A Great Super Bowl

(With the Album "Barenaked Ladies are Men" playing....)

Each year, I sit down to watch the Super Bowl and hope for one thing (with the exception of 1986 and 2007, when my favorite team -- the Bears -- were playing in the game). For a stretch there, it seemed like a game where one team didn't jump out to a 20 point lead would be good. But over the last 10 to 12 years or so, it seems this game has gotten closer and closer. More often than not, we enter the 4th quarter with the losing team still having a shred of hope.

This year's game was fantastic. You had a team making a bid for an historic win, and another on an historic streak looking to shock the world. The Giants did just that. I will brag a bit and say that when these two teams met in week 17, I turned to my wife and said "I have a funny feeling the Giants will make it to the Super Bowl". I believed it at the time, but I also thought that same week 17 game would spell the end of the Giants should they meet the Patriots. Having seen them once, I thought the Patriots would steamroll them and march on to history. I am happy that I was wrong, though I do feel a little bit of sympathy for the Patriots. To be this close and come up short -- I can't imagine how tough that is. I'm sick of the Patriots and don't really like them, but I do respect what they've done over the years, and I'd take any of their players on my team in a heartbeat.

I've never really liked the Giants much, either. I think Coughlin is kind of annoying, I get tired of Strahan and I think Plaxico Burress is kind of a jerk. But, I do like Eli and have followed his career. I saw him play at Ole Miss, and though I never really thought he'd be Peyton II, I knew he'd be a good NFL quarterback. I desperately wanted the Bears to draft him, and as he's struggled in New York, I had hoped the Bears could deal for him. That won't happen now, but I am glad to see he has taken full advantage of his chance to silence all his critics. That last drive proved the kid has the heart of a champion, and while he might not be Peyton, he is worthy of a Super Bowl ring.

So I'm happy the Giants win. We've got at least one more year of the '72 Dolphins and their champagne toast when the last unbeaten falls. The only thing I wanted and we didn't get was for Eli to get up on that podium and say "Hey Tiki....Who's comical now?" He's got too much class for that, but it would have been a great moment.