Ask A Giants Fan, Part Two

Here is the second installment of Babcock's questions to me. This third and final installment will come this weekend, when I will be asked to make my predictions.

Have you learned anything meaningful or interesting from all of the pre- superbowl analysis?

Well, I've learned a lot about myself. I've learned about how much pro football really dominates my life, and how pathetic it is. I can't do ANYTHING. All I think about is the Super Bowl, and how crazy it is that the Giants are in it. I try to sleep, all I can picture is Brandon Jacobs bursting through the line of scrimmage and lowering the shoulder into some defender. I try to watch the Celtics, all I can picture is Aaron Ross blitzing off of the corner. The other day I had to piss really bad, but was in a situation where I had to sit for like 20 more minutes. To calm myself, I pictured Eli Manning running play action passes. As incredible as this run has been for the Giants, I need this game to be played for my own sanity. It's really amazing what an effect the off week has on you when your favorite team is in the big game. I have to give you Patriots fans credit for dealing with it for so many years.


While we're on this topic, I need to apologize to our readers. We've prided ourselves on providing you with quality material every week, and we haven't been up to par this week. We've both been totally consumed, and drained, from the Super Bowl hype. This is evidenced by the fact that the last 10 days have seen our youtube to print ratio skyrocket to an all time high. The reason is simple: we can't think, therefore we can't type. This whole thing is crazy. What if the Giants win? What if then my head explodes?

I think that one of the things that kills me is how much time is spent covering nothing. The only thing I learned from Media Day Coverage was that both Tom Brady and Eli Manning got marriage proposals while they were answering questions (I only remember this because I was pumped that our quarterback is popular with the ladies as well.) Other than that, I learned nothing, aside from the fact that I learned that BOTH Junior Seau and Antonio Pierce want to win a Super Bowl ring very badly. Imagine that. That made up two whole seperate articles on ESPN. I'd like to think that if roomofzen had gone down to Glendale, we either could have gotten some new information, or we would have at least found a way to spice things up a little bit.

So no, I haven't learned anything, except how much I hate this extra week. However, I will say that it proved to be a positive thing this year for both teams. If the game was last Sunday, Tom Brady would have been hurt and about 10 of the Giants would have had a severe flu from standing in frigid conditions in Green Bay. But really, now I just can't wait for these guys to step on the field on Sunday so that I can feel normal again and just watch a Giants game.

2) Plaxico Burress came out and guaranteed that the Giants would be victorious on Sunday...what are your thoughts on the "Victory Guarantee" in general, and how does this particular one sit with you?

Two things here:

1) The victory guarantee is an interesting phenomenon, particularly in a sport where the success of each player is so dependent on the performance of his teammates. But, to be honest with you, the way I feel about the guarantee all depends on how it turns out. Anthony Smith is an idiot, because he made a guarantee and got touchdowns thrown right over his head. On the other hand, I still believe that Joe Namath's delivery on his Super Bowl guarantee and Babe Ruth "calling his own shot" are two of the more bad ass moments in sports history.

2) Perhaps I'm biased. But, much like his response to the question about the Patriots receivers, I really think that what Plax said is being taken out of context. Burress was walking into Giant Stadium and a New York Post reporter asked him if he was ready to make history. His response was "Yes Sir." He then said "My prediction 23-17."

Now, let me analyze

A) A prediction is totally different than a guarantee. If he had said "I guarantee a win", that would change the whole dynamic of a comment. Included in a prediction is always the assumption that you may be wrong. Often when you read predictions, writers joke about how their predictions are probably wrong. However, they usually have a "lock of the week" or something like that, and THAT is the guarantee.

B) Michael Strahan had a similar response that day. He walked out of Giants Stadium and was asked if he was ready to make history, and he said "You better believe it. History will be ours." Now, first of all, that sounds a little more like a guarantee to me. But, This really just means that they are confident, and they believe they can win. They HAVE to believe that they can win, otherwise we might as well not play the game.

C) I have seen all kinds of Patriot shows and heard quotes that indicate to me that everyone is ready for this team to make history, and yet this is not perceived as being cocky or arrogant. In fact, the Super Bowl coverage on Comcast Sports Net is called "the Road to Perfection." Why is it alright for the Patriots and their fans to assume that their team will win, but not alright for the Giants and their fans?

D) If we really believe that all the records go out the window in the playoffs, then each team has an equal chance to win this game. All the Giants are saying is that they're confident and they think that they will win. This is the same thing that we hear from every team every year. The fact that the Patriots are 18-0 does not change anything for the Giants. They still have to play. And if they win, they will be the NFL champions. If we aren't going to allow the Giants to be confident, if we are going to mandate that they must bow down to the Patriots' greatness before the game even takes place, then we should just cancel the Super Bowl.

E) All that being said, it wasn't the best decision. But, I really don't think it was a guarantee. However, as is often the case with star receivers, Plaxico is not indicative of most Giants players. When I think about the face of our franchise, I think about Eli Manning, Michael Strahan, and Antonio Pierce. These guys are very classy, and they took a more humble and reserved approach to Media Day. However, I can assure you that they are just as confident as Plaxico Burress, they just choose not to express it. That's the way football is. They have to be that confident, regardless of what the Patriots' record is.