A Giant Upset, A Giant Relief

The writing on the wall was as clear as day. 19-0. Perfection. History. Words alike scrawled out, paying homage to the conclusion of the New England Patriots' perfect season. Their fourth Super Bowl win in seven seasons, the one that bought them a share of property in Perfectville alongside the cherished 1972 Miami Dolphins. Not in a million years were the New York Giants going to stand in their way.
But apparently, Tom Coughlin, Eli Manning, and the rest of Big Blue didn't get the message. Instead, they traveled to Perfectville to deliver a gift card to Mercury Morris and his gang. "Enjoy it for one more year."
And indeed they will.
The Patriots' quest for perfection never came full circle. The Giants delivered one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history, knocking off the 18-0 Pats, 17-14, on the strength of an epic, 83-yard game-winning touchdown drive by the younger Manning. David Tyree, known mainly for his stellar work on special teams, made one of the greatest catches in recent memory to keep the drive alive. Four plays later, Manning lofted an on-target -- perfect, actually -- pass to outspoken wide receiver Plaxico Burress to cap the comeback. The unheralded Giants defense officially sealed the deal shortly after that, sacking Tom Brady and forcing three incompletions to bring the Lombardi Trophy home to the Big Apple.
And so, as Vegas oddsmakers lost approxmiately $2.6 million, most of the world got exactly what they wanted. The hated Patriots, attempting to bring Massachusetts its second championship in four months, not only lost a game, but perhaps got a dose of karma. Up until Super Sunday the Patriots and coach Bill Belichick made it known that they wanted to stomp every opponent, most likely to erase any doubts over the "Spygate" scandal that arose after a week 1 matchup with the Jets that created some doubt over their recent success. As if the Patriots hadn't terrorized the NFL enough this decade, the possibility of them going 19-0 was downright sickening to many, including yours truly. After coughing up an 18-point lead to Indianapolis last January in the AFC title game, the Patriots went on a spending spree that landed them star wide receiver Randy Moss and two stellar complements in Wes Welker and Donte Stallworth, as well as plucking linebacker Adalius Thomas from the Ravens. Through the season's first 18 games, it looked as if the "sign up for a ring" policy was going to come to fruition for the Patriots newest additions, as well as Junior Seau, the grisled veteran linebacker who has gone through his share of lean years in San Diego and Miami. But in the end, it was the likes of Michael Strahan, Amani Toomer and Shaun O'Hara, to name just a few of the Giants own grisled vets, who brought home the hardware.
Perhaps the whole thing was made even sweeter by two factors. The fact that New England achieved the first-ever 16-0 regular season and failed to win the title is quite satisfactory. Then add in yet another chapter of New York ousting Boston in a major sporting event, and the spoiled Beantown sports fans start to think back to the old days of Bill Buckner and the many Red Sox heartbreakers, as well as the old Foxborough Stadium days that hardly were filled with lore.
To look deeper at the Giants and their run to glory, it is hard to believe a 10-6 regular season team could turn it on and become such a force in the postseason, but Eli Manning proved why he was the first overall pick in the 2004 draft. His numbers were solid if not spectacular, and in the end he had the poise to do the unthinkable and knock off the seemingly-invincible Patriots.
Who says the Cowboys are America's Team? The Giants just made a pretty strong case.