New York Giants Parade 2012: Eli Manning's Revealing Joke Rings True

At the New York Giants' parade on Tuesday, Eli Manning joked that every time the Giants were playing well this past season, they said, "This is too easy," and then proceeded to make life more difficult.

Manning quipped, via SI.com, "Make it tough, but make it possible."

The reality is, that may not be a joke at all, but the reason why the Giants won Super Bowl XLVI this season.

You see, every team would love to blast through the regular season like the Green Bay Packers did and receive a first-round bye in the playoffs with no cares in the world.

But we've seen time and time again that a team's struggles can eventually make it better, and that was never more evident than what the Giants displayed this season.

The Giants entered Week 16 with a 7-7 record, needing to win their last two games and receive help from the lukewarm NFC East.

They went on to beat the New York Jets and Dallas Cowboys, two potential playoff teams, and continued to rise as the postseason wore on, beating the Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay Packers, San Francisco 49ers and, finally, New England Patriots.

There's something to be said about discovering your flaws in the regular season. For one, it gives you a definitive answer on what you have to work on. Also, tests throughout the season build up your resiliency in the end.

The Packers were consistently called the best team in football this season, going 15-1 in the regular season. But we forget that they won the Super Bowl last year by barely sneaking into the playoffs. They won the Super Bowl last year by improving as the season wore on.

The Giants, despite their underwhelming 9-7 regular season record, had an astonishing seven fourth-quarter comebacks and eight game-winning drives this season.

Their resiliency in the regular season was ignored because, well, they finished with a 9-7 record. But we should have seen their playoff run coming after their final two regular season games, especially after they came back against the Cowboys with the season on the line.

What Manning was essentially saying at the parade on Tuesday was, "What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger."

That proved to be no laughing matter for the rest of the National Football League this season.