OH WHAT A NIGHT!!!!!!

Ok, so if you’re a Patriots fan, you’re in mourning, but you have to be honest…..it was a great game….actually an historic game. It’s kind of ironic that the last time we ever talked about THE GREATEST GAME EVER PLAYED was in 1958 featuring the New York Giants against the Baltimore Colts. The Giants lost that historic game so it’s only fitting that in the SECOND GREATEST GAME EVER PLAYED, the Giants pulled out the victory. (17-14)

It was exactly what you’d like to see in a Super Bowl. A nail biter to the last second (when Pats coach Bill Belichick walked on the field conceding….not quite the most sportsmanlike thing to do, but I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he didn’t see how much time was left on the clock).

Whether you were rooting for the Giants or the Pats, we all witnessed Super Bowl lore. Not only was it the greatest victory in Giants’ history, but Eli Manning can now point to his Super Bowl ring and show that he is no longer in the shadow of his famous brother. Just think about this for a second. Eli has been berated all season (actually ever since he was picked number one) and now after only 4 years he has what very few quarterbacks will ever have….a Super Bowl win. I got the chills when I heard him say he was going to Disneyworld (what can I say, Disney always gets to me).

And, let’s not forget that this game will go down as one of the greatest upsets in sports history. The Patriots were 12 point favorites and were even so bold to trademark “19-0 the Perfect Season”. This game will be right up there with Super Bowl 111 (not even called a Super Bowl at the time, just called the Championship game) where Joe Namath of the underdog NY Jets guaranteed a victory, won, and put the name Super Bowl, the Jets and the AFL on the map.

Let’s talk about the game itself. Wherever your allegiance was last night, you have to admit, the game was relatively mistake free and surprisingly penalty free. The Giants defensive line lived up to its reputation and really kept pressure on Tom Brady the entire game. Michael Strahan, the cornerstone of the Giants’ pass rush, kept Brady on (or off actually) his toes with three tackles, two knockdowns and a sack.

The play of the Game was late in the 4th quarter with only 1 minute and 15 seconds left in the game and staring at a stressful 3rd and 5 yards to go situation, it was crunch time. After taking the snap, Eli “shockingly’ eluded at least two and possibly three surefire tackles, scrambled away and threw a bomb downfield to receiver David Tyree. Tyree made not only the play of the game, but one of the greatest plays in Super Bowl history….he caught the pass with the football pinned to his helmet. If you didn’t actually see this play, please do me a favor and click here to see the replay….truly inspiring. With a slant and go to Plexico Burress (remember he was the one that guaranteed a 23-17 victory, his high school football and basketball numbers by the way), for a touchdown, the Giants sealed their victory.

Even though the Giants surprised the world with a victory, we really should observe a moment of silence for the Patriots. The Patriots, love them or hate them, gave us a surreal season. They embodied working together as a team, painting the perfect example every Little League coach wants to refer to. They were real and they were perfect. It was shocking then that with less than two minutes to go, the very ideal of perfection... was losing. It was heartbreaking. Giants fans around the country screaming and applauding as Goliath seemed to be falling, but most people failed to realize that the Patriots were the heart and soul of every NFL fan this year. They represented what any fan wants THEIR team (and their life) to be: perfect. This ideal lost in the end. It was nice that the Giants won, but it was terrible the Patriots lost. It seemed like the whole season was for not. Looking at the faces of Brady, Welker, Moss, and Seau at the end of the game could make a grown man or woman cry. The Patriots were one game short of perfection, but more importantly, they were literally America's team. All eyes were on them this season; the heroes/villains of the NFL. And there they were on TV, with 29 seconds remaining, heaving four last balls in the air, hoping that one of them would become 'the miracle ball' or 'the miracle throw' or 'the miracle catch' -- or whatever the media would have dubbed it to solidify the legacy that was the pulse of the NFL. But, when that last ball hit the ground, and the Gatorade drenched Tom Coughlin -- the magic Patriots, suddenly seemed like just a magic trick. An illusion we bought into for 4 months. And now, the magic was dead.

Ok, maybe that seems a little melodramatic, but as I’ve always said, football is one big soap opera.

Watercooler Discussion: Was this the Greatest Game you’ve ever seen? And, which commercial did you like or dislike the most?

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