January 31st, 2008 11:11 pm
by Big Dog
The Superbowl’s always an exciting time of year. It’s the culmination of a long and hard season. It’s one of the greatest sporting spectacles on earth. And yet, if your team didn’t make it, the Superbowl presents a very real conundrum. Who do you cheer for?
This year your choice is between the New England Patriots and the New York Giants. Each of these teams present their own sets of pros and cons when you consider offering your support.
New England Patriots
Pros
Perfect season (so far) – if you like backing a winner, the Patriots can offer all the winning you could want this season
Tom Brady – good looking, polite, friendly, humble, has a supermodel girlfriend and he can play football
Randy Moss – can run so fast and so far that Brady actually has to work at throwing the ball far enough to get to him
Laurence Maroney – while so much attention has been on the New England passing game this season, Maroney’s been getting the hard yards on the ground, forcing opposing defences to work even harder.
Cons
Perfect season – it’s hard to not want to see the underdogs knock of the undefeated favourites
Tom Brady – he’s good looking, polite, friendly, humble, has a supermodel girlfriend and can play football… too good to be true? Or just so good it’s annoying?
Bill Belichick – he’s sullen, surly, obsessed, clearly a manic genius and can come across as pretty arrogant
New York Giants
Pros
Underdog status – everyone loves the underdog and it’s never a bad thing to support them, if you win, you did it against the odds, if you lose, well nobody really expected you to win anyway (indie band Spoon have a word of warning for the Patriots in their song The Underdog – “you never respected the underdog, that’s why you will not survive”)
Upset wins – the Giants have managed some tight wins in tough conditions recently. They’ve certainly found their form at the business end of the season.
Last time they met – the Giants really stretched the Patriots, up until the third quarter. However, if they’ve learned from that game… who knows how much they might stretch Belichick, Brady and the rest of the Pats this time round?
Plaxico Burress – the man’s predicted a definite 23-17 win for the Giants, maybe he knows something nobody else does
Eli Manning – he’s not only carrying the Giants team and fans on his shoulders, he’s also carrying the Manning family’s hopes for back to back Superbowl victories… that could be the inspiration he needs to lift his game
Cons
Eli Manning – Eli’s been famous for occasional bad decision making (usually when the game’s on the line) and it’s just possible that he’ll crack under the pressure of the biggest game of the year
Tom Coughlin – now, this is just me talking, but there have been several times this year when it’s looked to me like Tom just doesn’t know what to do, this is an issue that I mentioned earlier in the season.
The Patriots – Unfortunately for the Giants, they’re playing this year’s Superbowl against the New England Patriots, the record setting, unbeaten team of the year.
Anyway, no matter who you decide to cheer for this weekend, enjoy the game, enjoy the spectacle and enjoy the football.
Posted in Bill Belichick, Eli Manning, Game, Laurence Maroney, NFL, NFL Coaches, NFL Franchises/Teams, NFL Game Previews, NFL Players, NY Giants, New England Patriots, Plaxico Burress, Randy Moss, Superbowl, Superbowl XLII, Tom Brady, Tom Coughlin | No Comments »