What will we make of this? The shock resides in the air for all of us to breathe in. A shock that won't go away in any one of the minds of the 97.45 million fans who witnessed this most watched Super Bowl, not now, not ever. The magnitude of this upset and the magnitude of what it means to the season causes me, as a sports fan and a writer, to ponder how I even go about examining this troubling paradox these two teams have created.
You cannot go 18-and-zero, with 18 straight, uncontested victories, only to lose the last and most important game of the season and of the careers of all playing. Eighteen-and-zero followed by an "L" simply doesn't make any sense when you consider how confidently and almost nonchalantly the Patriots won those first 18.
How does one examine a team that was 35 seconds away, a sack, interception or one of many things from being known as quite literally the greatest team in the history of the NFL? Obviously we can't even consider them the second-greatest team in NFL history since there are 42 other teams in history who have (technically) accomplished more by winning a title. The best description, it seems, is that the Patriots are the 43rd-best team in NFL history, and next year they'll become the 44th and so on. Sentenced to be the best team in modern sports that didn't win a championship.
Ouch. The Patriots are your unofficial, ring-less, champions. What a joke!
Please understand that I, like most in football, never questioned the ability of the Giants or even the possibility of their victory. Of course it was possible. They gave them a great game in Week 17; they had been playing their best football all year. It used to be that the over/under might as well have been on how many interceptions Eli Manning would throw. I knew, as you did, that the Giants could indeed beat New England. We knew a 12-point spread would never hold. We knew Brady might be hurt. We knew it was possible like we know our odds to hit pocket aces; possible, but we never expected it to happen.
As the game progressed, however, as a 7-3 offensive stalemate moved into the fourth quarter, who couldn't have felt that this was indeed the fate of us all? Not just the fate of New England, New York and Miami, but for the entire NFL to take.
Who amongst us didn't see the inevitability? This was the New England Patriots and nothing would stop their fate. Just as they broke the backs of the Giants some 36 days earlier, Brady connected to Moss for the go ahead touchdown with a mere impossible 2:42 left on the clock.
The Patriots had secured themselves their fourth Lombardi Trophy and a place amongst the gods of football.
Perhaps it's fitting that another Boston team can talk about "the play." Perhaps its fitting that fate be conquered by such an unthinkable, un-plan-able, uncoordinated moment of superiority during a drive of pure and utter courage.
In a year in which Eli was tied for the most interceptions (20) in the NFC, when the Giants' star running back went into retirement, and when they seemingly had an open position at head coach, the Giants pulled off the greatest upset in the history of the NFL, if not in the history of American sports championships. They beat the greatest team in NFL history.
That is, the greatest team for 18 games, 59 minuets, and 25 seconds.
How, once again, do we take all of this? The best team in the NFL this year, maybe in any year, is not our champion. What does one do with 18-1 when that one comes at the very end?
And then it comes to me. Not the writer in me, but the sports fan in me.
Because it really is simple, after all. Disappointing as it may be to some, shocking as it is to most; you can only do what you've always done. You tip your cap, shake their hand, and hopefully, smile, even if it's just a little smile.
Because this is something they've taught us since David and Goliath, something we've observed many times over including the U.S. over the USSR, it's a cliché and a life lesson all in one.
On any given Sunday, at any given time, on any given field, mat, course or court, in any kind of contest, race or challenge, anyone or any group, can literally do anything. It's why we watch. We love the sport, but we know what is possible within the sport, and that truly is, and simply always has been, the impossible.
Josh would love to hear from all of you Patriots fans out there. He can be reached at: jspivack@asu.edu.
