New York Giants: People Will Never Understand the Diehard Giants Fan

So, here we are on the eve of Superbowl XLVI.  My New York Giants will once again face the media darlings of the NFL, the New England Patriots.  This is a miserable time for me.  The nerves are frayed and the family just doesn't get my edginess. 

I should be happy right?  What most people don't understand is how much effort I have put into getting my Giants back to the NFL promised land.  This season hasn't been easy.  We started off great—going 4-2 over our first six games.  

Sure, there were the slip-ups against the Redskins on opening day and then against the Seahawks in Week 5 but, obviously the season was young and I hadn't found my rhythm yet.  

It takes a while to determine the proper place to watch the game and the proper clothes to wear and the proper people who should be watching with you to ensure New York Giants' success.   Going into the bye week, I thought I had it figured out.

Things seemed OK as we came out of the bye and won our first two (including a 24-20 win over the golden-boy Patriots).  Yep, I had it down.  We were well on our way to a big year!  

Then we faced the 49ers.  

Sure, they were having a great year but, looking at the team, I felt we had very favorable match-ups.  All I had to do was just stay consistent with how I watched the game and who I watched it with.  Only, that didn't work.  

I tried everything I could think of during the game—changing the channel ONCE during commercials and changing it back, sitting in a different chair in the family room,  moving to the kitchen to watch—and none of it worked.  They lost that game and then, over the next three weeks dropped games to the Eagles, Saints and Packers. 

I was beside myself with frustration.  I was desperate!  Clearly I was doing something wrong that was upsetting the course of nature and putting my team into a free-fall.  I thought back to the days of Simms and Bavaro, and Hostetler and Otis Anderson.  Back then, I had "props" to assist me with getting the team its Lombardi Trophies.  

I would put my Giants bobble-head on an end table—making sure it faced the TV.  I would line up my New York Giants electric football players in front of the TV—once again making sure they all faced the game.  I would drink from my Mobile gas souvenir Giants tumbler, always seeing that when I set it down, the Giants helmet was facing the TV.  Call me crazy but, hey, all of those things worked!

Unfortunately, I don't have those things anymore.  It would be all upon my own shoulders to pull my team out of its funk.  The next game would be against the hated Cowboys.  I could barely sit still as the game wore on.  Flipping the TV back and forth to make sure I kept the correct "aura" over the game, I fought my way through it.  I'd pulled my team through its most important game of the year to a 37-34 win!  Exhausted and satisfied, I slept well that night.

The remainder of the New York Giant season is well documented.  They went 2-1 over their final three games with key wins against the Jets and Cowboys to make the playoffs.  The one loss coming once again to the lowly Redskins—I never could figure that game out.

Using hard work and lots of trial and error, I have managed to get the team back into the NFL title game.  As you can see, it hasn't been easy for me.  The NFC Championship against the 49ers took about three years off my life alone!  

Here I sit, one day away from yet another "biggest game of my life".  The NFL, in an effort to prolong my suffering, gives a two-week window from the end of the conference championships to the Superbowl.  That's two whole weeks of planning and re-planning for me.  Yesterday, I determined what I'd wear.  The big unknown is how things will go at the house where I'll be watching the game.  My neighbors are hosting the Superbowl party this year, and I need to make sure I surround myself with other "Pro-Giants" fans—knowing full-well that their passion probably doesn't run as deep as mine and I'll have to carry the load. 

This game will take everything I've got to get the Giants to the top of the NFL heap, and I'm sure I'll be living and dying with each swing of momentum.  In the end, if I've found the correct "formula" for success, the "G-Men" will again hoist the Lombardi Trophy. 

Just know that I'm "All In"!