XXVII

It's two days after the Super Bowl (also super Tuesday) and I feel like I have gathered some thoughts that I can write about the game. I must confess that I stand corrected because when XXLII was set at Patriots vs. Giants I was upset and muttered things like "I'm not even going to watch the game" and "It's going to be such a blowout" and "this is going to be the worst Super Bowl ever". Well, I stand corrected because it was one of the best super bowls that I can remember. Here are a few of my thoughts on the game.

1. I am so glad that the Giants won! I was on the side that absolutely had a disdain for the 2008 Patriots. I respect them and the way that they won 18 in a row, but I could careless about history and all that jazz, I wanted them to lose. And glad I was when the scoreboard read 17-14 and the confetti was showering down on the shocked stadium. I'll write a little bit more on why I was pulling for the G-Men later on.

2. Even though Eli played well in this game and came of age, so to speak, the Giants D won the game for them and were the MVP. They absolutly flustered Tom Brady and the Patriots offense. But now I'm hearing reports that Brady's ankle really was affecting him during the game and that's why he didn't play well. Yeah okay, I'm sure that the fact that he had Strahan, Tuck, Mitchell, Umenyiora, and a plethora of other defensive players in his face all game didn't really matter that much. It was his ankle.

3. How in the world did Manning manage to escape the 4 d-lineman that had him wrapped up for a game ending sack and on the flipside, how did Tyree manage to catch that football? That play was absolutely amazing and after that, I almost knew that the G-men were going to pull off this upset.

4. Bill Belichek is a great coach, but a lowsy man. I cannot say that enough. I know that I am supposed to love everyone but as a sports figure he is one of those guys that I do not really care for. I mean, sure there was mass confusion at the end of the game and there were media, cheerleaders, and the like on the field and the refs trying to get everybody back but come on man, don't just run off the field because you lost. This is going to be my biggest rant so bear with me. During the regular season, the Patriots had no problem running up the score and absolutely embarassing teams. In route to their 16-0 regular season they beat a Washington Redskins team coached by the Hall of Fame Joe Gibbs 52-7. Absolutely embarassed the Skins that week. Belichek went for it on 4th down on one occasion in that game and proceeded to score. Was that necessary? No way. Joe Gibbs, being the class act and Hall of Fame coach that he is, stuck around, ran to the middle of the field and shook hands with that guy. In his defense of running up the score, Belichek said that his team needed to play for the full 60 minutes. Here's an idea Bill, how about hanging around for the final second so that you can support your Super Bowl losing team for the full 60 minutes. Ahh, that just urks me. I think as person who loves coaching and using it for life lessons, this just gets under my skin. Hopefully one day when I coach a team, I will be a coach who strives for and exemplifies integrity and respect, on and off the field/court.

5. The Giants, from the NFC..beat the Patriots from the AFC. I grew pretty tired hearing about how the AFC was flat out superior than the NFC, throughout the season. This to me is a load of garbage. Just because teams in the AFC have a lot more winning records than the NFC, doesn't necessarily mean that they are flat out superior to the NFC. (I guess we'll find out next week in the Pro Bowl, which in my opinion, is the stupidest football game played) Way to represent the NFC G-Men. And way to put the Patriots in there place. In a span of 60 minutes they have gone from a team of history to a team that nobody will remember except for the fact that they choked at their chance for history.

* Back to the reasons why I was pulling for the New York Football Giants. My dad is a big fan of the Gmen as he grew up in NYC but that didn't really carry over to my brothers and I. We all root for Da Bears. I have always been a guy who pulls for teams that are in the conference/division of the team that I root for. I'm an NL guy for baseball, an NFC guy for football, an Eastern Division for the NBA, and a Big 12 and Big 10 guy for college sports. I know that this probably doesn't work for those die hard fans but I would've no doubt pulled for the Packers if they were in the Super Bowl this year. I was pulling for the Rockies in the World Series and for the Buckeyes in the BCS national championship and the Final Four championship last year. Hopefully I will be pulling for the Jayhawks this coming April, but if for some freakish reason they lose in the Tourney (which I guess is not that freakish since it happens every year) then I will be pulling for a Big 12 team if there is still one and if not, then I will go with my midwest loyalty to Bucky and the Badgers! (for you C.A)