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Giants, Patriots make this Super Bowl special

Shaun Powell
January 31, 2008

GLENDALE, Ariz.

This could be ruined by a flurry of field goals, loose balls, 1-yard TD runs, punts and penalties, because that's how these games sometimes go. And this could turn out to be less suspenseful than Tom Brady's boot. And maybe the lack of artistry will force Tom Coughlin and Bill Belichick to look as if they're sucking lemons even more than usual.

Yes, it's quite possible that Sunday, Feb. 3, the biggest religious holiday in football America, will be stolen by Tom Petty and a couple of Go Daddy commercials.

It doesn't matter. One way or another, when the gun signals the end of Super Bowl XLII and the confetti falls along with the Gatorade bucket, we'll get a big winner. Either the Patriots will complete their run of the table and make glorious history, or the Giants will pull off an all-time stunner. Therefore, how can we, the anxious witnesses, possibly lose? How can this game, no matter how badly it's played, not earn a special place in history?

If the Patriots were 17-1, we wouldn't be having this discussion. If the Giants had a few more Pro Bowlers and Peyton Manning had made it instead of Eli, we wouldn't be having this discussion.

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But we are, because the Patriots are undefeated and already being mentioned among the best teams in pro sports history, and the Giants have no business being here, based purely on logic and common sense. The Patriots and Giants are coming from drastically separate directions and are about to intersect in a game that will produce an epic team, even if the game itself is nothing special.

The story line is all set. The Patriots will not be cast as cute and lovable come kickoff, and that's partly their fault. They committed some sins that understandably turned people off. They cheated in the season opener with their intrusive Spy-gate camera and were punished harshly by the league office mainly because it was not their first offense. Their spiritual leader on defense, Rodney Harrison, was suspended early on for using human growth hormone and then had the audacity to take issue when asked about it.

They're the dirtiest team in football, if you believe players on other teams. Nose tackle Vince Wilfork has been fined four times this season for acting like a thug. Offensive lineman Matt Light was accused by Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora of saying and doing things in a pileup that might get him arrested in public. Oh, and a woman accused receiver Randy Moss of being less than a gentleman. Finally, any high school player who celebrates each tackle the way Junior Seau does would get thrown off the team.

But the real reason the Patriots are despised in some parts is because they win. Yes, winning the way the Patriots have this season, and the way they do in Super Bowls, doesn't invite compassion or sympathy. The franchise is on a tremendous roll, collecting Super Bowl bling and respect and awe with amazing speed in such a short period of time.

You must give the Patriots their due for being champions, just as you grudgingly did for the Yankees and the Celtics and all others who built themselves into a force. But society likes it when winners are humbled or wounded, neither of which have applied yet to the Pats.

Those elements belong exclusively to the Giants, clearly the underdog here. They've gotten this far on determination and fight more than talent and skill and star power. They began the season 0-2. Their quarterback and coach and defense were under siege. Plus, in the regular-season finale, they rolled the dice and played at full strength in a game they didn't need, all because the Patriots were going for 16-0. All of the above has endeared the Giants to the public, a strange and rare situation for a team from New York.

"We may never be in this situation again," Antonio Pierce said. "Might as well take advantage."

So that's what grabs you about this game, the promise of a special winner. Most Super Bowls in the past didn't have such a huge favorite. And only one was blessed with a team on the cusp of perfection, therefore producing decent but hardly special champions. The 1972 Dolphins, who finished blemish-free, are the exception, of course, but even they didn't grab you by the throat quite like Brady and Moss and Belichick.

No, this Super Bowl is classic big dog / small puppy confrontation, and the winner will be everyone who witnesses the outcome.

"I'm expecting something big to happen," Michael Strahan said.

Here's what the gut is saying: We're about to get a boring game, say 21-10, but a great champion, because 19-0 looks mighty pretty.

Notable: Newsday’s Neil Best asked Fox’s Frank Caliendo for a Super Bowl pick, but he said he is not allowed to share it until he is on the air Sunday. He did offer Best this prediction in the voice of George W. Bush: "The Patriots, just because of their name, and it’s my favorite Act."

Related topic galleries: New York Giants, Religious Leaders, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, Peyton Manning, Multi-Sport Events, Super Bowl

Copyright © 2008, Newsday Inc.

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