epic Super Bowl.

• ESPN: Colts-Saints means offense vs. offense.

Who you got? Saints or Colts?

The biggest talk right now is where are the Boise State Broncos going to be in next season’s preseason poll — the deciding factor as to whether or not they’ll have a shot at the national title next season — should they win out.

• Sports Illustrated Predicts Broncos to Start 2010 at No. 2. With the 2009 college football season less than a week old, predictions have already started for the 2010 season and Sports Illustrated magazine has picked Boise State University No. 2 in its preseason rankings. In this week’s edition, Sports Illustrated staff writer Andy Staples has the Broncos ranked just behind defending national champion Alabama. Ohio State, Texas and Iowa round out the weekly magazine’s preseason top five.
• Slighted Boise State loads up for title run. The Broncos will be The Post’s second-ranked team going into next season. They have a home game against Oregon State and neutral-site game against Virginia Tech at FedEx Field in Landover, Md., where the Hokies should have an advantage. If Boise wins those two, and runs the table in the WAC, it deserves to play for the national championship. The Broncos then will have lost just one game in three seasons. Stunning.
• Pat Forde ESPN: No. 1 in 2010? It’s a no-brainer. [...] Boise State should be No. 1 going into 2010, and it will be on my ESPN.com power rankings unless something catastrophic happens in the offseason. The Broncos have taken loaded to a new level, returning more experience than any other team I can remember from one season to the next. The single starter who is leaving is a great one — cornerback Kyle Wilson, a cinch NFL draft pick — but he is the only loss.
• Boise State may get a shot at BCS glory next season. [...] But the Broncos may find a solution to that entry barrier next season, when they likely will start out as a top five team in the preseason rankings. Boise State expects to return 23 of 24 starters from a squad that has won 26 of its past 27 games. Add to that a nonconference slate — critical for teams that reside in conferences whose champions are not awarded automatic BCS berths — that includes matchups against Virginia Tech at FedEx Field and at home against Oregon State, and the Broncos’ preseason résumé looks even more impressive.
• ESPN: Non-AQ final power rankings. 1. Boise State: The Broncos finished the year as the highest-ranked non-AQ team after beating TCU in a defensive Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. It was a huge way for the Broncos to end their season especially since they return almost every starter and should be in the top 5 to start 2010.
• Bleacher Report: Boise State Broncos Getting National Love, but will the BCS Recognize Them? ESPN’s most notable columnists Mark Schlabach and Pat Forde had a lot to say about the Boise State Broncos as they contemplated where the Broncos would be and where they should be in the 2010 college football preseason rankings.

College football, or the NFL? Neither? Both?

I’m thinkin’ that this should be the last Boise State Bronco’s roundup for the season — and what a season it was!

• Crowd welcomes 14-0 Fiesta Bowl champions back to Boise. Hundreds of fans braved a cold, rainy Tuesday afternoon to welcome the Boise State University Broncos home from their Fiesta Bowl victory. Chanting “Boise State!” and “Bronco Nation!” the crowd greeted the team near Bronco Stadium.
• Bronco Fiesta Bowl Championship Shirts A Hot Commodity. The first wave of Fiesta Bowl Championship t-shirts flooded Boise stores Tuesday morning, just 12 hours after the Broncos’ victory.
• BCS gear expected to fly off shelves. Less than 24 hours following their victory over TCU, Fiesta Bowl championship gear is making its debut.
• BSU lands in Boise with Fiesta victory. People in the airport broke out in applause when the Boise State Broncos arrived and descended the escalators, along with fans and alums who flew back in three chartered aircraft.
• ‘You had a great season’ commercial pleads for playoff. Playoff PAC is a federal political committee dedicated to establishing a competitive post-season championship for college football. The video highlights TCU and Boise State’s undefeated regular seasons.
• Fiesta Bowl champs get a heroes’ homecoming. The Broncos return to rainy skies but jubilant fans.
• Lay’s Potato Chip ad aired during the Fiesta Bowl riles Idaho fans. They had to ask … And then the Lay’s Potato Chip ad that aired nationally in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl ended with farmers saying the best spuds come from their home: Texas.

I refrained yesterday from posting anything on the Cowbell Girl meme because I didn’t think it was appropriate (editorial discretion, ya dig?), although I was amazed at how quickly the meme took off. We saw the clip during the game and by the time I got home some forums had already taken off with photoshops and video edits. Lucky by the next morning word had spread that she is blind and most reputable sites took down the offending content.

All that being said, the story has now become how fast the meme was born and what happens when people on the interwebs get it wrong.

• Sad Cowbell Girl – Do we really need “more cowbell”? In case you haven’t heard, and only know what was shown Monday night on Fox Sports’ broadcast of BSU’s win at the Fiesta Bowl, the “cowbell girl’ does smile! Her story has lit up the internet in a special way and many people are either embarrassed or excited.
• Mashable: Revelation: Sad Cowbell Girl Is Blind, Entire Internet Hangs Head in Shame. The Boise Sad Cowbell Girl Meme started out so innocently, with Internet lurkers delighting to her lackluster cowbell stylings. And then, we found out she was blind and that we, subsequently, are bad, bad people.

…and yes, the TCU player puking on the field was fair game.

/via Chris Peterson (no, not that one, the other one).

Idaho Press-Tribune – Idaho Statesman.

****This post is under construction — check back for more links — I’m still adding them****

…and what an awesome game it was.

And ’cause it’s what I do, here is what everyone is saying about the Bronco’s second Fiesta Bowl victory.

Idaho Statesman:

• Murphy: Boise State Broncos are part of football’s elite. At the scene of its greatest triumph, Boise State once again set the college football world abuzz, its transition from ultimate underdog to power player complete.
• Boise State tops TCU for Fiesta Bowl title. Big stages, big gambles. Even bigger rewards. The Boise State football team used a fake punt in the fourth quarter to spark a 17-10 upset of No. 3 TCU in the Fiesta Bowl on Monday night at University of Phoenix Stadium.
• Fan-tastic finish: Boise State takes Bronco Nation on another Fiesta Bowl thrill ride. Boise State takes Bronco Nation on another thrill ride.
• Boise State fans find a way to party, even if they couldn’t make it to the big game. Boise State fans find a way to party – away from the Fiesta Bowl.
• Greet BSU players and coaches outside Bronco Stadium at 2:30 p.m. Anyone who wants to greet the victorious Boise State Broncos — players and coaches — as they return from the Fiesta Bowl should make sure to get to Bronco Stadium by 2:30 p.m. Tuesday.

KTVB (lots of great videos):

• Boise State finishes perfect season with 17-10 Fiesta Bowl win over TCU. Boise State reached into its bag of tricks again and stunned Texas Christian in a Fiesta Bowl duel of unbeaten BCS busters.
• Quarterback Kellen Moore post game comments.
• Cornerback Kyle Wilson post game comments.
• Broncos post Fiesta Bowl press conference.
• The Scott Slant: The Boise State defense from the Oregon game returneth. We have a compact Scott Slant column today. But what am I gonna do, take the day off? The first game ball from Boise State’s dramatic 17-10 victory over TCU in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl last night has to go to Bronco defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox. He took a unit that had allowed 275 rushing yards to the Horned Frogs in the 2008 Poinsettia Bowl and redesigned it for a very special occasion.

The Arbiter:

• Thompson’s big night sets stage for Fiesta Bowl upset. In a defensive furry, changing personnel on the defensive line and creating good match-ups against the No. 4 offense in the country, the Boise State Broncos shut down a running game that produced 275 yards during their meeting in 2008 in San Diego at the Poinsettia Bowl where BSU lost, 16-17.
• “Riddler”: The fake punt that fueled the Broncos to victory. Nothing had gone right for all-around kicker Kyle Brotzman all season, and the beginning of the Fiesta Bowl was no different. It was what he did on a fourth-and-nine play at his team’s own 33 yard line that will define Brotzman forever.
• Crowd Uncontrolled (video).

Idaho Press-Tribune:

• Broncos fans enjoy the Fiesta Bowl game at Nampa theater. Broncos fans watching the Fiesta Bowl at Nampa’s Northern Lights Cinema Grill gave the matchup with Texas Christian University’s Horned Frogs high marks at halftime. “It’s a great game,” Bonnie Buchta of Caldwell said. “I think they (the Broncos) are going good but I think they could do better. Kellen (Moore) needs to settle down and get his passes completed. … It’s just been really fun. I hope it gets better in the second half and we come out playing strong.”
• Locals celebrate Boise State victory over TCU. Nampa’s Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar erupted in wild cheers Monday night as a late-game interception sealed the Broncos’ 17-10 Fiesta Bowl victory over the TCU Horned Frogs. About 250 fans packed the restaurant to witness Boise State’s second Fiesta Bowl appearance and win.
• Familiar Fiesta for Broncos. Of course a trick play had to happen. The Boise State Broncos, who have been known for the past three years for three jaw-dropping plays and who are asked about those types of plays every day, returned to the Fiesta Bowl on Monday against the TCU Horned Frogs.

KIVI:

• Broncos Beat TCU in the Fiesta Bowl. Boise State reached into its bag of tricks again and stunned Texas Christian in a Fiesta Bowl duel of unbeaten BCS busters.
• Boise State President talks Fiesta Bowl win. Boise State President Bob Kustra talks with Today’s Channel 6 moments after the Broncos’ Fiesta Bowl victory.
• Boise State QB Kellen Moore talks Broncos Fiesta Bowl win. Boise State QB Kellen Moore talks with Today’s Channel 6 moments after the Broncos’ Fiesta Bowl win.
• Bronco DE Winterswyk talks Fiesta Bowl win. Bronco DE Ryan Winterswyk talks with Today’s Channel 6 moments after Boise State’s Fiesta Bowl win.

Other local media:

• NewWest Boise: Eavesdropping on the Fiesta Bowl in Boise. Boise State University’s undefeated football team playing a bowl game against Texas Christian University is an occasion to study the male species in its native habitat (the sofa) consuming its natural diet (chips and beer.) And it’s a time to wonder why it took me so long to appreciate sports, after years of holding the snobby attitude that we should focus on brainier pursuits.
• IPT’s From the Editor: Broncos proved they belong in the top rankings; Facebook and Twitter fans help spread the word. What a game! The Broncos really stepped up and showed the nation what Boise State fans already knew. With the University of Idaho win the Humanitarian Bowl and the Fiesta Bowl win, the Gem State proved Idaho is a football heavywight.
• KTRV: Egyptian Theatre Fills With Fiesta Watchers. A bunch of Bronco fans took in the Fiesta Bowl on the silver screen.
• KBCI: Celebration erupts in Boise. Bronco Nation fans filled the streets of downtown Boise late Monday night celebrating Boise State’s win over TCU.
• OBNUG: Top 10 game-changing moments from Boise State’s Fiesta Bowl win.

ESPN:

• Gene Wojciechowski: Opportunity knocks but no answer.
• Broncos execute trick to perfection. It wasn’t going to work. Not this time. TCU clearly had seen film of Boise State’s game at Hawaii. The Horned Frogs immediately recognized the “punt” — nudge-nudge-wink-wink — formation.
• TCU comes out flat in its biggest game. For the first time all season, TCU squinted from the glare of the spotlight. The desert lights were the brightest the Horned Frogs had seen all season, and they looked desperate to find some shade.
• TCU will use this as motivation. If there’s one thing that TCU could learn from Boise State after Monday’s Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, it’s that losing is a powerful motivation.

Other Media:

• USA Today: Sixth-ranked Boise State wins Fiesta Bowl against No. 3 TCU (ed. TCU was ranked 3 in the coach’s poll, 4th in the BCS). For the second time in four years, Boise State turned the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl into a springboard for national recognition. And once again, the Broncos used deception on the way to victory. The sixth-ranked Broncos completed a 14-0 season and spoiled No. 3 TCU’s perfect year by knocking off the Horned Frogs 17-10 at University of Phoenix Stadium. The victory went one better than Boise’s signature 43-42 overtime upset of Oklahoma here in January 2007.
• NY Times: Boise State Cracks Open Close Game With Surprise Encore of Trickery. Any casual college football fan who stumbled upon Boise State in the magical Fiesta Bowl three years ago knows that the Broncos can conjure up the most creative of happy endings.
• LA Times: Boise State wins with trickery in Fiesta Bowl that’s no treat. Texas Christian against Boise State in Monday’s Fiesta Bowl was tense, close and wasn’t decided until the final 18 seconds. Boise State, surprise, used a trick play, and it worked. “I think that’s what they expect out of us,” Coach Chris Petersen joked afterward. “I’m happy to deliver.” But was it a good game?

Other stuff:

• Sad TCU fans – 1, 2, 3, 4.
• Puking TCU player.
• Major: “Cummunication”.

Now that you know what the local media from both Boise and the Dallas-Fort Worth area are saying about tonight’s Fiesta Bowl, how about what others from around the country are saying…

• NY Times: The Story and the Backstory at the Fiesta Bowl. Have you ever seen a sports book that sells itself as more than a sports book? It’s not just the book about –- generic example here –- the Red Sox’ and Yankees’ one-game playoff in 1978. It’s about how that one game epitomized the tension of the rivalry, the essence of a baseball era and helped Americans adjust to life in the post-Vietnam era. Exaggerating a bit here, but you get the idea. The game itself isn’t really that important.
• The Wall Street Journal: On Offense: Advocates of College Football Playoffs Run TV Ads. Playoff PAC, a group that aims to replace the current college-football Bowl Championship Series with a playoff system, is taking its message to TV.
• ESPN: First BCS game nerves for TCU? Boise State coach Chris Petersen doesn’t think so. He was asked if it was an advantage for Boise State to have played in a BCS bowl, while TCU is competing in its first.
• ESPN: Tostitos Fiesta Bowl preview. Here’s a quick breakdown of Monday night’s matchup between Boise State (13-0) and TCU (12-0).
• Detroit Free Press: What to watch: It’s David vs. David out in the desert.
• Boston Herald: Capsule for the Fiesta Bowl: TCU vs. Boise State. This is the only bowl other than the national title game to match two unbeaten teams, and the winner can stake a claim as the best team in the nation. Plus, if you’re a Big Six backer, you can “scout” these teams and see how you think they’d match up against one of the “big boys.”
• Houston Chronicle: TCU’s arrival a long time in the making. Horned Frogs looking to build on BCS invite. As the barons of the Bowl Championship Series grant TCU a day pass onto center stage for the Fiesta Bowl against Boise State, the Horned Frogs will take a moment to savor their role as one of those overnight success stories that’s been a decade in the making.
• ESPN: Three keys: Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.
• The Seattle Times: Texas Christian, Boise State risk perfect records in Fiesta Bowl.
• Los Angeles Times: TCU has grown by leaps and bounds. Under Coach Gary Patterson, the Texas Christian Horned Frogs have evolved all the way into Bowl Championship Series territory.
• Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Fiesta Bowl boasts a pair of unbeatens in Boise State and TCU.
• TMZ: Boise State Broncos Take Down 400 lbs of Meat.

See Also:

• Boise State vs. TCU – a Fiesta Bowl roundup.
• What the other side is saying – a TCU roundup.