VOL. 25, ISSUE 2
Thursday, February 21, 2008
SINCE 1973
Inside This Issue
FRONT PAGE CAMPUS & COMMUNITY ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT FEATURES SPORTS OPINION BACK PAGE CONTACT US ABOUT USThe Badger Beat with Charlie Viana
The Super Bowl
The New England Patriots ran the regular season with a perfect mark of 16-0 (in 1972 there were only 14 regular season games). After defeating the New York Giants 38-35 in the regular season finale, it seemed like anyone and everyone who talked, followed, or lived football were giving the Patriots the Lombardi Trophy.
Their first two playoff games were not the typical Patriots. Tom Brady and Randy Moss were not their record-breaking selves, but that’s how good the Patriots were: they rallied around each other and saw themselves trying to win their fourth Super Bowl in seven years. It didn’t matter who their opponent was in the Super Bowl. The Patriots were going to put up their 30-40 points and win with plenty of breathing room.
The Giants, who were a wild card, saw themselves on the road throughout the entire playoffs, something they didn’t mind, winning eight in a row on the road prior to the playoffs.
Defeating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Green Bay Packers, the Giants had no chance against the Patriots from the last snap of NFC Championship Game.
Beating the Packers at Lambeau field in the bitter cold (Brett Favre isn’t supposed to lose in the FREEZING COLD at Lambeau) raised some eye-brows, but not enough for them to get by the amazing Patriots.
The two weeks from the AFC and NFC championship to the Super Bowl was all Patriots, and the Giants should have just been happy to be in Arizona. Media Day had all the makings of the Giants overcoming the odds to defeat the ALMIGHTY Patriots.
Wide receiver Plaxico Burress of the Giants predicted a 17-14 win over the Patriots. When the media brought it up to Brady, he thought it was a joke/insult. At the time, it seemed a little far-fetched of Burress to be predicting this.
Because I am from New York, and an Oakland Raiders fan, I found the 2007 Red Sox a little easier to deal with.
Super Bowl Trophy
photo provided by Charlie Viana
When they acquired Moss in 2005, my struggling Raiders had a new look and it seemed as if they were going to get back to their once-dominating form. That was not the case at all. The Raiders have been dreadful since their Super Bowl appearance in 2003, and they did not get any better when Moss arrived.
Moss, being on a last-place team, would sit out and milk injuries, and it seemed that he didn’t care and didn’t want to waste his time playing for a horrible team. I can understand his frustration with not winning, but come on, you’re a professional football player making millions of dollars! Suck it up and play through some pain!
To add insult to injury, the infamous “tuck rule” when Brady was SACKED and FUMBLED the ball and the Raiders recovered in the AFC Championship game in 2001 started this Super Bowl run of the Patriots. I can still see the referee reviewing the play and saying that Brady had the ball tucked, ready to throw, and that it was an incomplete pass. Adam Vinatieri kicked the game-winning field goal, Raiders season over.
I wanted nothing more than a Giants victory, sending New England and Moss home with no ring.
A quarterback who was scrutinized by his team and the media all season, and a wide receiver who had more tackles than receptions and who caught his first touchdown of the season in the Super Bowl put together what was arguably the greatest play in Super Bowl history. Eli Manning, avoiding a sure sack by running around in circles heaved a pass downfield to David Tyree for a Giants first down, and a play that will never be forgotten.
I thank the Giants for the biggest upset in Super Bowl history. As for all the New England fans, your Red Sox won the World Series and the Boston Celtics have the best record in the NBA, I think it’s about time to get past the date of Feb. 3.
Moss, being on a last-place team, would sit out and milk injuries, and it seemed that he didn’t care and didn’t want to waste his time playing for a horrible team. I can understand his frustration with not winning, but come on, you’re a professional football player making millions of dollars! Suck it up and play through some pain!
To add insult to injury, the infamous “tuck rule” when Brady was SACKED and FUMBLED the ball and the Raiders recovered in the AFC Championship game in 2001 started this Super Bowl run of the Patriots. I can still see the referee reviewing the play and saying that Brady had the ball tucked, ready to throw, and that it was an incomplete pass. Adam Vinatieri kicked the game-winning field goal, Raiders season over.
I wanted nothing more than a Giants victory, sending New England and Moss home with no ring.
A quarterback who was scrutinized by his team and the media all season, and a wide receiver who had more tackles than receptions and who caught his first touchdown of the season in the Super Bowl put together what was arguably the greatest play in Super Bowl history. Eli Manning, avoiding a sure sack by running around in circles heaved a pass downfield to David Tyree for a Giants first down, and a play that will never be forgotten.
I thank the Giants for the biggest upset in Super Bowl history. As for all the New England fans, your Red Sox won the World Series and the Boston Celtics have the best record in the NBA, I think it’s about time to get past the date of Feb. 3.