Superbowl XLII

While I am not a fan of either team this is a superbowl that intrigues me. From a historical standpoint there is a huge reason to watch. Can the Giants do the unexpected, can they beat the UNDEFEATED New England Patriots? Can the New England Patriots remain unbeaten to become only the second team in NFL history to go undefeated during the regular season and continue on to win the Superbowl? Can Eli Manning go on to win the Superbowl with the New York Giants and put both him and his brother Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts in history by being the first set of brothers to consecutively win a Superbowl? No matter which historical point you look at there are many different scenarios to play out and watch for.

I find myself rooting for both teams. On one hand I want the Patriots to win. As I think about it and the history that would go with this makes me think ahead to when my kids are older. I would love to have the opportunity to say you know I was in my late twenties when history was made. Only the second time a team in the NFL ever went undefeated all the way to the Superbowl. Having boys it is a story that later in life I am sure they would appreciate. Should they go on to play football weather it is in high school, college and or professionally it would be a great goal for them to set and go for each time they start a season later in life. On the other hand I find myself pulling for New York Giants. Part of it is because I am a Saints fan. Seeing former New Orleans Saint quarterback Archie Manning's son do well is nice. Archie and his family are all from the area and it makes it easy for me to pull for the local boy in the big game. A game that I sure wish Archie Manning could have made while he was with the Saints. Last year for this same reason of wanting Archie Manning's son to succeed, I pulled for the Colts to win the Superbowl.

As far as the match up goes the Patriots are already 2 touchdown favorites to win the Superbowl. I personally do not follow the spread but i do feel like that is too big of a point spread. Both teams have worked very hard to make it this far. I can say I do understand the Patriots being favored simply for the fact that they are unbeaten at this point still.

The Giants hosted the Patriots in week 16 of the regular season. The Giants gave them the best game they had all season in my opinion. The came close but fell short of beating the Patriots. It was a heartbreaking 38-35 loss for the Giants. Personally I felt like Eli and the rest of the Giants had the game won and got lazy in the second half and made too many mistakes to keep the win on their side. I also feel that this game was the coming of age game for Eli Manning. While he and his team did indeed lose there seemed to be a young boy turn into a young man and mature in front of the worlds eyes.

I feel for those who are already counting the Giants out of this game should seriously reconsider. They have an amazing 10-1 record on the road including playoffs this season. They lost their very first road game this season only to take charge of their road games. Games that are supposed to be lost by those teams defending their home field advantage. During the playoffs the Giants have won every game they were supposed to lose so to speak due to Homefield advantage. At the rate they are playing so far they seem to have road field advantage, and they will be the road team in the Superbowl. This is something I don't hear them complain about knowing they have the road winning streak they have.

The Patriots have had a tremendous season. Anyone who says different is just wrong. They have dealt with the pressure of the media with the "Spygate" scandal early in the season, week one against the New York Jets. They did very well avoiding the questions about the scandal and focusing on each up coming game. The Patriots actually seemed to play with more intensity and fire after that. They appeared to play with the attitude that they can show the world they could deal with problems and still come out triumphant. After commissioner Roger Goodell found them guilty of stealing defensive signals from the New York Jets, he fined the Patriots $500,000.00 and their first round draft pick. Most people felt it was a very lenient punishment especially considering that the Patriots would still have a first round draft pick via the Nate Clemens trade with the San Fransisco 49ers. Many people felt that the Patriots should at least lose what ever draft pick was the earlier of the 2 weather it was their own or the one acquired from the 49ers. More recently WR Randy Moss has had his name surface in the news with allegations of battery on a woman. He has denied the allegations and has made sure he has not allowed it to be a distraction to his team or his game.

This should be a great superbowl. There will be some good challenging match ups in this game. With Asante Samuel playing at the top of his game right now I am curious to see how he should match up against Plaxico Burress. I am also curious to see how and if Micheal Strahan and Osi Umenyiora find a way to sack Tom Brady who has proven this year he is a hard quarterback to bring down. His offensive line has done a great job protecting him this season. I will also be looking for the match up vs Wes Welker. Brady has shown and proven if he can't beat you with the deep threat in Randy Moss or Donte Stallworth then he will nickel and dime all the yards he can get from you with short dump off routes to Wes Welker and handing off to Laurence Maroney.

While most people are picking the New England Patriots to win and win big at that I am taking the upset pick. I think that Eli Manning and the rest of the Giants are going to come out playing with a chip on their shoulder. Also with road field advantage on their side I see it giving them a boost of confidence. I am picking the Giants to upset the Patriots in a 28-35 win.