MVN - Most Valuable Network

Giants are “Running Down a Dream”: 10 things I learned from the Super Bowl

What a Super Bowl! I cheered for the Giants and they were just amazing. As an NFC fan and a fan of the 49ers and their legacy, seeing the Giants win was just fitting. Being an Eli Manning fan since day one, I just couldn’t be happier.

During this Super Bowl, there were some things that hit me.

Here is my list of 10 things that I learned from the Super Bowl.

1- Tiki Barber and all the media haters are stupid
It’s kind of gratifying to see the New York media get a mouthful. I love New York and the media as a whole (since I used to be part of it). But they had attacked Eli Manning so much, and now they are loving him.
And Tiki Barber… he attacked coach Tom Coughlin and Eli Manning. Now the team has won the Super Bowl without him.
Hey Tiki! Write a new book about this with your brother… wait… he has a ring too… maybe you should just not do anything anymore!

2- The Patriots have been evicted
Mercury Morris is smiling, because the Patriots have been evicted. The Patriots were in town. They were on the block. They were moving their furniture in next door. They got comfortable. Then the Giants came in and evicted them from Perfectville. Nobody remembers Super Bowl losers… but this may be the first one we will always remember.

3- Belichick wearing red?
All season long, the hoodie was gray. But why red this time around? Fans were talking about it being a bad omen that the coach would change what has worked all season long… I guess if you want to win, you have to dress right.
Then of course, he becomes the jerk we think he is. Running off the field early, not even congratulating any other Giants players for the game. Then his postgame conference. Jerk? Probably? But sore loser? I would have to say yes.

4- No faith in special teams
The game was lost through specials teams I believe. The Patriots punting was not as good as the Giants punting. But the most important was the famous 4th-and-13. Why not send out Gostkowski for a 49-yard field goal attempt? Something he could make indoors? You know, those three points would have helped.

5- Eli Manning has become 2001’s Tom Brady
In 2001, Brady played extremely well down the stretch to take his team to the Super Bowl. There, he led one of the most famous Super Bowl drives of all time. With Tom Brady in this game, leading a great drive himself, Eli Manning outBrady-ed Brady himself. Eli has now become a legend in football history.
They panned to big brother Peyton everytime Eli made a great play. But I think that Eli is out of his brother’s shadow. He is in his own light now.
And oh yeah, Brady is human…

6- David Tyree’s catch has changed our lives
Think about it. That catch continued the drive, instead of making it 4th-and-long. At a long fourth down, maybe the Giants don’t convert and the Patriots are champions. If Eli didn’t escape, the Patriots are champions. But Eli escaped. Eli threw the ball. Tyree made the most amazing catch in Super Bowl history, clutching the ball between his hand and helmet, against Rodney Harrison.
David Tyree is a hero in Super Bowl talks for years to come.

7- Namath… make room for Plax
When Joe made that guarantee victory, we laughed. Then we realized that we were fools to not believe. When Plaxico made his guarantee, we laughed also. Now we believe. I think that Plax was overconfident, but he believed it and showed up when it was the most necessary.

8- Not the greatest upset ever, but the Patriots are no longer Top 10 material
Super Bowl III still is the greatest upset ever. As Mike Golic put it, that win changed the face of the NFL. But this win, changes the face of the Patriots and their place in history. Unlike the former 18-1 teams of the ‘84 49ers and the ‘85 Bears, the Patriots weren’t Super Bowl champions. The ‘72 Dolphins are still perfect. Can the Patriots, so good all season, be considered Top 10 material? I wish I could, but they aren’t champions.

9- Tom Coughlin knows upsets
1993- Coughlin’s Boston College team defeats #1 seed, (10-0) Notre Dame
1997- Coughlin’s Jacksonville Jaguars upset 14-point favorite Broncos in Divisional Round
2008- Coughlin’s New York Giants defeat the 18-0 Patriots in the Super Bowl

This guy is good. And the fact that he changed his attitude this year to connect with this team was nice. Kind of like how Tony Dungy did last year with his winning team. Coughlin just outcoached Belichick.

10- The youth generation is sad

Since Janet Jackson’s fiasco, the Super Bowl halftime shows have been filled with actual talented artists. Paul McCartney, Rolling Stones, Prince, and now Tom Petty. Great music.
It’s a shame that the crowd at the Super Bowl had to fake the enjoyment of the show. It’s a shame that the kids don’t know Tom Petty’s music, and that they looked so lost and stupid trying to pretend they knew “Free Fallin”.
Shame on the young generation.

The MVP should have gone to so many people, the D-Line’s Tuck, Osi, Strahan, David Tyree, the O-Line… everyone. But I think that from this Super Bowl, we have confirmed again that defense wins championships.

And one of the coolest scenes was Doug Williams walking with the Lombardi trophy and the Giants surrounding him, touching the trophy as Williams made his way to the platform. Pretty cool scene.

And Charlie Brown had the best commercial ever!

Congratulations to the Giants and the fans. I have had mixed emotions with Giants fans. A lot of them are cocky at times, overconfident if you will. But they love their football and I believe they deserved to experience this.

Congratulations to the Patriots. They couldn’t finish, but what they did this season was just amazing. It’s a tough thing to take, and it was tough, but there is no shame.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 4th, 2008 at 2:07 pm and is filed under Patriots, 49ers, Super Bowl, Giants, General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.