MVN - Most Valuable Network

The Art of an Upset

This game will go down as one of the greatest upsets of all-time, and it’s very easy to see why. The Giants were huge underdogs, and they still pulled off the victory. Up until this point, there were only two Super Bowls that were categorized as upsets. In Super Bowl III, the Jets were 14-point underdogs. In 2002, the Patriots were 14-point underdogs. Both of these teams won. Now enter 2008 and the New York Giants, a 12-point underdog. A wildcard team playing a team that was on the brink of perfection.

A great performance by the defense held the league’s leading-scoring team to 14 points. An MVP performance by Eli Manning gave the Giants 17 points, and the title. Perhaps we’ll always remember David Tyree’s catch in the 4th quarter, one that kept the Giants improbable drive going. Brandon Jacobs converting on a 4th down was also important, but perhaps less remembered. Who could forget that catch? That could go down with the Immaculate Reception as one of the best plays in playoff history. Eli twists out of the arms of three defenders, heaves a prayer into the sky, and David Tyree pulls it down with his fingertips, while it is balancing on his helmet. He comes down with the ball, even though Rodney Harrison tries to wrestle it away.

A few plays later, Plaxico Burress scores the game winning touchdown. Even though Tom Brady had 50 seconds and three timeouts, he couldn’t get the ball down the field. One sack and three incomplete passes later, and the Giants were Super Bowl Champions (only clarifying it after Eli kneeled down with one tick on the clock).

In the muggy Arizona night, on February 3rd, 2008, the Giants defeated the Patriots. David defeated Goliath. The dragon slayer slayed the dragon. 18-0 was now irrelevant. Eli Manning was now Eli Manning, Super Bowl MVP. And the lovable losers that are the New York Giants celebrated into the night, holding the coveted Lombardi Trophy high.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 4th, 2008 at 11:11 am and is filed under Uncategorized. 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.