Giants vs. Patriots: Perception, Not Facts Drive Fan Predictions for Super Bowl

Wow.

That’s all I can say, wow.  To hear New York fans' thoughts on the Super Bowl tomorrow, you would think they could just hand the Giants the trophy and skip the game. 

They won’t.  There is too much money tied up in the whole spectacle to just crown the winners without the game.  Good thing—I have too much invested in food and beverage.

The problem with NY fans is an attitude that is a product of perception, not facts.  The facts are that only weeks ago, these same fans were howling for a new coach and quarterback amid a four-game losing streak.

That single streak is twice the length of the Pats' one losing streak and one more than the Pats' loss total for the season. Bring that up and you hear about the Pats' wins were all against bad teams.  You don’t hear about the Giants getting swept by a team that the Pats beat in the same season.  Not even a word.

All you hear from NY fans is how the Giants won the last regular season game and the Super Bowl a few years back.  You hear how they won whatever-it-was in a row and how great the offense and D line are, etc, etc.  Not about how New England had a longer winning streak or how the Patriots have an offense that any team would kill to have.

A lot is being said about the Giants' improvement as a team during the last part of the regular season and playoffs.  Their offense has gelled, their defense is impenetrable, their quarterback makes Joe Montana look like a regular Joe. 

There is truth to some of it.  They have improved.

Just keep in mind, the other team has improved as well. 

The New England defense still gives up yards, but they have dropped average total yards per game by nearly 25 percent in the last few games. The Patriots gave up a lot of yards all season, but they never gave up a lot of points.

I don’t even have to mention the New England offense, do I?  Yes, they struggled against the Ravens, but they still scored more points than they gave up. The defense made the plays when they needed to. Don’t bother to mention the muffed kick.  It would have only tied the game.

Both sides are touting their team, as they should, though one side is a bit more reserved. I am not saying New England fans don’t boast—we do. We also temper it with several examples of where trash talk lead to embarrassment. 

For example, the Patriots' first title against the Rams.  During that postseason, they beat a Pittsburgh team who had already ordered enough shirts to hit retail the day of the game.  They were going to the Super Bowl; the game was only a formality.  Guess what—it didn’t happen.

It was the same a week later.  The Rams were already the champions; they just had to get that pesky game over with so they could take their trophy and go home.  That’s how it was—everyone knew who would win.  The Rams were shocked.  Surprise!

We also remember the last time there was a big game between the Giants and the Patriots.  New England had already beaten the Giants in the last regular season game that season and had yet to lose a game.  Guess what, that whole we-have-to-play-the-game thing got in the way again.  Giants win!  Giants win!  No perfect season.  Foot in mouth for New England as a whole.

Don’t forget the other rivalry either.  In 2003 there was a game seven in the ALCS.  The Sox had Pedro going.  Series over, right?  Nope.  Jimy Williams allowed Pedro to talk him into another inning when everyone knew he was gassed.  NY tied it up, and later that little guy popped one over the fence.  Game, and series, over.  I still can’t utter that little guy's name.

The next year, in the ALCS, it was even clearer who the winner would be.  Up two games-to-one, the Yankees destroyed the Red Sox 19-8 in game three for a 3-0 lead in the series.  That series was over, right?  All the Yankees had to do was win one out of four.  It didn’t happen.  Boston staged the largest comeback in their history to win the best of seven series.

They were not going to beat St Louis—no way, no how.  The Sox were nowhere near as good a team as the Cardinals, and they were beat up from the ALCS.  Four straight, Boston wins their first world series since 1918.

Each example shows how it’s just better not to get too involved in predictions based on what the majority wants to believe.  It isn’t really true that New England had no chance against the Rams. It also certainly isn’t true that the Giants had no chance against the Patriots in the 2007 Super Bowl.  It doesn’t matter what you want to believe—it only matters what is true.

Here we are at the Super Bowl again.  Same teams, same facts, different perceptions. 

The fact is that both teams are good.  Really good.  They’re in the championship game for a reason.  They are fairly evenly matched: they both have stout defensive fronts, porous secondaries and an efficient offense.

One team has a no-doubt elite, Hall of Fame-bound quarterback. The other team has a quarterback who will be considered elite should he win this game. They both have great head coaches who have won the big one before. 

The facts tell us to expect a close game.  Whether it ends up 17-14 or 44-41, it’s going to be close.  I don’t think either team is capable of blowing out the other.  They just match up too well.

What I’m saying is that, conspiracy nuts aside, no one knows who will win.  We all have our hopes, opinions and civic pride tied up in this, but we don’t know who will win.

One set of fans knows that talking before the game can definitely lead to foot in mouth disease.  They have been there and learned from it. Their team preaches, "Shut until you’ve done it."

The other fan base does not seem to care that they might be tasting feet. I suppose it’s possible that they will enjoy it.  Maybe that’s something they learned from the other football coach in town.  I don’t know.

I do know this: None of us knows who the champion will be.  I also know I'm going to hold my tongue until the game is over.