Best and Worst Media Reactions to Super Bowl XLVI

The Super Bowl is the perfect opportunity for the media to oversell everything that happens. It is the biggest sporting event in this country every year, so it would make sense that the reaction to it would be overwhelming. 

Some writers/reporters/analysts provide good insight into the game, the moment, the atmosphere, the winner, the loser or anything they have a good feel for once it is all over. 

Others like to take the opportunity to belittle anything and everything they can about the game or the host city or whatever they are feeling crabby about at a particular moment. 

Some of the articles were written simply for shock value, some actually had something provocative to say—all of them are entertaining.

We want to break down the best of the best and worst of the worst from Super Week in Indianapolis. Here are all the stories you need to read with the madness of the Super Bowl ending. 

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First Comes the Bus....

Article: "Blame Brady for This One" by Eric Wilbur of the Boston Globe

Synopsis: Tom Brady's performance in the Super Bowl was an embarrassment. He must shoulder the blame for this one because he failed in every possible way. 

Buzziest Quote 

Eli and Peyton now have as many rings as you combined over the past five years. You haven't sniffed one in seven. How's that hit you?

"

Maybe it doesn't hit you as hard anymore, and maybe that's the problem.

The safety killed the Patriots. Killed them.

And there's nobody to blame but Tom Brady.

"

Analysis: Wow, overreact much? Brady did not play his best game in the Super Bowl, but he certainly wasn't as bad as all that. The New England Patriots are only in the playoffs because of the quarterback they have. They were playing in the Super Bowl, ahead with two minutes to play. How is that not sniffing a ring?

Further Reading

Tom Brady Is Still The Best QB of This Generation (B/R)

...Then the Backtracking

Article: "Uncle" by Eric Wilbur of the Boston Globe

Synopsis: After taking a verbal beating the previous 24 hours, Wilbur decided to tapout. He tried to blame the fans for the article by saying that he expected them to be angry at Brady, and wanted to give them a forum to vent. 

Buzziest Quote

"

But rational thinking doesn't come to head in such a moment, and frankly, that was my intention; to present the knee-jerk reactions of what the fan base had to be feeling at that very moment. As it turned out, there was little anger directed toward the Patriots. Disappointment, yes, but the anger was at a minimum.

That, apparently, was reserved for me.

"

Analysis: It is big of Wilbur to half-heartedly admit that he was wrong. Considering how quick we are to overreact to every little thing that happens on a football field, it was surprising that more people didn't jump on the bashing train. 

Further Reading

Tom Brady's Legacy Shouldn't Be Tarnished (B/R)

Gisele Is Clearly the Problem!

Article: "Tom Failed Again? Blame Gisele!" by Sarah Spain of ESPNW.com

Synopsis: A fun, satirical take blaming the wife of Tom Brady for the Patriots losing the Super Bowl and not winning a championship in the last seven years. She had no reason to open her mouth to the fans that were taunting her after the game.

Buzziest Quote

"

The latest man to lose his edge because of a woman? Two-time Super Bowl loser Tom Brady.

Gisele Bundchen (or should I say Yoko Bundchen?) has not only stripped Brady of his talent, now she's gone and opened up her big ol' supermodel mouth, commenting on him and the game of football! The nerve.

"

Analysis: Gisele's mini-rant about the Patriots wide receivers dropping passes became a bigger story than the Giants actually winning the game. Everyone tried to analyze it to death. The articles written about it were hilarious because they just wanted her to leave the talking to the sports reporters who know everything. 

Further Reading

How Wes Welker Should Respond To Gisele's Comments (B/R)

Eli Manning Is No Longer the "Little Brother"

Article: "Forget Peyton Manning, Eli Is Better Than The Rest" by Gary Myers of the New York Daily News

Synopsis: Eli Manning's second Super Bowl run proves that he is not only the best quarterback in the family, but in the entire NFL. 

Buzziest Quote

"

It seemed ridiculous when Manning put himself in Tom Brady’s class over the summer. He created a season-long firestorm that forever was extinguished the moment he lifted his second Lombardi Trophy Sunday night. The way he played in the playoffs in January and his performance against the Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI jumps Elite Eli into the No. 1 spot.

Not on the all-time list. Not based on his career vs. Brady and Peyton. It’s about all now and right now he’s the best in the league. He’s better than Brady and is at a higher level than his brother was playing before he missed the season following neck surgery.

"

Analysis: Manning had a great run, and deserves all the credit in the world for the way he played in the postseason. But he has had two good postseason runs and two great regular seasons in eight years. We should hold off a bit before declaring him the best quarterback in the NFL. 

Further Reading

Eli Manning Still Remains In Peyton's Shadow (B/R)

Silence the Dynasty Talk for a Little While

Article: "Super Bowl XLVI Win Doesn't Make the New York Giants a Dynasty Yet" by Michael Schottey of Bleacher Report

Synopsis: Talks of this team becoming the next great dynasty in the NFL have been greatly exaggerated. No one knew who they were before the season started. They did not make the playoffs for three years after 2008, and failed to win a playoff game for four years before this season. 

Buzziest Quote

"

The Giants won a Super Bowl in 2008 and won another in 2012. The two teams may have shared a common opponent and some common names, but they are not as connected as the short span of time would cause you to believe.

If the Giants want to become a dynasty, they need to build on the success of 2012. Down the road, 2008's championship will simply be a prologue while this season's masterful performance is the first chapter.

"

Analysis: There is no reason to think of this team as a dynasty right now. Nothing they did in the four years between championships resonates the way that previous dynasties have. Let's let them make a couple of playoff appearances in a row before we talk of this team as something more than it is. 

Further Reading

Eli Manning Is Football's Derek Jeter (B/R)

Legacies Changed in the Blink of an Eye

Article: "By Smallest of Margins, a Patriots Legacy Is Being Redefined" by Greg Bishop of the New York Times

Synopsis: Bill Belichick and Tom Brady were so close to getting back to the top of the mountain, but problems, injuries and fate intervened. The coach and quarterback were on their way to becoming the greatest duo in the history of the NFL. 

Buzziest Quote

"

It’s hard to argue that Brady and Belichick are even the best quarterback-coach combination of the past four seasons, not after Eli Manning and Tom Coughlin bested them in the Super Bowl, not once, but twice. This is how quickly perceptions shift, even since the events of Sunday ended.

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Analysis: Eli Manning and Tom Coughlin had two great runs together. Belichick and Brady have made five Super Bowls, winning three of them. They have made the playoffs together nine times in 11 years. No other coach-quarterback combination in the NFL can say that. 

Further Reading

Did Bill Belichick Make the Right Call In the Fourth Quarter? (B/R)