SUPER BOWL RECAP

PEYTON'S LITTLE BROTHER HAS A NAME, HIS NAME IS ELI MANNING AND HE IS THE MVP OF SUPER BOWL 42...

If the Giants and Patriots played ten times, you would guess that the Pats take 9 out of 10. Tonight was that one chance that the Pats would lose and they did. 18-0 became 18-1 and now the 2007-2008 New England Patriots are the owners of the title as biggest choke in sports history. They were undefeated and beaten by an under-appreciated and less talented Giants squad.

New York wanted it more. They played harder and they played with more passion than any Patriot across from them. They weathered the drives without points, they overcame an early INT by Manning, and they almost were finished after Randy Moss' TD catch late in the fourth. But Manning and the Giants offense persevered. On a critical third down on their last possession, Manning made an improbable escape from the pocket and found little used WR David Tyree for a huge 30+yard gain and a first down deep in Patriots territory. Plaxico Burress' TD catch put Giants fans on cloud nine and made football fans around the world jump for joy (because nobody likes the Patriots except their own fans).

The score was 7-3 for most of the game until Manning hit Tyree early in the quarter to push the Giants up 10-7. Brady and company then stormed down the field for the go ahead touchdown to make it 14-10. Eli Manning has been a rock this postseason and delivered again. He drove down the field and had huge completions, especially the key third down to Tyree. Ellis Hobbs got beaten on a short fade route to Burress with 35 seconds left. It was sweet vindication for the Giants D because they had been carrying the team for most of the game and especially Corey Webster, who was beaten by Randy Moss for his touchdown in a way very similar to what Burress would do to Hobbs just minutes later.

After the Pats got the ball back with little time and little hope, they missed on fourth down and the Giants sealed their 3rd Lombardi Trophy. Before the final snap was downed and time stood at zero, Patriots coach Bill Belichick left the sideline early to shake hands with Tom Coughlin, then he hastily exited the field along with some of the players. It shocked many viewers including myself that Belichick left the field early, only to find out he thought time ran out. He was gone in shame to leave his devastated players to shake hands with the jubilant and teary-eyed Giants. Cameras panned for the Manning-Brady post game chat but when the cameras found the golden boy he was hightailing it out of the stadium and away from any Giants players.

In the end, the team that played the hardest won. It would have been unforgettable for fans to see an undefeated season but what could be considered the best Super Bowl game this decade and maybe one for the ages certainly makes up for it. This was a great season in the NFL and capped by the best football game this year. The Giants became road warriors and earned everything they have. The (evil) duo of Brady and Belichick must now retreat to their Foxboro hideout to plan the destruction of the NFL...next season.