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Spygate, roidgate, doggate, whatever the gate may be, sports have been under quite the microscope of late, and for all the wrong reasons...

Super Bowl XLII: The Game That Saved Sports

by GAVIN HADDEN (Contributor)

21

6357 reads

Sports

March 04, 2008


Spygate, roidgate, doggate, whatever the gate may be, sports have been under quite the microscope of late, and for all the wrong reasons.
 
Could it be that Super Bowl XLII saved sports? Is this the game you want to buy on DVD to show your kids over and over? Was this a true tale of “that’s why they play the game?”
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21 comments Last one added about 1 year ago — Leave a Comment

  1. John Fennelly about 1 year ago

    Good stuff, Gavin

    Truer words have never been spoken

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  2. baller rembert about 1 year ago

    yahhhh trick that what da patriots get how u go 4rm 18-0 make it to the superbowl and lose aww man but better luck next time

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  3. Joe Sturzl about 1 year ago

    awesome article. hands down, one of the best ive ever seen on this site.

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  4. Steve Yodz about 1 year ago

    Definitely a bright spot in a dark time for sports. Just as people start to think the Super Bowl is over hyped, we get a game like this. Good article.

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  5. Anonymous about 1 year ago

    Fantastic article!

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  6. z.z. about 1 year ago

    Great article. The game kept me on the edge of my seat for four quarters - it was by far one of the most exciting games I've ever watched, and you summed up the reasons very well. Thank you for writing this.

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  7. Jason Kivela about 1 year ago

    It's a testament to the greatness of the game that you can write about it a month later and it's still an interesting read. They'll be writing/talking about SB XLII for years to come. It had all the storylines you could ever want.

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  8. Bob Warja about 1 year ago

    Nice job Gavin. While I won't say it was the greatest game, especially as a fan of neither team, I will say that the Giants surprised the heck out of me. I was kind of hoping to see history made by New England, if for nothing else than to shut up Don Shua and those Dolphins who celebrate every time a team finally loses. But Eli is coming of age right before our eyes. Keep up the good work.

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  9. JJ Stankevitz about 1 year ago

    I'm inclined to agree with a lot of the other comments here--this is one of the best articles I've read on any website, be it ESPN, SI, or here at Bleacher Report. Great work, Gavin.

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  10. Randy Williams about 1 year ago

    Nice write ponyboy.....thoroughly impressed

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  11. Anonymous about 1 year ago

    Great read!!!! Maybe you could help that Stew guy with his writing!

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  12. Anonymous about 1 year ago

    Ok PONYYY!!!!

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  13. Scott about 1 year ago

    Hey.....It only took the Giants 18 years to win a title.... THATS WHY WE PLAY THE GAME !!!

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  14. Chris Ferraro about 1 year ago

    Hey... It only took the Patriots 36 years to finally win a Super Bowl!!! (and you had to cheat to even do that)

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  15. Jerry Lopez about 1 year ago

    Great jon, the article truly does say it all. Why on any given Sunday the game is played. I always thought that the game itsself. Had a the feeling of David vs. Goliath. GO Blue...

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  1. Anonymous about 1 year ago

    Nice to read someone put things into perspective. Yes, it was the ultmate 'Reality show." Well done.

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  2. mitch christensen about 1 year ago

    Very true. SuperBowl 42 was almost ridiculous with the underdog storylines -- they were so unbelievable you couldn't have pitched it as a movie to Hollywood, and yet it was all true.

    For me, the game saved the season. All year long, especially after about week 8, I began to feel like all the games were meaningless. It just seemed so utterly inevitable -- the Pats were going to win the Superbowl -- even if they didn't go 19-0. All the other games and division winners felt like also-rans. Why is Arizona even bothering to play? Who cares if the Giants beat Buffalo? What did it really matter... it's all over already but for Brady hoisting the Lombardi Trophy.

    And then a funny thing happened on the way to 19 and 0... the little team that could, punched the bully in the mouth and walked off the field with the bully's trophy in hand.

    Suddenly all those games in October were meaningful again. That win over Buffalo clinching a playoff spot was huge. Every game won by every team in the league HAD ACTUALLY MATTERED.
    What a game! What a season.

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  3. Anonymous about 1 year ago

    Since there's what? 32 teams? That's pretty good. By the way, name the teams that have more NFL titles than the Giants. It think there's only one - the Packers. Don't be bitter.

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  4. Anonymous about 1 year ago

    The first NFL title game was in 1933. From 1920 to 1932, the team with the best record was simply declared the champion without playing any playoff or title games. Superbowl 42 was the 18th NFL title game for the Giants. The next closest team is the Packers with 12. That means that there have been 74 championship games and the Giants have been involved in 18 of them, or 1 every 4 years. I wish they had a better overall record in those games, but a title game every 4 years is easily the best record in the NFL.

    John

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  5. Anonymous about 1 year ago

    This article hit it right on the head. I like to hope that the GIANT fans didn't give up hopebut I know that in the Washington game my mind went to Golf. I coulodn't feel more proud of the GIANTS for overcoming all of the odds and winning the big one. Eli forever.
    Rick

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  6. Anonymous about 1 year ago

    get the chills every time i read this article not just cause Im a giants fan and not just because I was there and will always have memories of this like you wrote about, but because this article really explains why anyone watches sports, and people often forget that reason. Great article man.

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    • About the Author GAVIN HADDEN (contributor)

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