Super Bowl 2012: What Victory Means for Means for Eli Manning, New York Giants

The New York Giants are Super Bowl champions, and that means the world. 

Slice up the hyperbole and dish it around to Eli Manning and Mario Manningham. Take down some of that hype we used for the Packers because Tom Coughlin could use a great deal more. 

The team that was forever in the rear-view mirror of NFL teams is now leading the pack. If you want to see what the future holds for the NY Giants, we already have a prequel of some note to base predictions on. 

The 2010 Green Bay Packers came into the playoffs as pretty much nobody's favorite pick. By the end, a defense that could do wonders when it felt like it combined with an amazing offense to ride an amazing hot streak through the playoffs. 

We welcomed one quarterback into the elite club of arms that season, and we do so again in this one. The fact that Eli Manning has forever lived in the shadow of his brother, Peyton Manning, means he had to win two titles to enter the superstar club of QB's. 

Sure, that might be unfair, but there is no sense whining about it now. The Giants are defending champs and they now have a certified elite quarterback at their helm. 

If you thought Coach Coughlin lived on the hot seat before, get ready for a season of exuberance followed by a postseason of extreme deliberation. 

The Giants head coach landed on the hot seat after his last title, so there is no sense thinking this round will be any different. 

New York played the part of underdog so well you might have thought this postseason was scripted. It remains to be seen how it plays with a great deal of expectations heaped on top of its ever-growing egos. 

There is a reason that repeating is so hard. Expectations build and players have to fight the feeling of lost hunger. 

The Giants may be the perfect team to skirt that kind of fallout. They are always the underdogs, even when they should be favored—as was the case in this Super Bowl. 

Something tells me next season will start and most will trumpet another team ahead of the Giants. That will work perfectly into the minds and hearts of a team that is always on the lookout to prove its worth. 

From head coach to starting quarterback, the Giants are always forced to show they matter. That helped them this season. So here is to the hope they are overlooked once again in 2012.