New York Giants' Karma Has Been Working Overtime

Tiki Barber was the first victim. No matter how hard Tiki ran during his career, he was never able to catch up to that that elusive championship. The Giants were being billed as a contender during the 2006 season, but Karma wouldn't let Tiki get the satisfaction of obtaining a ring.

Not after he constantly ran his mouth faster than he could ever run on the field, criticizing his coach without fail.

He retired at the end of the year, and even though his playing days were over, he still couldn’t help but ridicule his former QB at the first opportunity he was given. But Karma was watching, and waiting.

Though no one could have predicted it at the time, the pieces were falling into place for Big Blue, and Tiki would have to watch from the sidelines as it all unfolded before his eyes.

But Tiki wasn't Karma’s only target. Jeremy Shockey had always refused his quarterback's pleas to practice together in the offseason, but never hesitated to throw his hands up in the air when Eli missed a pass.

If Shockey would have suffered an injury at the start of the '07 campaign, perhaps he could have made a comeback for the Giants' playoff run.

But as karma would have it, he got hurt towards the end of the year, making any sort of return impossible. He, too, was relegated to being a mere spectator, with no more of a role in the Giants championship run than the average fan in a luxury box.

Once the G-Men made the playoffs, a familiar foe stood in Eli Manning’s way, and his last name just happened to be Barber. He was Tiki’s twin brother in fact, and just like Tiki, he couldn't keep his thoughts to himself. He talked about how Eli could be "had," trying to get into the young man's head. But the only one who was had in the game was the Bucs and their outspoken CB.

Big Blue then traveled to Dallas to meet their long-time rivals, who had demolished them the two previous times they met during the season. So confident was the Cowboys owner of an impending victory, that he put tickets for the championship game in each of his players’ lockers.

But that was not enough for the 'Boys. Patrick Crayton, a little known receiver at the time, felt the need to disrespect the Giants defense as well. And so it wouldn't be enough for Karma to simply have the Cowboys lose, they would have to be taunted, demoralized, and embarrassed.

Before the game, the Giants' secondary was already thin, with starter Sam Madison sidelined. During the contest, however, it got even thinner, when Aaron Ross got injured and had to leave. That left no-names, like Geoff Pope, and third stringers as the only line of defense against Terrell Owens and the vaunted Dallas offense.

Surely the Giants had no shot. But the Cowboys' center suddenly had trouble snapping the ball, and the receiver named Crayton couldn't hold onto anything thrown his way. A game that Dallas couldn't lose had turned into one they couldn't find a way to win, and the only tickets they were able to use when it was all said and done were the ones for the flight back home.

The Giants then faced off against Green Bay. But it wasn't so much the team that opposed them this time around, as it was the man who led them, and the conditions the game would be played in.  

Brett Favre was the king of Lambeu, and the master of inclement weather. Manning's M.O., on the other hand, was that when the temperature dipped, so did his level of play. Sure, he was able to conquer the Bucs in paradise-like conditions, and defeated the Cowboys inside the confines of a dome, but this was the frigid, frozen tundra.

Now was to be the time when Eli Manning would add another crushing loss to his resume, proving that a zebra indeed can't change its stripes.

But oh what a sense of humor Karma has. How sweet the irony was when in what was one of the coldest games ever played, "Eli the Terrible" made the master look pitifully outmatched.

Next up was the Super Bowl, and it was Tom Brady's turn to test Karma’s will, when he scoffed at Plaxico Burress's prediction that the Giants would hold the Pats to just 17 points. But as it turned out, Plaxico's estimate was too kind, as the G-Men surrendered only 14 points, while giving Tom Brady a beating he won't soon forget.

After their upset victory in the Super Bowl, the Giants had their opportunity to bask in the aftermath, with a parade down the path known only as the "canyon of heroes." But one player did not show up that day.

His name was Osi Umenyiora, and he opted to take part in an individual event rather than celebrate with his teammates, and Karma, as always, took note. In the following year, Osi went down in the preseason with a season-ending injury.

But with all that had already been done, and everything that had been accomplished, Karma still had one loose end to tend to. But this case wasn't so simple, as conflicting there were circumstances involved.  

Plaxico Burress, like Shockey, didn't bother to practice with Eli Manning in the offseason, and could show him up at times. He had a penchant for quitting on certain plays as well. Yet, at the same time, he would stand up for his teammates when push came to shove, and was willing to play through pain.

So Karma let him have his glory, but did so grudgingly, making him earn everything he got; on one leg.

Then the new season began, and Burress, amid unexplained missed practices and disregard for team rules, had tested Karma one too many times. But Plaxico just wouldn't go away.  He was injured but continued to play. He was suspended, but came back. So Karma did the only thing it could to get Burress off the field for good: It shot him in the leg with a firearm.

If you question whether things like destiny, fate, or Karma exist, you need only take a look at the recent history of the New York Giants to find reason to believe. And if you think I'm joking, you might want to think twice, because Karma is watching, and you just might be next.