| 07 February 2012
Another NFL season down the drain. Admit it: unless you’re a Giants fan, that’s kind of how you feel today. Your team either was never in it, or didn’t get there, or was the Patriots, in which case you feel REALLY lousy.
But however you slice it, there’s only one group of fans who are happy today. The rest of us are poring over mock drafts and next year’s schedule thinking about how it could be different.
But all credit to Peyton’s little brother and the Giants. This was a close, hard-fought game and Tom Brady had the ball in his hands with time left on the clock, and the Giants still found a way to win. They won’t be preseason favorites next year, but today it doesn’t matter. The New York Giants are Super Bowl champions.
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If you thought the Giants were lucky in their last Super Bowl (Asante Samuel dropping a sure interception; the David Tyree catch), what about this one? Two crucial (and DUMB) fumbles that bounced right back to New York, allowing them to keep possession and a drop by Wes Welker on a throw that would have effectively ended the game were both huge factors in the Giants win.
I was thoroughly unimpressed with the commercials this year. My personal favorite was probably the big crowd scene with I Believe In A Thing Called Love by The Darkness, but none of the commercials really stood out this year.
Are we done now with people asking if Eli Manning is a good quarterback? I hope so. He’s an excellent quarterback. And he didn’t just get hot in the playoffs. He threw for close to 5000 yards this season. In fact, Eli was the only thing on the Giants that truly stood out all season. Without him, they don’t even get near the Super Bowl.
Prop bet of the night: first score by safety. It paid 75-1 on some sportsbook sites.
Madonna’s half time show was good. Keep in mind, if you don’t like Madonna, or her music, or any of her songs, or her dance routines, you probably weren’t going to like the halftime show no matter how good it was. I’m not a big Madonna fan, but I know whether she was good or not and she was.
I’m pretty sure there are no football gods. The football gods conspire to take away wins from players who commit unforgivable sins on the field. And Ahmad Bradshaw landing in the endzone with a minute left on the clock, scoring a touchdown, but handing the ball back to Tom Brady, was pretty unforgivable. If Bradshaw just goes down, the Giants have an extra-point length field goal they can kick after running the clock down to 10 seconds. For that matter, Tom Coughlin should have just called a kneel down. Usually, the football gods wouldn’t let something like that go.
Kelly Clarkson’s National Anthem was terrific. Sung well, but not OVERsung, and perfectly accompanied by a single marching drum and the children’s choir, it was musically pleasing and inspiring at the same time. That said, I didn’t really care for Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton’s rendition of America The Beautiful. Ray Charles’ soulful version of that song is the gold standard, and this didn’t really come close. Of course, the point of these songs is only secondarily musical, and I applaud having both songs as part of the pregame ceremony - it was a nice way to begin the game.
Quote Bowl
"I was yelling to him, 'Don't score, don't score!’ He tried to stop, but he fell into the end zone." - Giants QB Eli Manning, on the Ahmad Bradhsaw “accidental touchdown” play.
"Certainly it wasn't one play that was the reason we lost. Everybody feels they could do a little more. I'd rather come to this game and lose then not get here." - Patriots QB Tom Brady, offering some cover to his favorite receiver, Wes Welker, who dropped a crucial pass that would have probably won the game.
"Anybody can be rattled. Tom Brady is a great quarterback, but at the end of the day he is just a quarterback. It is not like he is God, he can't be untouched.” - Giants DE Jason Pierre-Paul.
"In those situations you are always looking to see who is going to be the guy. I am so happy for that man, fighting through those injuries and emerging to help his team." - David Tyree, former owner of the “big catch” in the Super Bowl, on Mario Manningham’s fourth quarter sideline tightrope catch.
“I think people expected Eli to be like Peyton, to be this fiery guy, and he just wasn’t. But in a way they demand the same things out of their teammates; they just go about it in a different way. And now people appreciate that even keel. They think his personality has actually been his best attribute, especially this last half of the season because he never rode the roller coaster with everyone else.” - Giants’ backup QB David Carr, on Eli Manning. Wait, someone talked to David Carr?
“The ball is right there. I’ve just got to make the play. It’s a play I’ve made 1,000 times in practice and everything else. It comes to be the biggest moment of my life and I don’t come up with it. It’s discouraging. Just trying to make an adjustment on the ball and it’s a play I’ve got to bring in. Yeah, it hit me in the hands. I mean it’s a play I never drop. I always make. Most critical situation and I let the team down.” - Patriots WR Wes Welker, who sounds like he still doesn’t believe he didn’t catch that ball.
“He’s the MVP — both times — and he should be for that last drive. He really has put the team on his shoulders the whole year.” - Giants coach Tom Coughlin, on Eli Manning. Hey, Tom, it’s “put the team on his back”. Don’t you watch youtube?
"He's such a gentle giant. I'm so proud of him. When I go to watch him play, I'm like this big cheerleader, jumping up and down for him. I was born such a passionate person. I don't know if that's my blessing or curse!" - GIsele Bundchen, Tom Brady’s wife, stating that she still likes him, even though he didn’t win the Super Bowl.
"Victory. That says it all. When you say, ’Victory,’ that says it all." - Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell, saying it all.
