Super Bowl 2012: 8 Reasons Super Bowl XLVI Could Be Best Title Game Yet

On paper, there are many reasons to like the final four participants in the two NFL championship games this afternoon.

Strong offenses, solid defenses, great coaching matchups and destiny for two teams who have fought through the odds to make it through 19 games of hard-hitting injuries and determination.

What makes the games even more appealing are the side stories, the fact that each team at one point (some even more than once) has held the Lombardi Trophy to claim it was the best in the NFL for that season. Some rivalries are reborn (San Francisco and New York), and some are on the verge of becoming special (New England and Baltimore).

But whatever the reason for liking these teams and hoping for a magical Super Bowl in two weeks, it cannot be denied that Super Bowl XLVI looks like it could be the best and most entertaining event yet in all of the spectacle of sports' grandest championship.

Here are some reasons to believe this Super Bowl could be the greatest ever.

Brady vs. Manning

It may not be Peyton Manning and Tom Brady in their primes at the same time, but Eli Manning and tom Brady are proving they are a pretty close second to the matchup fans love to see each season.

While Manning threw for over 5,000 yards this season, Manning came up just short in that quest. Both teams are pass-first offensive teams, able to score at any time of the game on any play.

The offensive output in a game featuring the Patriots and Giants could set NFL records. And in this game, records are certainly made to be broken.

Also, if Eli wins the big game, does that prove he is better than big brother Peyton?

Coughlin's Last Stand?

Tom Coughlin weathered a firestorm this season. When the team was fighting for its playoff life, there were rumors of him being fired. Then the team beats Dallas, takes full advantage of Atlanta and shows Green Bay it isn't as big and bad as it thinks it is.

Maybe Coughlin has more lives than a cat. And now, there are questions whether he is a Hall of Fame coach if he wins another Super Bowl within five years of the last.

Stranger things have happened.

The Upstart Team Exceeds Expectations

John Harbaugh has become the miracle worker in San Francisco. He has brought back a winning culture. He helped to make Alex Smith a winning quarterback. And he has proven that college coaches can excel in a professional environment.

All this does is bring hope back to the Bay Area, and that means a team rich in tradition is viable again in the NFL.

Those are all great things that can happen for the San Francisco 49ers and the community.

If San Francisco wins the NFC Championship and gets to the Super Bowl and then wins it, then the underdog story is relived and revived.

The Hoodie Lives on

No one should bet against Bill Belichick. The coach who is exciting as toast just knows how to win. Call it a culture in New England. Call it fear of players under-performing. Whatever the case, it works.

Now that the Patriots got the playoff monkey off their backs (the first playoff win since 2007), maybe this is a sign that Tom Brady will capture another Super Bowl win and people will laud him as one of the greatest passers of all time and possibly this generation's Joe Montana.

And it stakes Belichick's legacy as possibly one of the five best coaches of all time.

Ray Lewis and His Last Chance

We saw Ray Lewis play at his usual high level this season. We also saw him deal with injuries that kept him out of action.

Is this the beginning of the end for Lewis as the always-dominant player?

Lewis' fire and determination is contagious, and his locker room presence is one of the best things Baltimore has going for itself. But do injuries now become an issue for Lewis and does his body betray him like others have experienced in the past once they get to a certain playing age?

Could this be the last window of opportunity for Lewis to claim another Super Bowl ring?

Who Will Come Up Huge?

It happens all the time. David Tyree. Santonio Holmes. Brad Johnson. Who will step up to the plate this year and make it happen?

The Super Bowl is known for creating the dramatic at the most opportune times. Can the defense stop the offense? Can one player take over when the score is tied? Do the major players in the game prove they truly are the best?

For whatever reason, we know we will see greatness at one point or another in this contest no matter who the teams are.

Harbaugh vs. Harbaugh

When Jim and John Harbaugh met each other on Thanksgiving night, the world was how it should be.

The fact the Ravens bested the 49ers sent a message to the NFL that John and his Baltimore team was in it for the long haul and that Jim and his San Francisco upstarts were still a little green.

Does two months make a difference in seasoning?

The idea of an all-brother coaching matchup is a television dream and a marketing boon.

It also means defense wins championships and offenses that score in bushels may be overrated.