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The Spectacle Blog
As Yogi Berra famously said, “It’s Deja Vu all over again.”
The New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots 21-17 to win Super Bowl XLVI. It is the second time in five years that Tom Brady has fallen short against Eli Manning who won his second Super Bowl MVP. It is the second time in five years that Giants head coach Tom Coughlin went from being fired to going to Disney World. It is the second time in five years a Giants receiver has made a sensational catch late in the fourth quarter with Mario Manningham doing his best David Tyree impersonation.
As was the case in 2008, once again we had two great teams playing a great game and someone had to lose and, unfortunately, once again it had to be the Pats.
View all comments (57) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by Aaron Goldstein
http://spectator.org/blog/2012/02/05/giants-best-pats-again
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Bob Grant| 2.5.12 @ 10:50PM
Good on ya Eli!
Bill| 2.5.12 @ 11:16PM
That safety in the 1st quarter killed Pats. Eli Manning is a legend.
RJ| 2.6.12 @ 1:15AM
It was a team victory, but I was rooting for Eli all the way. He is a great one, from a great family.
Scott| 2.5.12 @ 11:19PM
"As was the case in 2008, once again we had two great teams playing a great game and someone had to lose and, unfortunately, once again it had to be the Pats."
"Unfortunately"?
Bob Grant| 2.5.12 @ 11:27PM
Yes. He has a serious Boston Area Bias.
Israel could strike Iran and he would manage to squeeze in a Bruins score.
Aaron Goldstein| 2.5.12 @ 11:28PM
I was rooting for the Pats.
Tom| 2.5.12 @ 11:45PM
And Brady and Bellacheat have yet to win a Super Bowl since they took away the video camera.
Grat day for America!!!!!!
Ryan| 2.6.12 @ 8:19AM
Conservative-appearing family man (Eli) beats liberal-appearing womanizing pretty boy (Brady).
Go Giants!
JimH| 2.6.12 @ 8:33AM
Lets be fair. The supermodel on Brady's arm is in fact his wife. I guess it is a consolation to him.
Ryan| 2.6.12 @ 11:24AM
Second supermodel - the first one he got pregnant and didn't marry.
teflon93| 2.6.12 @ 8:48AM
The Pats need a defense. "They give up a lot of yards but not a lot of points". Well, in football the two are intertwined....
Bob K.| 2.6.12 @ 8:51AM
Did you see that touchdown that wasn't supposed to be a touchdown?
What if the guy succeeded in NOT scoring?
Do you know what they call that in Basketball?
They call it POINT SHAVING! That is what they call it.
And what about New England laying down in order to allow the score?
Look fans! The pro game exists because of Gambling. Pure and simple. How in the hell do you make odds on a game where "dogging" it to affect the clock is called "strategy?"
teflon93| 2.6.12 @ 9:14AM
You don't know anything about football, do you?
It was strategy. Thanks to the time out situation New England was in, all the Giants had to do was sit down, let the clock run down, and kick a chip shot field goal to win. 20 seconds isn't enough time to get into field goal range and if the play to get within range were inbounds, line up and kick.
Belicheck wisely told them to let them score---indeed, knock them into the end zone if they had to---to preserve a minute on the clock and a timeout to allow for one last touchdown drive.
Since New England was favored, this had nothing to do with point-shaving either. People who bet on the Giants won their bets. Points only come into play for those favoring the favorite if the favorite wins.
Ryan| 2.6.12 @ 11:25AM
Jacobs made the right move, IMO - he was probably told to kneel, but a TD put them up by 4, and the Giants defense was tightening up by the end of the game and played smart. Give me a hail mary any day over a 40-yard FG.
W| 2.6.12 @ 4:12PM
Agree. IF they kick a field goal.
What IF the Giants fumble the field goal snap, or it is blocked, or it is wide? That was a stupid decision by the Giants telling the runner not to score. Fortunately his instince as a player made him score.
Bob Grant| 2.6.12 @ 9:38AM
My analysis of the game itself is that aside from a few spectacular throws from Eli Manning, it was a sloppily performed game in general. Lot's of broken plays, drives that went nowhere inside the red zone, and uninspired play calling.
And don't get me started on that halftime "performance" by Medusa, er, Madonna. Lot's of light, sound, and movement around her that only served to distract the viewer from the fact that she did little to no dancing, and absolutely ZERO live singing as it was piped in from afar. It was like some B-rate Vegas show.
The commercials were forgettable.
The most exciting and interesting sporting event of the day actually was the Premier League match up between Chelsea and Manchester United. Manchester managed to tie the game after being down three goals in the second half. Absolutely sublime. It didn't disappoint.
JimH| 2.6.12 @ 9:42AM
I haven’t heard anything yet, but as much of a Giants fan as I am, I hope NYC is not planning a victory parade for them after his Dishonor the Mayor turned down one for our returning troops.
Bob K.| 2.6.12 @ 9:43AM
I know all about that.
I also know that the reason Pro Football is so successful is because of the underground gambling economy which supports it. How do you know if people involved in the strategy of this game did not have money on it?
Anytime you play a sport, or manage a sport and have control over the amount of time it is played and the points it can score as a part of it's strategy you open yourself up to questions like this.
Bob K.| 2.6.12 @ 9:44AM
This was a response to Teflon93.
Bob Grant| 2.6.12 @ 9:50AM
It was a calculated risk by Belichick. He decided to take advantage of the fact that New York wasn't burning enough time off the clock. He understood that the Giants would play Prevent Defense and let the Pats have the middle of the field. As a result, it would come down to a couple of throws to the end zone from the Giants 40.
The line wasn't a consideration.
teflon93| 2.6.12 @ 10:53AM
The Pats were the FAVORITE. Points don't come into play when the underdog wins, so how do you support your premise?
Bob K.| 2.6.12 @ 12:34PM
C'mon! You guys didn't just fall off the turnip truck if you are a sports fans! There is over and under. There is points spread. There is hi-low. There is total scored. There are $10,000.00 a block pools and on and on in all it's variations!
Sports gambling is the 2nd highest untaxed industry in the USA. Marijuana is first.
When you have this kind of money floating around any sport you have to watch anything with 2 legs that is playing it, riding it, running it, officiating in it, etc!
My first post still stands.
JohnD| 2.6.12 @ 2:17PM
Bob, you are right. I used to race horses, and I have seen races being fixed (a few, not a lot). To fix a penny-ante horse race you need at least 5, and possibly 6 or 7 jockeys in on it. But to fix an NFL football game you only need one - the head referee. The head referee can pick up flags and declare "no flag," he reviews his own mistakes. The NFL protects the referees doggedly, so they never face public scrutiny.
The NFL is playing with fire, considering each game in the NFL has between $25-100 million bet on it. It is only a matter of time before one of their part-time referees fixes a game.
teflon93| 2.6.12 @ 4:55PM
Where is the evidence? The strategy is clear from a football perspective.
Now you need to show where Eli Manning in particular a) bet on the game and b) would have benefitted more from winning by 1 than by 6 (they tried the 2 pt and failed).
JohnD| 2.6.12 @ 6:11PM
I do not think the startegy at the end had to do with the point spread, or gambling, however, it makes me very uncomfortable when you turn on a sports talk show and all you hear is "point spread" and "over/under." Pete Rozelle had a zero tolerance policy on gambling, but Goodell seems to welcome the gambling. Bets on the game are eyes on the TV and that means ratings.
However, go back two weeks, and think of the ratings for a Baltimore San Fran Super Bowl. Today they say the game was the highest rated TV show ever. That may explain the scoreboard "error" in the Pats-Ravens game that cost Baltimore a Super Bowl.
Bob K.| 2.6.12 @ 7:46PM
It already happened in Pro Basketball a couple of years ago. A referee was throwing games. A while back entire referee teams were removed from SE Conference games. You could write a history on corruption in sports starting with the Black Sox scandal and continuing through Jack Molinas's murder and on down through the steroid scandals.
http://espn.go.com/classic/s/b.....linas.html
"Where is the evidence? Where is the evidence?" The bird call of the simple minded sports twit!
JohnD| 2.6.12 @ 11:08AM
Does anyone believe Baltimore would not have slaughtered the Giants? The sad part about yesterday is the public knew they were not watching the two best teams in the NFL. The scoreboard "error" that rushed Cundiff's game tying kick cast a pall and a stink over the game.
Bob Grant| 2.6.12 @ 11:16AM
Two words that blow a hole in your argument: Joe Flacco!
JohnD| 2.6.12 @ 11:26AM
Flacco had a 95.5 QB (2 TD passes) rating in the game, while future HOF'er Brady had a 54.5 rating, with 0 TDs and 2 INTs (4 INTs actually, two negated by penalties).
Flacco had an elite QB type of game, but the scoreboard shenanigans robbed him and Baltimore of a SB appearance. The facts do not support your argument.
Tom| 2.6.12 @ 1:43PM
Sounds like a whining Ravens fan.
Flacco is an average NFL QB--at best.
He had THREE chances to led Baltimore to victory against the Cheatreats in the last half of the fourth quarter, but could not get the job done.
And the Ravens got the gift of their lives this season when the Steelers gave them their second meeting with 8 seconds left in the game. yet they could not take advantage of their oppurtunity.
If Baltimore couldn't make it to the Super Bowl this year, it is going to be a LONG time before they do.
Ryan| 2.6.12 @ 11:27AM
If it comes down to a blown call, you didn't play well enough in the rest of the game to win it.
JohnD| 2.6.12 @ 11:47AM
But we played much better than the team that did.
That game was the first post season game i n the 91 year history of the NFL in which the losing team had a plus 2 turnover ratio and outgained their opponent by more than 50 yards and lost. It was unprecedented.
Bottom line is Baltimore is the better team, and everyone knows it, and that cast a pall over last night's game. (Giants 9-7??)
Tom| 2.6.12 @ 1:46PM
You are one ignorant, whining Ratbirds fan. If it weren't for the fact that the Steeelers gave you the second game as a gift, Baltimore would never had gotten as far as they did.
JohnD| 2.6.12 @ 4:30PM
I am sorry, I still believe in fair play and good sportsmanship. I know these may be quaint, antiquated notions these days, and maybe you have abandoned these principles, but I have not.
Lombardi never fiddled with the scoreboard to win a championship. If that's you idea of football, OK, but its not mine.
Tom| 2.6.12 @ 5:00PM
Whining about the scoreboard is absoltuely pathetic. If Harbaugh had an issue about it, then simply ask the ref.
Tom| 2.6.12 @ 5:08PM
As much as I detest the Cheatreats, they did not rob Baltimroe of anything. The ONLY reason why Baltimore lost is due to their own incompetence; from the coach, to the quaterback, down to the kicker.
JohnD| 2.6.12 @ 6:19PM
Coaches get fined for criticizing officiating, so Harbaugh can't say anything. The NFL does owe its fans an explanation as to why it happened, particularly Baltimore fans.
The NFL has fallen a long way since the greats of the 1960s and 1970s. When I attended my first NFL game in 1967, the NFL embodied the values of preparation, sacrifice and team work. Imagine Lombardi, or Shula, or Paul Brown tampering with a scoreboard to confuse their opponent during the potential game tying kick. The Pats win was dishonorable and underhanded, and not born of superior skill or ability (look at the box score and the stats of the game). I guess this is today's NFL, but its sad to see another great American institution falling into ignomy and disrepute. Sorry, but someone has to have the courage to call the NFL out on this.
Tom| 2.7.12 @ 9:00PM
Anyone who claims to have "attended my first NFL game in 1967," should know that the scoreboard is nothing more than a courtesy to the fans. The OFFICIAL data is kept down on the field with the down and yard markers. Therefore, if Ravens players and coaches got confused for relying on the scoreboard, it is their own fault for being so totally ignorant of such a simple and basic fact of the game.
If you are what passes as a "mature" Baltimore football fan, it is no wonder why Robert Irsay snuck out of town with the Colts in the middle of the night to get away from morons like you.
Tom| 2.7.12 @ 9:12PM
Apparently, you are too stupid to know that asking the ref for a clarification is not criticising him.
tonypal| 2.6.12 @ 5:31PM
As a Giants fan, I certainly feel your pain. LOL
By the way, did you see the Giants-Packers game? A blown call turned what would have been a Giants first down at about the Packers 30 into what was eventually a Packers touchdown. Somehow the Giants overcame that.
So stop whining. Yeah, Joe Flacco had a nice qb rating against the Patriots. Who cares. Your team lost because teams that cannot handle clock management or set up a field in the waning seconds of a game deserve to lose. Tip your hat to the best team and come back next year.
JohnD| 2.6.12 @ 6:22PM
I can't take anything away from the Giants, as they beat some good teams to get there. Baltimore had no time to recover the scoreboard error. I find it intestesting that Vegas already has futures for next years Super Bowl, and Baltimore is at shorter odds than the team that won the Super Bowl last night. I guess Vegas wasn't fooled either, but then they can't afford to delude themselves.
Tom| 2.7.12 @ 9:10PM
Well, if we are going to be completely honest, here are the early odds out of Vegas: Packers 5-1, Saints 6-1, Pats 6-1, Steelers 12-1, Ravens 12-1, Texans 12-1, 49ers 20-1, Giants 20-1 .
Attempting to say that the Vegas oddsmakers are agreeing with a whiny loser like you with his pathetic excuses is just an outright lie.
Chuck Noll| 2.6.12 @ 11:25AM
It sure is a lot harder when you can't cheat....
Genius my ass.
Bob Grant| 2.6.12 @ 11:39AM
Or, Chuckie...
Easier to win when you're lucky (see Immaculate Reception), blown calls (see the non-pass interference call on Benny Barnes), or blown plays by the opposition (see Jackie Smith's dropped go-ahead TD reception).
Tom| 2.6.12 @ 1:48PM
Cry me a river, Bobby.
tonypal| 2.6.12 @ 5:33PM
Bob, winning teams make the plays. That's why I stopped worrying about how Obama won the last election a long time ago and started concerning myself with how to kick his ass this year.
Bob Grant| 2.6.12 @ 7:04PM
Then allow me to refer you to my above post. Obama already has the refs in his pocket and his opponent will be the political equivalent to Jackie Smith.
The only hope for them is divine intervention in the form of an Immaculate Reception.
Chuck Noll| 2.6.12 @ 12:07PM
Winners make their own luck.
And Belicheat is 0 fer when he has to play it on the level.
Time for him and Tom Bundchen to get on with their life's work.
Tom| 2.6.12 @ 1:48PM
Ditto, Chuck!!
Seek| 2.6.12 @ 2:30PM
Spoken like a frustrated Steelers fan. The Pats are a great team, but that doesn't ensure the big prize every time. It's a fact: 31 out of 32 NFL teams in any given season return home for the off-season in varying states of unhappiness. Only one gets to be happy. The odds, in other words, aren't good even for the best.
Chuck Noll| 2.6.12 @ 2:42PM
Beg to differ, but the Pats are not a 'great' team. Absent their dirt ball coaches cheating, they've won nada.
They robbed the Eagles,Panthers and Rams of a Lombardi trophy. Their SB wins should at minimum be vacated. Regardless, they will always have an asterisk beside them.
JohnD| 2.6.12 @ 4:31PM
Add the Baltimore Ravens to your list of teams Belicheat robbed of Super Bowls.
Tom| 2.7.12 @ 8:52PM
I detest New England, but they did NOT rob Baltimore of a trip to the Super Bowl. The ONLY reason why Baltimore was not in the Super Bowl was their own incompetence.
Tom| 2.6.12 @ 3:02PM
The ONLY time the Cheatreats were a "great" team is when they had state of the art vedeo recorders in full operation.
W| 2.6.12 @ 4:15PM
The Steelers have SIX (6) Super Bowl wins and two losses.
The Pats are three and three. Pats are behind the Steelers, Cowboys, Niners, Gians, Packers.
Derek Leaberry| 2.6.12 @ 1:39PM
I rooted for the Pats and am sorry they lost. The Giants played well and deserved their victory. The game was well played between two teams of high talent. The officiating was excellent. As for those who thought the game not well played, I would remind that excellent teams cause other excellent teams to struggle and look less than flawless. For instance, Brady did not shred the Giants defense like he did the Dolphins because the Giants defense is very good. It doesn't mean that Brady did not play up to his high standards.
Seek| 2.6.12 @ 2:31PM
And who could deny it? Brady connected for 16 passes in a row at one point. It was a shame someone had to lose.