February 6, 2012

Top Ten Most Awesome Things About The Giants Winning Super Bowl XLVI:

1. The Patriots will never, ever, get compared to the great dynasties of all time. The Packers never lost a Super Bowl in their dynasty years. Neither did the Steelers in the 70s, the 49ers in the 80s or the Cowboys in the 90s. The Patriots lost two to Eli Manning and the Giants in a span of four years. Don't get me wrong, the accomplishments are incredibly impressive but Tom Brady is no Joe Montana and Bill Belichick is no Chuck Noll who were both undefeated in Super Bowls.

2. Eli Manning just punched his ticket to Canton. Only one Hall of Fame eligible quarterback with 2 Super Bowl wins failed to get inducted to the Hall (Jim Plunkett) so you know Eli is a lock, especially with so much left in his tank. Some people will make comments about how Eli has more rings than Peyton and that's all fine and dandy. It's a team game, and the Giants were more successful at surrounding Eli with a kick-ass defense than the Colts did for Peyton. Kudos to the Giants and kudos to Eli - the man is definitely elite.

3. Gisele Bunchen's pathetic attempt to pray her precious Tommy to a win fell flat. Seriously, I love it when rich snobs see their dreams explode right in their faces. By the way, did you know the shortened version of your name is Gizz. Chew on that for a moment while you make arrogant comments like "My husband can't throw and catch the ball at the same time." Way to throw Tom's teammates under the bus, Gizz. Here's an idea, why don't you go back to doing your day job of modeling which doesn't require you to open your mouth.

4. The media gets proven wrong on so many levels from this loss, it's mind-blowing. Of course, the media would never admit to such a thing, but they were responsible for headlining how Giants coach Tom Coughlin was on the hot seat after they started the year 7-7 and on the brink of being eliminated from playoff contention. The media has to always make a story out of nothing and this was another example of the media getting bored and trying to make a story out of nothing. Tom Coughlin now has just one less ring than Bill Belichick and he may not be finished yet, so suck it media hacks!

5. Bill Belichick got a chance to make up for his snub from the first Giants/Patriots Super Bowl. Anyone remember the awesome embrace and handshake Tom Coughlin and Bill Belichick shared the first time these two teams met in the Super Bowl? Oh, right, you don't remember it. That's because when the Giants won the game, Belichick stormed off the field and acted like a child who had his toys taken away. Because the Patriots lost, Belichick got a second chance to look graceful after a loss and he didn't disappoint. That hug at midfield between the two coaches was pretty awesome and gave us all a glimpse at Belichick being gracious.

6. A Manning brother kept the Patriots from celebrating in the "House that Peyton built." How terrible would it have been for Colts fans to see Tom Brady win a Super Bowl on the Colts home turf? It would have been like SF Giants fans watching the Dodgers celebrate a World Series on their field, not that such a thing could happen, but you get the idea. It would have sucked. Instead, Eli made big brother proud and kept the Patriots from another Super Bowl win.

7. Victor Cruz is the Tom Brady of wide receivers. Seriously, this guy was on the practice squad a year ago and now he's a top-flight wide receiver who was undrafted and now has a touchdown in a Super Bowl and a ring to boot. Nobody wanted Tom Brady until the 6th round. Cruz wasn't even drafted and now he's living the dream that few get to realize in their careers. I think it's a great story for such an unlikely hero.

8. The Giants continue to dominate the New York football scene at the expense of Rex Ryan and the Jets. Seriously, I cannot stand Rex Ryan. No, I don't have the same disdain for Ryan that I do for Belichick, but it's damn close. While Ryan opens his fat yapper at every turn talking big game about how he's going to lead the Jets to the Super Bowl, he continues to fail miserably while the Giants pay huge dividends without all the smack talk and arrogant headlines. The Jets are like the redheaded stepchild of New York football teams. They want so badly to be accepted like their older brother but instead get consistently tossed to the curb.

9. Giants TE Jake Ballard's heroic attempts to continue playing in the Super Bowl didn't go for naught. Seriously, did you see how Ballard tried desperately to do sprints on the sideline only to fall to the ground clutching his knee in pain after leaving the game earlier? It was almost like watching Keanu Reeves' Johnny Utah try to get up and chase Patrick Swayze in "Point Break" after jacking up his knee. Hope you get the reference. In any case, it was awesome to know that the embattled and unsung hero of the Giants got to see his dreams realized after putting his body on the line.

10. Because I'm a Colts fan who can't bear to see the Patriots win another Super Bowl. Yup, I'm a very biased fan who happens to gleefully celebrate when the Patriots lose. Call it childish, call it bitterness...whatever. If you're a fan of a sports team there's probably another team out there you consider your bitter rival who you love to see fail and the Patriots are mine. A fellow Colts fan I work with and I were talking about how we couldn't stand to see Brady win again and when the final pass fell short with :00 left on the clock we both joyfully embraced and squealed like schoolchildren. It was the perfect ending to such an imperfect season for a Colts fan and that's perfectly okay with me.