I started off cheering for the Patriots for obvious reasons -- not only because of the undefeated season for a local team, but because it seemed likely that Boston-area teams could pull off a first: champeenship seasons for baseball, football and basketball at the same time.
That said, it was obvious from the time the Pats took the field that they were flat, unable to answer the Giants on either offense or defense. It made no sense that they spent so much of the game in front. Nora and I kept saying to each other there was no planet on which they should be winning. I remember when Teddy and Junior celebrated when the Patriots pulled ahead with only a few minutes remaining thinking, the odds of you keeping the Giants contained for even 2 and a half minutes are next to nil.
At a certain point, we had to just smile and enjoy the show the Giants put on. I was especially impressed with Eli. My favorite part was when he managed to shake off four Patriot defenders, including two of whom got as far as grabbing his shirt...yet he still completed a major downfield pass.
It's just plain FUN to see a special performance like this, potentially one for the ages....not unlike the 2001 performance of a young, unproven backup quarterback named Tom Brady, who stepped up to beat San Diego, favored by 12 points, in a major upset.
The other thing I enjoyed is that he at least temporarily overshadowed Peyton, the most overrated, and for me anyway, reviled punk in the game...probably in all of Western-hemisphere sport. The fact is that Eli has more wins than his big brother/big baby at the same point in his career, to say nothing of a more dominant and controlled performance in the Super Bowl, at a much earlier age than what's his doof.
As much as anything, it was a matter of timing. The Patriots peaked early, and started to wither against every team they faced raising their game to knock off the leader, typically playing their best gams of the season...usually their best of the last couple of seasons. The Giants had the opportunity of low expectations to carefully build steam, peaking at exactly the right team, as the Patriots had been able to do.
Anyway, even in a loss by the team I favored, it was a genuine pleasure to watch such a surprise unfold. This is indeed why they play the games.
PS. I can more easily brush this one aside a little more easily because I care a lot more about baseball. As others have observed, Patriots fans will never suffer as badly as Red Sox fans, the hardest core of whom still live under a cloud of doom, and always will...for good reason based on the preponderence of their history. I hope for good things next seeason, but with ten times as many games as a football season, and where individual success 3 and a half times out of ten is exceptional, there are a whole lot more opportunities for agony. What's not to love? :-)
