(My Sportsbook) - It's been said that a true rivalry only exists if both opponents have beaten the other in a big spot. The Colts/Patriots rivalry has now officially arrived, after Indy's 38-34 victory in the AFC Championship Game.

Sure, the Colts had beaten the Patriots in each of the last two regular-season meetings, but this was the playoffs -- where New England has reigned supreme. The Patriots had befuddled the Colts in their two postseason matchups and went on to two of their three Super Bowl wins following those playoff triumphs.

Now that the Colts have slayed the dragon, gotten the monkey off their backs, exorcised the demon -- choose the metaphor -- they have a chance to win the ultimate prize at the Super Bowl in Miami on February 4.

It's not only that the Colts won, but it's how they did it.

With a 21-3 lead in the second quarter after New England returned an interception for a touchdown, it sure appeared as if the rivalry was going to remain one-sided.

The old Colts probably would have rolled over, but not this unit. These Colts have been gutty with no quit and learned -- finally -- how to win close games. Of Indy's 12 wins in the regular season, eight were decided by seven points or less. Three of their four losses also came in that range, meaning this team was battle-tested.

Last year, the Colts basically blew everybody out in the regular season on the way to a 14-2 record. But when it came down to a tight game in the playoffs, the Steelers pulled out the close one and went on to the Super Bowl title.

Sunday's comeback from an 18-point deficit was the largest in a conference championship game. The Colts made up that margin rather quickly. Then, when they finally tied it and New England quickly went back ahead, the Colts answered right away.

"We talked in the locker room at halftime, that we just had to keep our poise and continue to play and we'd have a chance in the fourth quarter," said head coach Tony Dungy after the game. "We've been that way all year. They just give so much effort, and they're such a unified group."

Three times in the fourth quarter the Patriots had the lead, but three times the Colts responded -- twice to tie it and once to move in front. It looked as though the Patriots would again find a way to win, but not this time.

Tom Brady had a chance, and since he seems to always have the magic touch, the Patriots still had an opportunity to put the dagger into the Colts. And this one would have been devastating. Not even Peyton Manning could watch on the sideline, but when Brady's last throw settled into the onrushing arms of Marlin Jackson -- a Michigan man intercepting a Michigan man -- the Colts were finally Super Bowl bound.

And to get there by beating their arch-rivals -- yes, it is now permissible to say rival with conviction -- it couldn't have been sweeter.

ON TO MIAMI...AGAIN

This may be the Colts' first trip to the Super Bowl since relocating to Indianapolis from Baltimore after the 1983 season, but it's not the franchise's first visit to the Big Game.

The old Baltimore Colts reached a pair of Super Bowls in the game's infancy, when it didn't take hours to figure out Roman Numerals. They lost to the New York Jets in Super Bowl III after the 1968 season and beat the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl V after the 1970 campaign.

Both games were in, surprise, Miami.

The first game, of course, was infamous for the way it changed the landscape of pro football and the second was famous only for the amount of mistakes and poor play from both teams.

A 16-7 loss to the Jets in January of 1969 in the Orange Bowl was one of the biggest upsets in pro sports and helped legitimize the AFL's impending merger with the NFL. The 16-13 victory over the Cowboys two years later may have looked competitive because of the score and the winning field goal by Jim O'Brien with five seconds remaining, but the game featured a combined five lost fumbles and six interceptions to earn the nickname "the Blunder Bowl."

CHAMPIONSHIP CHIP SHOTS

The Colts held the Patriots to 93 rushing yards, although New England all but abandoned the run after halftime. They totaled only eight yards on five attempts in the second half. Indianapolis has limited its opponents to less than 100 yards in each of the three playoff games after allowing more than 100 in every regular-season contest.

Kicker Adam Vinatieri made all three of his field goal attempts and has hit all 11 this postseason. He will make his fifth Super Bowl appearance. The previous four came with New England.

Marvin Harrison had just four catches for 41 yards, but had one of the biggest receptions that didn't make it into the boxscore when he caught the two-point conversion to tie the game at 21-21.

The Colts had 32 first downs on Sunday and were 8-of-15 on third downs.

LOVIE DOVEY

Tony Dungy became the second African-American head coach to reach Super Bowl, but only by a few hours. His good friend, Lovie Smith of Chicago, beat him to the punch.

Dungy gave Smith his first coaching job in the pro ranks. After 13 years on the collegiate level, Dungy hired Smith as his linebackers coach with Tampa Bay in 1996.

"I know the type of person Lovie is," Dungy said Monday. "Lovie's got the same Christian convictions I have. He runs his team the same way. I know how those guys are treated in Chicago and how they play tough, disciplined football. There's none of the win-at-all-costs atmosphere.

"I think for two guys to show that you can win that way, I think that's just as important for the country to see."

In two weeks, the country will see it.

UP NEXT: TWO WEEKS OF HYPE

Indianapolis fans can now savor two weeks worth of hype and paralysis by analysis before the Colts and Bears square off in Super Bowl XLI in Miami.

The two teams were part of the old NFL before the 1970 merger, but they never faced each other in the postseason. The Colts lead the all-time series, 22-17.

Chicago had won four straight in the series until the last meeting on November 21, 2004 when the Colts posted a 41-10 rout in Chicago.

The game will be played in Miami, where the Colts have some familiarity of late. Indy played in south Florida against the Dolphins once a year while part of the old AFC East, and Manning owns a record of 3-3 at Dolphin Stadium.

Indianapolis played a postseason game at Miami after the 2000 season, and dropped a 23-17 overtime decision in the first round of the playoffs.