Ya gotta show up and play the game!

Yesterday evening, the heart of this old (figuratively speaking) Miami Dolphins fan was warmed to it's core by the upstart New York Football Giants.
All season long we have had to endure talk of the undefeated New England Patriots finishing 19-0 and being crowned "Greatest Team of all time." It is a done thing, just accept it!
And we were subjected to endless shots of their coach wearing that ratty looking grey hoodie on the sidelines, and being spoken of as the Merlin the Magician of coaching.

As it is, they aren't even the greatest team of the year 2007 and Super Bowl XLII season.

The Giants front four dumped Tom Brady, A.K.A. "Pretty Boy" on his backside repeatedly, their secondary harassed his receivers and took away the deep throw, and their 'D' held them to their lowest point output of the season.

And Peyton Manning's 'little' brother Eli played like Johnny 'U' himself.
He remained cool and collected, his only INT the fault of his receiver's failure to hold on to the ball, rather than an errant throw.

When Brady marched the Pat's down the field for the go-ahead touchdown with just over two and a half minutes left, everyone in the stadium figured the Fat Lady had indeed sung, and the coronation was soon to commence.

Someone forgot to tell the Giants that they were beaten, however.

Manning converted twice on fourth down, and once on third and eleven.
The key play of the game saw him escape the grasp of a fierce pass rush when it appeared that he would be sacked.

He then delivered a perfect high throw to Tyree, who was in tight double coverage.
One of the greatest catches I have ever seen in over forty years of watching football, it would have been a magnificent catch in any circumstance.
But with the championship on the line, it was truly the Catch for the Ages.

Soon afterwards, Manning hit a wide open Plaxico Burress for the game and championship winning touchdown.

The Giants made history in a number of ways.
They were the first fifth seed team to win the Super Bowl, the first six loss team to win it, and the first team to beat an undefeated team in a Championship game in NFL history.

A wise person once said "Half the battle sometimes is just showing up"

Don't read the press clippings, don't listen to 'polls', and as General George S. Patton Junior is credited with saying, "Never give council to your fears, and never suffer fools!"

I rate this as the greatest upset I've seen in football, even trumping Joe Namath's guarantee that his Jet's would win Super Bowl III and then delivering on his boast.

It reminded me why I have always loved football, and why Sports can sometimes be a great analogy for life in general.

Keep your head up, your attitude up, support your teamates, and just play the game!

P.S., the 1972 Miami Dolphins are still the only team in the Super Bowl era to finish the season undefeated and untied Super Bowl chamipions.

They lost Bob Griese (their starting Pro Bowl Quarterback) in game five, he did not return until the Conference Championship game in week 16. They then had to play that AFC Championship game on the road in Pittsburgh, (the home field advantage for the top seeded team was not in place at that time like it is now), and still went into Super Bowl VII two point underdogs to a Washington team with three losses.

They won that Super Bowl in dominating fashion, and came back the next season to win another in a two loss season.
And yet whenever talk of the great teams in history came up, they were seldom mentioned with the great Steeler, Forty Niner, Cowboy, Bear and Patriot teams that followed them.

If they, and their fans seem a bit 'prickly', there is a reason for it.

Thanks to the Giants, what they accomplished is once again being recognized for what it is, the greatest single season team in NFL history.

I must close now, need to go out and find a number 10 Eli Manning Giant's Jersey.