Sure, it's not the same as having a local team in the hunt, but San Diegans will have a say in who raises the Super Bowl trophy in Atlanta.
Start with Drew Brees, a longtime Del Mar, Calif., resident who started his NFL career in Mission Valley, Calif.
On the verge of his 40th birthday, Brees is still surfing with the Saints and nailed down the NFC's top seed Sunday with a scoring pass that ultimately downed the Steelers.
Be sure that several other San Diegans noticed, starting with Brees' former backup Philip Rivers, who saw his Super Bowl path veer uphill when Brees rallied the Saints.
In Baltimore, meantime, two San Diego transplants, Eric Weddle and Tony Jefferson, no doubt cheered when Brees tossed the pass that stood as the winning score.
Because Brees rallied his team _ with an assist from a phantom violation for pass interference _ Rivers probably will draw the strong Ravens defense in his first playoff game in five years, instead of facing an ordinary AFC defense such as Pittsburgh's.
Trust that Rivers, to borrow from his lexicon, is fixin' to get both himself and his guys back on track.
He was having a fun season _ even making big plays in the three defeats _ until the hard-edged Ravens came to Carson, under a full orange moon, and bullied their way to the 22-10 victory.
