Ok, ok, so I know what you all are thinking. Why is she blogging about the Super Bowl? She only tunes in to watch Tom Brady's perfectly-sculpted physique undulating as he arches back ever-so swiftly to throw that ball. The sole fact that she is female excludes her from all football discussions considered relevant or grounded in rational thought.
But I have watched plenty of games this season (as a byproduct of living with three guys). In fact, more games than I have ever watched any other season and I pay attention (sometimes my attention wanes, but I glean the highlights and important plays) and I watched the Super Bowl, so I figure that gives me just as much right as anyone to comment on it.
So here’s what I thought of last night’s game…
Any way you look at it, it was a monumental game. I watched the New England/ Indianapolis game after the Redskins played the Cowboys back in November and I remember deciding right then and there that the Patriots were unbeatable. I watched their sly maneuvering and expert conceptual execution of a game so easily and fluidly manipulated to their will.
I watched and read about all their subsequent games, without a single passing worry troubling my mind as to their absolute state of superiority over every other team.
However, it is one of those anomalies that as soon as we start to think of men as Gods, it is at that exact moment that they will prove themselves human.
And I think we saw a little bit of that last night.
The game, itself, went by pretty slowly until the fourth quarter. The first half saw the drives and pushes typical of first-half football. Although the Patriots were floundering more so than I have seen them in a while. Brady was going down left and right it seemed and each time writhing his body like a wild beast amid the shock and bewilderment of players actually succeeding in taking him down. The giants were putting up a strong fight, but I still thought NE would bring it through in the end.
But the fourth quarter, I think, let us see what winning is all about. I think the Patriots Achilles’ Heel last night was that their usually impeccable timing was just a little bit off. They came through with their inevitable last-3-minutes-of-the-game-touchdown, but left just a little too much time for the Giants to score. They underestimated the opposing team’s drive and ability and the thought that NY could bring it back and score just as quickly never even enter their minds. And this is where arrogance will bring you down.
Fast-forward about a minute and a half and they will suffer the terrible fallout of this mistake. The play (and I’m sure everyone who watched it already knows what I’m talking about) where Eli wriggled his way out of a potential sack to somehow get the ball to wide receiver David Tyree (and yes, I looked up his name, I’m not that good) as he caught it by, literally gripping the ball to his head, as he was pulled down and thrashed at by the Patriots’ Rodney Harrison...seriously blew me away. It was one of those exceptional plays that you really don’t get to see that often where, after the whole damn perfect season for the Patriots and all their glory, it just came down to a question of who wanted it more. And it wasn’t the Patriots.
After that, there was a small margin of time for a counter, but no such miracle occurred.
And the Giants won. Just like that. Clean, fair and honest.
And in a way, I think the loss will help the Patriots develop and evolve as a team. The loss will humble them (and hopefully humble their grim reaper coach), as well as mitigate that pesky hubris that seems to be their tragic flaw. Perhaps they will come back next season with the harmonious combination of heart and skill that it takes to have a perfect season. Maybe then they will be worthy of the title “best team ever.” They’re not there yet, though…clearly.
As someone who maybe hasn’t watched/invested in enough football to really sustain any loyalties (although I am steadily developing a penchant for Washington), this allows me to, for the most part, watch with an objective eye. This is the same objective eye that watched as the unbeatable team was beaten. And now, I think I can say with some degree of certainty that I am no longer objective, as the Giants may just have won me over.
And At least Tom Brady has Stetson to cover up the stink of defeat.
