Since I didn't get the chance to get home at Christmas time I'm taking a couple of days to see my folks now. By a strange happenstance this New York family now has their patriarchs retiring in Massachusetts, which causes a lot of confusion with people I know. Some assume I grew up here, others that I'm a fan of the local teams (a big negative on both counts). I have nothing against the Bay State: I've been coming up here for better than thirty years, and the people are just great. My sister in law and three nieces certainly turned out more than OK after being raised up here. But I will never warm to their sports teams, especially the Red Sox. I really don't hate, as a rule, not even sports franchises, but the Saux are the exception that makes the rule. I literally cringe when I see someone in a Bosox hat or t-shirt. I have the urge to go up to the poor sot and asked what went wrong in their life that made them break bad like that.
The Patriots, on the other hand, stir no particular emotion in my heart. That's the New England team for Jets fans to hate. Being a Yankee loyalist I can't resent an organization for simply being successful over a long period of time. They're not in the Giants division, and so their winning or losing means nothing to me unless we play them head to head, which is happening in the Super Bowl yet again. So yes, I want to beat the Pats, but no more than if we were playing the Steelers or the Ravens.
OK, that may not be 100% true. This is an historic match up, in some ways just as meaningful as the last one when New England was going for the perfect season and were denied. Tom Brady, the best quarterback of his generation, is going for a fourth ring, which would put him in the same class with Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana and...no one else. He's already a lock for the Hall of Fame, but if he leads the Patriots to victory on February 5, his head will be set in stone on the Mt. Rushmore of football. On the other side if Eli Manning can secure a victory he will forever be out of his big brother Payton's shadow, and most probably reserve his spot in the Hall. Plus, no matter what they're saying Brady and coach Bill Belichik want revenge. Being turned back from the undefeated title run, and it being done in very a Patriots' kind of way, still sticks in their craw. For the Giants organization it would be two championships in four years, both against the best franchise of this era. Talk about solidifying a reputation. So yeah, maybe I do want to beat these guys a little more than another team, but it's not out of animosity, but out of respect and how much more winning against such a successful coach and QB means.
My worry going into this week is that the New York press seems to take a Giant win as a give in. The only consolation in all this is that from what I've heard on the radio driving in yesterday the Boston sports talk guys seem just as cocksure of a Patriot victory as their counter parts in New Yauk. I think everybody needs to calm down a little. I agree with many who see these two teams as pretty even, and that may be the G-Men should be given the three point edge instead of New England. I'll give a prediction later on next week, but I see a close game with victory being left in doubt until late. With so much at stake, nothing should be taken for granted by anyone
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