Monday, February 4, 2008

Four wrongs make a Super Bowl champion

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

That’s four wrongs for me, or one for every Giants postseason victory during their incredible run to the Super Bowl title.

I picked them to lose every stop of the way, and yet they beat the Bucs, they beat the Cowboys, they beat the Packers and they beat the Patriots, denying New England a perfect season and stamping Glendale, Ariz., as the little town where dynasties go to die.

Undefeated teams vying for championships are now 0-2 inside University of Phoenix Stadium, while underdogs with little chance of winning -- Florida (over Ohio State) and the New York Giants -- are 2-0.

Show of hands: Who wants to be the next undefeated team to play for a championship in Glendale?

Is this a good time to slip in that I had an inkling the Giants would beat the Patriots? That the Giants were playing the best football, and in championship games, it’s not the best team, but the team playing the best who wins? That the Patriots looked awfully beatable the last month?

No? I can’t slip that in?

OK, fine.

Not that my Super Bowl inklings ever pan out. I did think the Broncos were going to beat the Packers and was right there. But I thought Buffalo would win every Super Bowl it played in, and, well, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong.

I was right on one point. Tom Brady would make plays in the fourth quarter to give the Patriots the lead. But the amazing Brady was one-upped by Peyton Manning’s little brother.

I’m big on Eli Manning, I even liked him back in his Ole Miss days.

I thought he showed incredible poise Sunday night and not just during the winning drive, but afterwards when he lifted the Lombardi Trophy and thanked Giants fans for their support.

How easy would it have been for Eli to grab the trophy and say, “Hey Giants fans! I what? I what? How do you like me now?”

Oh, they love him in New York now, and they will continue to love Eli right up until the start of next season. Then it is back to, What have you done for us lately?

Right now Eli could run for mayor of New York City and win.

Right now, he could get a six-year, $133-million contract from the Mets if he could throw baseballs past hitters like he did footballs past defensive backs during the last month.

Eli is the Manning.

The Giants are the champions.

The 1972 Dolphins live.

And I was wrong.

I can live with that.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hey bud, thanks again for the Pats picks! They couldn't have done it without you.