Super Bowl 0

Not counted as part of our keeper history since this was Season Zero, so to speak.

Chunky Monkeys (119) vs Ante Up (110)-

In a stunning game that echoed last year’s NFL Super Bowl, Ante Up came up short in the championship game versus the Chunky Monkeys after making a furious Monday Night comeback behind Torry Holt’s 26 pts and Kurt Warner’s 18 pts. In a nail biter of a game, both teams showcased offensive fireworks as they fought for the finish. The Monkeys were led by playoff and Super Bowl MVP Donovan McNabb who scored 31 pts to lead all players. All the success can’t be laid on McNabb’s shoulders however, as second half hero Lamar Smith (15 pts), Muhsin Muhammed (14 pts), Ed McCaffrey (12 pts) and explosive Randy Moss (21 pts) all worked together to achieve victory. Robert Smith had no impact in this game (4 pts) but it didn’t matter with the Titans D punishing a horrible Cleveland team in the snow for 18 points.

Ante Up was down a gigantic 66 points heading into Monday Night but with three of his best players yet to take the field, the trophy was surely in reach. First off, Kurt Warner connected with Torry Holt from every angle to the tune of 316 yards. The problem was that for the two superstars to succeed meant that the Buc D had to fail. And fail it did, recording single digits for the first time in five weeks. The Buccaneers stole three INTs but those came at the expense of Warner. The only way for Ante Up to avoid self impalement was for the Bucs to get big sacks and to score TDs, neither of which happened. Fred Taylor and Jerome Bettis (20, 13 pts) were able to keep this game close but Jimmy Smith and Keenan McCardell caught only 1 TD between them and that could have been the difference.

A last minute drive left Ante Up nine points short but the more amazing story was how great a game this was. Ante Up may not of had won the Super Bowl this year but it had the most astonishing playoff run in league history, with two wins by a total of 15 points and putting a big scare into the Chunky Monkeys.

In the end, it was an oxymoron that felled mighty Ante Up as the Rams played the Bucs. And just as Derrick Mason and the Titans may never forget that one yard (after the Music City Miracle one week prior), Ante Up may never forget 9 points (after the miraculous 1 point victory over favored Green Team) which separated the champion and the runner up. Could a dynasty be in the works for the Monkeys? Riding seven straight wins and eight Century games to end the season? Time will tell. But for now let them bask in the glow of non-alchoholic champagne and the ever famous phrase uttered at times like this... ”I gotta go study for finals.”