"The bandwagon is full!" Suggs shouted. "We want all you reporters to come down there in two weeks and bet against us again. Next question!"
It's a movie indeed, with the main character being a linebacker who was once charged with murder, has undergone a tremendous reputation rehabilitation, and is now retiring with the respect of a benevolent king. Yes, Ray Lewis' career now lives one more game, which he noted Sunday by falling to his knees and kissing the turf.
"Oh my God!" he shouted. "Oh my God!"
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Then there is the special teams player, former UCLA linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo, who last week tweeted several rips of the Patriots offense, calling it "suspect" and "cheap" and a "gimmick." On Sunday he was given a chance to take back those words. He respectfully declined.
"I went out there and I told the truth," he said. "I do not apologize to the Patriots."
This team is such a movie, it even has a player whose life was actually turned into a movie, tackle Michael Oher, the inspiration for "The Blind Side." While he struggled this year such that he no longer protects the quarterback's blind side — he was moved to right tackle for the playoffs — Oher noted Sunday that his real-life guardian has not lost the assertiveness that Sandra Bullock portrayed so brilliantly in winning an Academy Award.
When asked what he was going to do with his AFC championship cap, Oher shrugged.
"I am probably going to give it to my mom, and the T-shirt," he said. "She usually takes them anyway."
In the end, the wisdom was whittled down to some wet simplicity from Harbaugh, the older brother emerging from the Gatorade shower and acknowledging the upcoming family feud in the most basic of emotions.
"I don't know if we had a dream this big . . . two great football teams squaring off," he said. "I can't wait."
He's not alone.
Twitter: @billplaschke
