Victory!

Wooooo!
I’m sorry, but I still haven’t gotten over it. The New York Giants have pulled off one of the greatest upsets in sports history in beating the New England Patriots 17-14 in Super Bowl XLII.
I’m not even a Giants fan, but yet my Dad and I were jumping around the living room in celebration after this one. New York’s victory not only made their own fans’ season, but almost everyone else’s too. It didn’t take long either for the Patriot fans to start making excuses.
“The refs were against us,” one girl claimed on a MySpace defense bulletin, forgetting to take into account the countless pass interference plays Randy Moss has gotten away with this whole season.
“We’ve still got a better record,” another exclaimed, also forgetting to take into account which team is holding that Super Bowl trophy.
And all this is exactly why I’m so happy with this upset of all upsets. It’s not even the Patriots that I dislike as much as the New England fans. Instead of congratulating the Giants and admitting they were outplayed, they give nothing but excuses as to why this shouldn’t have happened. As much as I don’t like the Patriots, I give them the ultimate props on their season. Perhaps this is another case of gaining more of the world’s respect in defeat than in victory. The Patriots mowed over so many of their opponents this season, and were truly the definition of a juggernaut. However, one of the most difficult things to do in sports is to run the table, and New England and its fans found that out the hard way.
So I will do what New England fans have trouble doing, and I will congratulate the Patriots on an amazing season. We may never again see an offense duplicate their performance in our lifetimes.
However, mostly I will now enjoy the peace and quiet. No more Patriots fans yakking it up. The Giants now take over as my 4th favorite team, an honor that I promised any team that could take down the Patriots. Not to mention, the Manning’s are now one of my favorite sports families of all time, as Eli’s win was the first against New England since Peyton did it himself. There really are not the right words to describe my emotions right now. So once again, I will leave you guys with all I can think to say.
Wooooo!

The Darkest Sunday of the Year

Everybody has a day on the calendar that they don’t look forward to. If you’re a lucky boyfriend who has no clue how to give gifts, it may be Valentine’s Day that you dread. If you’re an early sleeper, New Year’s Eve might not be your favorite event. If you’re a sports fanatic like me, the Sunday before the Super Bowl is usually your biggest nightmare.

If you don’t know what I’m talking about, I’m sorry but you cannot consider yourself a true sports connoisseur. However, do not fret; I am here to inform.

The Sunday before the Super Bowl is commonly known as a sports graveyard. Football is obviously off, basketball and hockey usually have few to no games going on, and most other sports haven’t taken off yet. In laments terms, this is a recipe for disaster for the sports fan.

I was lucky this year. The NHL All-Star game fell on this exact date, salvaging an otherwise barren day. However, if ratings are any indication, this doesn’t cut it for most. Here are a few suggestions that may save some from going stir crazy in the future on the darkest Sunday of the year.

1) Have a sports video game marathon day. Nothing comes as close to simulating the action as playing the game yourself. But since most of us aren’t talented or athletic enough to hit the hardwood, ice rink, or field, we can pretend to reign supreme over our favorite sports on the playstation. Invite over some friends, bust out the snacks, and live it up the American way.

2) Check EBay for sports memorabilia. Hey, if we can’t be our favorite athletes, at least we can look like them. Just make sure to buy a couple of tennis balls to put near your biceps and your jersey will look professional.

3) Youtube highlights from your favorite teams. Nothing shows your true support for a team than watching three year old games. You’d be surprised, but this footage will help you gain a keener understanding of everything about the team you bleed for. If any friend calls, ignore the phone at all costs. A social life is a small price to pay for this kind of intimate knowledge.

Following these steps will help you - the sports freak - survive the most harrowing day on the annual calendar. Always remember: together we will survive.

Down With the Patriots

There are a few things that I have come to truly despise in life. Math would certainly not be a stranger to that category, vegetables will never be found anywhere on my dinner plate and, although I’ve never seen one, I imagine a scorpion would send me running for the hills.

However, as time has gone by in the past few years, I have developed a new and perhaps more serious hatred: The New England Patriots.

With a 21-12 palindrome victory over San Diego, New England is one step away from making all of my wildest nightmares a reality. Even though San Diego had every opportunity to really jump ahead of the undefeated Patriots, they were forced to settle for field goal after field goal, and eventually ran out of time. However, no matter how many close calls the Patriots have had this season, they always seem to find a way to win.

Wahoo, good job New England. At least we all know the Patriots do things classy. Whether it’s putting spy cameras on opponent’s sidelines to capture play calls, or dancing on other team’s logos after victories, the Patriots always seem to have the utmost respect for all foes.

Seriously though, in all fairness, New England is the first team in history to achieve 18-0, and is one more win away from a fourth title in seven years. It’s only fitting that the Patriots last roadblock on the way to perfection is the New York Giants. Baseball boasts one of sports’ best rivalries in the Yankees and Red Sox, and this game could very well set up another one in the exact same areas.

At this point, I don’t care what it takes, but the Giants need to find a way to win this game. Seeing Tom Brady and his smug smile holding up yet another Superbowl trophy could be enough to make me toss my cookies. There is certainly some hope for the Giants, as these two teams played just a few weeks ago, with the Patriots escaping with a close victory.

Duller than math, more disgusting than veggies, and scarier than a scorpion, here come the Patriots – the definition of an evil empire, trying to rule the football world once again. Playing the roll of the ultimate good guy, the Giants will try to end the Patriots run just one game shy of ultimate perfection.

If for no more than one game, I’m as big a Giants fan as my grandpa from New York is. This isn’t a matter of bandwagoning, but a matter of proving there’s still right in this world. The last quarterback to beat the Patriots was Peyton Manning, and now Eli Manning has his chance to immortalize that family name not only in football history, but in my own heart as well.

Signs of Life From Hockey

Players battling through driving snow, 71,000 fans screaming their lungs out, and a television audience that put college bowl games to shame. Sounds just like a hockey game, doesn’t it?

If you believe that line, you obviously haven’t watched hockey in the past decade. However, believe it or not, the aforementioned is a true statement. On New Year’s Day, Buffalo hosted the NHL’s first ever outdoor hockey game in the United States. A sport that is battling lawn bowling for television time, hockey got a huge lift at maybe a time that nobody expected.

What does every sports fanatic think of when they think of New Year’s Day? The majority response would tend to be College Football, at least amongst those who can think hours after New Year’s Eve. Many people thought hockey was very foolish for selecting the king of college football days as their biggest day for the hockey calendar. However, the ratings for the Winter Classic dwarfed the college football ratings, and made hockey the most talked about sport in the nation, at least for the day.

Everything that could have gone right for this game did. The game held exciting end to end action, a fantastic overtime period, and a nail biting shoot out that was won by the game’s greatest rising star, Sidney Crosby. To a hockey fanatic, the game almost seemed scripted. To a casual fan that doesn’t follow hockey much, they wanted just what happened.

Throughout my life, I’ve been teased for considering hockey my favorite sport. I’ve been called everything from Canadian to European. Heck, I’ve had more nationalities than a multi-cultural day celebration. However, if for no more than one day, hockey was finally talked about as one of the major sports again.

We true hockey fans know that the game is in trouble. In fact, it is pretty rare that the sport makes a decision that helps ratings. Most of the games are broadcast on Versus, a channel that most of the nation hasn’t even heard of, let alone gets on television. That’s why I couldn’t help but be shocked, in addition to pleased, when the television ratings were announced. This game received a higher rating than any hockey game played in the previous 11 years. That includes every single Stanley Cup Championship game in that span.

Hockey has struggled to regain its fan base, ever since a lockout ravaged the sport just a few years ago. Some believe the sport will never truly return to the level of the other major sports. I know when I look around the Florida Panthers’ arena and see thousands upon thousands of empty seats, I can’t believe that the sport still has a pulse.

Don’t look now, but that beeping on the life support machine is getting stronger, and hockey is attempting to pull off the ultimate Cinderella story. It won’t happen in the form of an underdog team winning any kind of championship. It will have to happen in the form of a sport, given up for dead, coming back to be said in the same breath again as Football.

Well, maybe not Football... maybe poker, at the least.

2007 Sports Year in Review

The greatest thing about sports is that any team can win any game. In 2007, that statement was obvious from the first day of the year to the last, and I considered myself fortunate to be able to witness it.

The year of 2007 wasted no time rocketing out of the gates, when Boise State’s college football team pulled off one of the greatest upsets in recent memory, shocking the Oklahoma Sooners and the world in what many consider the greatest game in the history of college football. The little team that could pulled off trick play after trick play and even threw in a marriage proposal afterwards for good measure. Never in my life have I turned off a game with such a smile on my face.

Some of the most impressive upsets in all of sports history took place this year, starting with Division I-AA Appalachian State defeating the Michigan Wolverines in Ann Arbor. Seven #2's losing and a 41 point underdog’s upset later, and we left off the year right where it started.

As college football madness gave way to professional football, the biggest game of the season took place right here in South Florida. Miami hosted the Super Bowl, but Mother Nature wasn’t letting this one happen easily. In a rain-soaked affair, Peyton Manning finally got the doubters off his back, in beating the Chicago Bears for the Super Bowl championship. However, this was not the real story of the football year. The New Orleans Saints, returning to the Superdome after Hurricane Katrina attempted to destroy it, advanced all the way to the NFC championship game. With their run, they brought joy, love and happiness back to the city that needed it most and many goose bumps to all of us lucky enough to observe it.

In what most people consider the end of spring, we sane people knew that it was simply the end of hockey and basketball season. On the ice, hockey battled low ratings and poor attendance issues while it still fought to come back from its devastating lockout year. While the Ducks were bringing a Stanley Cup to California, the Spurs continued their dominance on the hardwood. If there’s anything I’ve learned in life, it’s that there are only three guarantees: everybody dies, everybody pays taxes and the Spurs win the basketball championship at least every other season.

Then the dog days of summer hit and with it, baseball scandals popped up everywhere. An otherwise fine season was marred with rumors of steroids and human growth hormones. One of the greatest records in all of sports, the all-time home run record, fell to Barry Bonds, who spent more time denying that he had ever taken steroids than actually celebrating his great achievement.* Baseball faces a very steep uphill climb, with some of its greatest stars named in conjunction with steroids.

To some, 2007 will be remembered in a negative light. With hockey struggling for survival, baseball searching for any player at all that didn’t take steroids, and the recent death of Washington Redskins’ safety Sean Taylor, this certainly wasn’t a year filled with jubilation. However, never has so much parity overtaken the sports world than in the year 2007. A hockey team born just 14 years ago won its first championship. College football saw more upsets this year than perhaps this entire past decade combined. While I hope that 2008 brings us many more joyous moments than the previous year, I can only hope that it is just as unpredictable.

* No Barry Bonds statement may be typed without an asterisk.