Shades of 1990 painted all over this game. I stayed up late last night watching NFL films from that game and the similarities between the two situations and games were striking.
Wide right was basically the first Superbowl I ever watched as a kid and it made me a Giants fan for life. Tonight feels like a vindication for all those years before, including the heartache of the last Superbowl after the euphoria of that Viking massacre.
All Giants fan who paid attention knew Eli had this in him. He has an innate ability to be absolutely clutch in the last few minutes of a game when it really matters. He has his ups and downs during the season like any quarterback, but we’ve seen some of his no-huddle work that made you stop and wonder about his potential.
That being said, it was a real tough start to the season. I was up in arms and calling for Tom Coughlin to be fired at the end of last season and after the 0-2 start, I was confident that he would be canned by the end of this year. There were times that I questioned the defense, the offense and of course, even Eli’s confidence and leadership abilities.
As the season wound to a close, everyone and their mother thought that the Giants should quietly pack it in and take a dive versus the Patriots in the final game of the season. “Why risk injuring players in a game that is meaningless?” is what all the analysts and sports tv/radio personalities said…
Well, as a resident of Connecticut, I more than wanted the Giants to put up a fight in that game. A state divided between Boston and New York, a breeding ground for grudges and resentment that transcends boundaries for any one sport. We all knew that there was an intangible to be gained by playing this game to win it, and that was confidence and heart.
They knew they could take a chunk out of armor of Goliath, which made their path to the Super Bowl seem more than just a dream. It became a mission and that mission is now complete.
Greatest upset ever.
Perhaps the greatest superbowl ever.
Tonight we witnessed the literal physical translation of the idea of resiliency.
And it was AWESOME.