By LANCE FLEMING
ACU Sports Information Director
MIAMI -- It's been almost 20 years since a former ACU Wildcat played in a Super Bowl.
But Sunday afternoon in Miami, Danieal Manning will put that streak to an end when he lines up as the Chicago Bears' starting free safety against Indianapolis in Super Bowl XLI. He's the first ex-Wildcat to be on a Super Bowl team since offensive lineman Dan Remsberg was a member of the Denver team that lost to Washington in Super Bowl XXII in January 1988.
The last former Wildcat to start in a Super Bowl was running back Wilbert Montgomery, who started for Philadelphia in Super Bowl XV loss to Oakland in January 1981.
For Manning, it will be the culmination of a dream that began 24 years ago in his hometown of Corsicana, but began to take shape last winter and spring when he bypassed his senior season at ACU and was drafted in the second round of last April's NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears. Manning -- an unknown to some fans across the country when he was selected with the 42nd pick of the draft -- made an immediate impression on the Bears, moving into the starting lineup just three weeks into the season.
And now he finds himself in the Super Bowl in his first season, reaching the league's championship game after helping the Bears beat New Orleans, 39-14, in last week's NFC Championship Game in snowy, cold Chicago. Amazingly, the Bears -- who finished the season 13-3 and champions of the NFC North Division -- were underdogs to the 10-6 Saints in many corners, mainly because of the perceived problems the Saints' offense would pose to the Bears' defense.
"Last Sunday was nerve-wracking," Manning said. "We had spent the entire week listening to a lot of 'experts' talking about how we couldn't win, even though we hadn't even played the game. That made us want to get a win even more. We wanted that (NFC Championship) trophy."
Manning helped turn the tide the Bears' direction late in the first quarter when he recovered a fumbled Saints' kickoff, leading to a Robbie Gould 43-yard field goal and a 6-0 Chicago early in the second quarter. Chicago would eventually take a 16-7 halftime lead before the Saints began to rally. Chicago eventually got to within 16-14 early in the third quarter when New Orleans rookie sensation Reggie Bush took a swing pass 88 yards for a touchdown.
One of the players he got past was Manning, who got turned around in the open field by a patented stop-and-go move from Bush. He then outran the rest of the field for a touchdown that ended with Bush taunting Chicago linebacker Brian Urlacher, diving into the end zone and then performing what might best be described as a mini-version of River Dance. Bush was fined $5,000 by the NFL for his taunt, although Manning didn't perceive what Bush did as a taunt.
"There were a few of my teammates who were bothered by what he did, but I don't think Brian said too much about it," Manning said. "Reggie is just a phenomenal athlete, and he made a great play. I thought I had good position on him, but he turned me around and took me out of the play. It gave me a little bit of an understanding of how some of the guys chasing me felt when I was at ACU."
Shortly after that play, however, the Bears forced a safety to take an 18-14 lead, and then dominated the rest of the way en route to the 39-14 victory. It was a win that left Manning feeling like he had barely played in a game.
"Everybody kept telling me that the speed and intensity of the game would keep going up the deeper we went in the playoffs, and I wondered how in the world that could happen," Manning said. "But my teammates that told me that were exactly right. We played more than 60 snaps on defense, but it only seemed like we played 15 snaps and then it was over. Then I looked up at the scoreboard and realized we were going to the Super Bowl, and I was just speechless."
Late in the game when the outcome was a foregone conclusion, Manning had a chance to intercept a Drew Brees pass, but the ball slipped through his hands on a fourth-down conversion attempt. The Bears took over on a short field and scored again to salt the game away.
"My eyes got really big when I saw the ball coming at me, because you don't get too many chances at those," Manning said. "I saw (Brian) Urlacher's face, and I could tell he wanted me to drop it so the offense would have a short field. Everybody was congratulating me on knocking the ball down and not going for the interception, but I was trying to catch it because I wanted that interception."
And now Manning and the rest of his Chicago teammates face the unenviable task of facing Indianapolis quarterback and future Hall of Famer Peyton Manning. All he did in 2006 was throw for more than 4,000 yards for the seventh time in his remarkable nine-year career. And he also threw 31 touchdown passes against just nine interceptions. And last week in Indianapolis he directed a game-winning drive against his arch-nemesis New England that beat the Patriots, 38-34, in the AFC Championship Game to send the Colts to their first Super Bowl since a 16-13 win over Dallas in Super Bowl V.
"What more is there to say?" Manning said of facing off against arguably the league's best quarterback. "Peyton's a great person, and that's what everybody in the league thinks about before they talk about him as a player. For years, everyone said he couldn't win the big one, but he finally proved his critics wrong. He's a great player, and it's definitely going to be a challenge to play against him and the rest of that offense."
But the one thing that Manning's teammates have told him is to treasure the week, and don't get too caught up in everything going around him.
"I've got teammates who have been in the league for a long time, and this is their first shot at a Super Bowl," he said. "They've been telling me and the rest of the young guys to savor everything, because you never know when your next chance will be to get back here. Everybody plays to get to the Super Bowl and take a shot at winning the championship, but I did it in my first at-bat, so to speak. Now I'm swinging for the fences."
And he'll be trying to help the Bears win their first world championship in 21 years.
"I was just thinking (earlier today) that I played my first NFL game against Brett Favre and intercepted him," Manning said. "Now I'm playing against another Hall of Famer in the last game of my rookie year, so what better way to end my first season than to pick him off and help us win? I can write a great end to the first chapter of my career. More importantly, it would be the end to a great story for the Chicago Bears."
