The New York Football Giants are Super Bowl Champions. The confetti has been cleaned up and the champagne has been drunk but there is no hangover in New York. The New York Giants defeated Tom Brady and the Patriots for the second time in 4 years in the sports biggest game and New York football has taken center-stage once again. Amazingly, it had nothing to do with Rex Ryan who must be on Zoloft by now after watching the team that shares a stadium with the Jets beat the team that reigns in their division. It happens sometimes, Rex. In all seriousness, that was the last shot I'm taking at Rex Ryan or the Jets in this post because it isn't about the Jets right now. It is about the New York Giants. They are the Champions of football once again. I never thought this team had a shot at the beginning of the year. Never. I don't think there was a Giants fan out there who thought the team would be Super Bowl bound after they were at 7-7 after losing to the Washington Redskins. I have seen every Giants Super Bowl and they all seem to have one moment (ok, not the Ravens Super Bowl debacle but all the wins do) that makes the game a classic. In 1986 there was Phil McConkey with the catch and Phil Simms setting the all-time Super Bowl completion percentage. In 1990 there was Mark Ingram's catch and Scott Norwood's wide right. Hell, even in 2000 Ron Dixon had the kickoff return for a TD. In 2007, there was David Tyree catching the ball against his helmet after Eli Manning escapes a sure sack. Then, there was the Plaxico Burress TD catch in the corner of the endzone. There was the defeat of a previously undefeated team and the thrill of victory. Then, this year, there was Mario Manningham's catch that led to the Giants game-winning "reluctant touchdown" by Ahmad Bradshaw. There was Eli Manning leading his team down the field for one more 4th quarter comeback in a season full of them. There was Chase Blackburn, the guy who started the year as a substitute teacher before being signed right before the Giants-Packers game in early December, getting a timely interception against Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski, a tight end coming off of one of the best single seasons ever at his position.
As the Giants bring the Lombardi Trophy to the New York/New Jersey area, it is fitting to think about the history that the New York Giants have had in this game. No, they don't own the record for most Super Bowl victories. But, there is something special about Big Blue. Something that no other team can claim. The New York Giants were where some of the game's greatest coaches got their start, whether as head coach or assistant. A quick mental check reveals Vince Lombardi, Tom Landry, Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick, and Tom Coughlin all began their coaching careers with Big Blue. It just seems fitting that the Lombardi Trophy now resides in New York.
It might be years before Giants fans stop talking about this past Super Bowl. The memories of the last Giants Super Bowl were still fresh in every Giants mind as they prepared for a rematch. I hope, as a Giants fan, that I don't have to wait more than two years for another Super Bowl but I know I will have this one to keep me warm for many winters to come if need be. Especially when the embers of the Giants Super Bowl XLII win still smolders all these years later. Thank you Big Blue.
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