Bears beat Colts _ to Miami, at least

MIAMI (AP) _ Touchdown, Bears. <br/><br/>The NFC champions arrived by charter plane to begin Super Bowl preparations, beating AFC champion Indianapolis to Miami by more than 24 hours. <br/><br/>With the

Monday, January 29th 2007, 7:00 am

By: News On 6

MIAMI (AP) _ Touchdown, Bears.

The NFC champions arrived by charter plane to begin Super Bowl preparations, beating AFC champion Indianapolis to Miami by more than 24 hours.

With the game still six days away, the Colts have plenty of time to catch up. But Bears coach Lovie Smith was glad to be the first team in town, especially when a balmy breeze greeted him as he stepped off the plane Sunday.

``We left Chicago in the 20s with snow, and got a chance to come down here with sunshine and in the 70s. So we're off to a good start,'' Smith said. ``I wanted to get down here as soon as possible. Up in Chicago we couldn't practice right now out on the grass, so this is perfect for us.''

The Bears' first workout at the University of Miami was scheduled for Monday. The Colts were to land Monday night, and the Pro Football Writers Association lodged a complaint about the team's late arrival.

In Indy's absence, at least half a dozen Super Bowl-related news conferences were on the schedule Monday, including one to discuss security. Media day is Tuesday at Dolphin Stadium, where the 41st Super Bowl will be played Sunday night.

While Indy was in no hurry to take part in the hype, Smith cheerfully stepped onto a podium wearing team colors _ a dark suit, orange shirt and orange tie _ and fielded questions for 20 minutes at the kickoff news conference at the Bears' hotel.

He was asked about his laid-back personality, his Texas hometown and his ethnicity. He and the Colts' Tony Dungy are the first black head coaches to meet in the Super Bowl.

``I'm just excited that progress is being made,'' Smith said. ``I'm excited about having the opportunity to be the first African-American coach to hold up the trophy. That's our ultimate goal.''

The Bears (15-3) like their chances, even though they're seven-point underdogs against Indy (15-4). They say they've been taken lightly all season despite winning their first seven games, running off another four-game win streak in December and beating Seattle and New Orleans in the playoffs.

``We played 18 games, and I don't think a lot of people picked us to win many of them,'' defensive end Alex Brown said. ``I don't know what people are missing. We're winning. Maybe we're not winning the way people are wanting us to win, but who cares?''

Not everyone is skeptical of Chicago's chances, and at the team hotel there were signs _ literally _ that the Bears' bandwagon is sizable.

A huge team banner hung in the lobby. An orange and blue ``C'' adorned the elevator. Two banners bore the team slogan ``Finish,'' bracketed by Bears heads.

``All we've been talking about all season is getting to the Super Bowl and winning the Super Bowl,'' Brown said. ``It wasn't that long ago that the coaches drew up a map, and it had a road from Chicago to Miami, and we're here and we've still got to finish. Hopefully, we can do that.''

While the trip to the title game took months, the flight lasted only three hours. Some players watched the movie ``The Prestige.'' Star linebacker Brian Urlacher slept the entire way. Smith studied the Indianapolis media guide.

``I looked at 18 pages of Peyton Manning,'' Smith said. ``That tells you a little bit what we have in store.''

As the plane sporting a Bears logo on the side pulled up to the gate, the pilot opened a window and unfurled a team flag.

``It finally sunk in today for the first time that we're in the Super Bowl,'' cornerback Charles Tillman said. ``You see all the Super Bowl 41 stickers and we get to the hotel and we have all the fans and media here _ it's actually starting to sink in that I'm in the Super Bowl, that the Bears are in the Super Bowl.''

The hotel is a five-minute trip from the airport, and 20 minutes from the allures of South Beach nightlife. Rookie kick returner Devin Hester, a former Miami Hurricanes star, said the team's midnight curfew beginning Monday should keep players out of trouble.

``I told the guys everything starts at 1 o'clock, so we'll already be in bed,'' Hester said. ``Miami is a great place to visit and there are all kinds of things you can get into. We do want to have a little fun, but careful of your surroundings. We're here to play a football game.''