Super Bowl XLII: Reflections From the NFC East

Ok, so it’s been awhile since I’ve written (or rather bitched) about something here.

Ha, I just thought of the Family Guy where Peter gets his own Local News segment called “you know what grinds my gears”…yeah I’m THAT guy.

Anyway, you know what really grinds my gears…haha, but really…

I guess it’s ironic that I would come back here to write only after some extremely minor issue like Big East refereeing, when I could have returned for something as massively important and euphoric as watching the Giants upset the Pats in what may be the greatest Superbowl I’ve ever seen.

(Tennessee/St. Louis where the Titans fell one yard short is close, and the Niners beating the Bengals on Montana’s magical last minute drive may have been better but I was five, so, even if it helped ultimately shape my deep subconscious love for football, it’s hard to pick over this year’s ultimate upset). 

Considering the contents of my previous post, it’s probably fitting that I select such minutia to focus on.

And in case you’re wondering why a die hard Eagles fan was rooting for the Giants, I'll give you two reasons:

1) I naturally root for underdogs, but the intense pleasure I’ve taken in rooting against the Pats this season is best exemplified by this ingenious article from The Onion. (It’s an interesting experience to, for once, realize that the it’s-funny-because-it’s-pathetically-true aspect of an Onion article applies directly to you).

2) I’ve been rooting for the Giants since they beat Jeff Garcia and the Bucs (Garcia will forever be an honorary Eagle in my mind), because there is something about this Giants team (especially its defense) that is so reminiscent of my birds.

It’s something about their of “screw you” attitude and absolute need to win at all costs.

For a team like this, there are no moral victories.

For a team like this, sometimes defeats can be totally and utterly destructive.

I’m thinking of losses like the Ravens-Patriots' game earler this year, which ended on a poorly called 4th-and-1 timeout by a Ravens' defensive coordinator, and the refs not overturning Jabar Gafney’s obviously bobbled catch, which led to Bart Scott throwing the flag from the ensuing unsportsmanlike penalty into the stands that allowed the Pats to kick off from the Baltimore 40.

Awful to watch, but classic nonetheless.

I’ve had the same feeling about this Giants team ever since 2003's improbable wild-card loss to the 49ers. 

Several fights broke out while bad calls and missed opportunities screwed the Giants out of a Divisional playoff game.

That night, as I watched the Giants' defense storm off the field, slamming helmets and kicking over tables like their jerseys' said Nowitzki on the back, I imagined what Jim Fassell might say in that locker room.

Maybe he didn’t say anything, maybe there is no possible way to positively spin a loss so devastating and soul-crushing as that.

But I wanted to imagine Fassell (an underdog to the core, who would get fired very shortly after) looking those guys in the face and saying, "We got screwed tonight, but what really matters is that we fought with everything we had…and people will say we committed stupid penalties, but the reality is we left everything on the field and played like we are supposed to play. And if we get to keep this team together next year we’ll come back and win it, because you guys want it more than any other team in the league."

There is a certain edge to this year’s Giants team (and to each Giant squad since 2003, for that matter) that clearly brings me back to that game.

I’m sure Michael Strahan and other defensive vets haven’t forgotten that feeling walking off the field at Candlestick.

They play with the same fleeting desperation at times. The kind of desperation it takes to will themselves past the league’s best offensive-line over and over again to repeatedly put Brady on his ass.

The kind of desperation it takes for David Tyree, who had more tackles than catches this year, to trap the ball on his helmet, despite Rodney Harrison scratching and clawing to pull down his arms (for video of this historic play click here).

Many of the names changed for the Giants after that 2003 loss—Fassell was replaced by the similar underdog Tom Coughlin, the team wisely benched Kerry Collins in favor of rookie Eli Manning and suffered through a rebuilding season…but the desperate essence of the 2002-2003 club somehow remained.

It was a strange feeling, as the euphoria settled into a deep and profound contentment as I looked into the bathroom mirror, half-drunk that Sunday night.

I was initially at a loss as to why this felt SO GOOD. And then it sunk in…

I’ve never seen the Eagles win the Super Bowl, and if they eventually do, it will undoubtedly be one of the better moments in my life.

But after this year’s Super Bowl, I had a strange glimpse of what it will feel like when they do.

And no, I’m not saying I’m now a Giants fan, that would be ridiculous.

But the experience definitely solidified why 12 out of the 16 weeks of the season I tend not to root as vehemently against division rivals Washington and New York as perhaps I would be expected to.

Because there is some deep, unexplainable connection between those NFC East teams: their fans, the desperate way they play, and the palpable, almost foreboding, importance of needing to will themselves to victory at all cost.

And no I don’t include the Dallas Cowboys in this NFC East comradery…are you kidding me!

Anyway, I’ll write another post about the Big East officials, but for now, allow me, in my semi-triumphant return, to wax poetic on a great game and an extremely satisfying moment.

P.S. If you’ve read my previous post you now know that I was wrong about this NFL season being a parity-less dud.

While I was EXACTLY (If I could use double caps on this I would) correct on my playoff predictions in WEEK 7, I was very incorrect in saying the season was inconsequential until the AFC championship game.

I predicted a rematch between the Pats and Colts which would determine the eventual Super Bowl champ.

Of course San Diego and New York had something to say about that prediction.

Despite being more void of parity and housing more bad to fairly bad teams than it has been in many years…the NFL (especially the playoffs) still managed to become indescribably entertaining in the end, thanks mostly to the G-men.