When the New England Patriots won the AFC Championship and improved to 18-0, it was evident that Super Bowl XLII was going to be historic and memorable. A Patriots win meant an undefeated season, becoming the first ever team to go 19-0; forever shutting the mouth of Mercury Morris. If they lose, it would go down as one of the biggest upsets of all time. Going in as 12 point underdogs, it was obvious the New York Giants needed my help.
I figured that I would wear the same shirt and go to the same sports bar to watch every playoff game, hoping that my odd superstition of sporting the same NYG garb at the same place would propel them in to the Super Bowl.
It worked.
The week leading up to the Super Bowl produced many emotions, none of which were confidence or optimism. As a die hard New York Giants fan growing up in Boston, squaring off against the undefeated New England Patriots was both uncomforting and terrifying. Despite the moral victory for my beloved “GMen” against the Patriots in week 17, it was hard for me to believe the Giants could pull off the greatest upset since Super Bowl III.
Luckily, for me (and this story), they did.
What started off as a good game through three quarters transformed into the greatest fifteen minutes of my life. The rollercoaster quarter, filled with three lead changes, had my stomach in knots. The Giants had a shot, but my gut disagreed.
It wasn’t until David Tyree pinned a 32 yard reception against the side of his helmet with 59 seconds left that I believed this might happen. You remember the play, Eli Manning turned into David Copperfield, escaped an abyss of Patriot defenders only to throw a lazy pass into triple coverage that was inexplicably ripped out of the air by the relatively unknown, Tyree. A play simply known as, “The Catch”.
Manning went on to complete 2 of his next 3 passes, the last a 17 yard touchdown lob to Plaxico Burress. There was nothing better than hugging my girlfriend as we relished this historic moment. Unfortunately, Morris is still running his mouth and I have yet to receive a call from the Pro Football Hall of Fame requesting what obviously was responsible for this moment; my Giants tee shirt. Oh well, such is life.