Before I get to my Super Bowl prediction, there are a few matters that I would like to rundown. They range from the obvious (Super Bowl hype, yeah!!) to the irrelevant (politics in a sports column?). Whether every single topic interests you in or not, bear with me; I just feel the need to rail a bit, as well as dole out some praise.
I would like to send a huge shout-out to Jerry Jones after hiring back former Defensive Coordinator Dave Campo. What’s that? You say he was also the head coach from 2000 to 2002? Oh, well I guess I just blocked this era’s Cowboys teams out of my mind. I wonder why? Well, let me just consult the Google…just a second…enjoy the music while you wait (instrumental version of “Party All the Time” plays in the background)…aha! Oh, shit! Now I see why this three year span has been erased from my memory. The man went 5-11 in each season he coached! And he holds the dubious distinction of being the only Dallas Cowboys coach not to take at least one team to the playoffs. Why am I still excited for the hire? Well, keep in mind that this man helped architect the stifling defense of the mid-90’s Cowboys. Maybe he isn’t head coaching material, but he is a valuable asset. And in his new position, he will focus primarily on Dallas’ porous secondary. If he can help the Cowboys in coverage downfield, the sky is the limit for the 2008 squad. In short: Campo’s back; I’m giddy.
In a completely unrelated (and totally pointless) story, I’ve decided to devote a few words into one of my sporting pet peeves. You would not believe how irritated I get when I watch NBA highlights, see the Kings play, and think “how in the hell did I completely miss a TNT game?” This is followed by the realization that “oh yeah, the imbeciles at the local Sac-town television station thought it would be appropriate to completely rip-off the TNT template for the digital scoreboard at the lower right hand of the screen.” I realize how minor this complaint is (and that this is close to falling into the “fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me” category…or as the president would say “fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, sh…you…uh…you can’t fool me!”), but still, could the station not come up with a new design? It’s not like they will ‘trick’ people into thinking it’s TNT (you’ve got to go out of your way to find it, since 99% of the country would only be able to view it if they ordered NBA League Pass), so I really don’t see the point. Am I totally off-base here?
Switching gears here: In political news, I’d like to give some props to the Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards. He recently bowed out of the proceedings, setting up what seemed to be a destined Hillary/Obama showdown. But the man was able to shine a light on certain issues (namely domestic poverty) that might have been overlooked had he not been involved. I truly thought he would rise up and take the nomination (considering the fact that he is only slightly less charming than Bill Clinton), but alas, have been proved wrong. Still, none of this takes away from the fact that he ran a noble campaign and deserves to be lauded for it.
My prediction: PSYCH! For the Republican nomination, not the Super Bowl (but it’s coming). Though it’s neck and neck right now between Mitt Romney and John McCain, my hunch is that with Giuliani also announcing his pull-out from the race, McCain will win the nomination. I still have a great deal of respect for the man (anyone who trashes a former soldier, especially considering the fact that he was a POW, deserves a smack across the face), but I have been rather disappointed in him over the past year. He fibbed about the progress of the Iraqi Surge in order to help President Bush save face, no doubt in an attempt to help garner support from Republican presidential voters in his impending campaign. Yet in doing so, he made me take away his mantle of “Only Republican I’d Consider Voting in For President.” Now, instead of being pleasantly surprised that McCain may make it to the national election, I am frightened. Because I think he has a legitimate shot to take down either Clinton or Obama. Especially given the fact that I have a hard time believing a sufficient amount of Americans will put their vote where their mouth is when it comes time to elect a woman or a black man as president. Fingers crossed, everyone.
As for who I am planning on casting my vote for, I would say the current leader is Hillary Clinton. I like Barack Obama immensely, but I feel like Hillary is the better candidate. He claims to be the candidate for change, but some of Hillary’s plans, which outshine his (pulling troops out of Iraq within 60 days of her first day in office, reversing many of the Bush policies which have given too much power to the executive branch, and ordering congress to sending back many of the bills President Bush has vetoed during his term) seem to indicate otherwise. It may very well change, especially if a stalemate at the Democratic convention brings Al Gore into the fray, but as of right now, I am “endorsing” Hillary Clinton. Why is endorsing in quotation marks? Because I’m not famous, and just a plain endorsement sans the quotations would make me look like an arrogant tool.
Now, on to the Super Bowl. I am making a point of avoiding any discussion of Tom Brady’s ankle, as even I got sick of seeing the footage of Tommy Boy limping into Gisele’s townhouse (herein known as “Tom and Gigi’s Temple of Carnal Amusement”). Plus, part of me thinks the whole thing was a ruse. I do want to cover a few issues from Super Bowl week before I actually make my prediction for the game. They are:
1) I now have a reason to pull the shotgun out of my mouth should the Patriots lose.
This little tidbit was not included into the orgy of misinformation that has been ESPN over the past week, but apparently Gisele Bundchen is so confident that her man’s team is going to capture the title, she is willing to strip naked and run through Manhattan if she is proven wrong. If I thought there was even a small glimmer of hope for Gisele to follow through on the promise, I’d book a flight for New York right now, fly out, and watch the game with mixed feelings. But the possibility of her actually holding up her end of the deal is the same as me even considering rooting for the Giants.
2) Plaxaco Burress is really confident…
As you all probably know, Plaxaco made his prediction early on during Hype Week: Giants, 23-17. Okay, it’s one thing to have confidence in your team’s chances, but considering the fact that the Patriots put up 38 points on New York in frigid conditions, I have a hard time buying into them only posting 17 in perfect weather. Plus, I’m assuming that with a proclamation like this, Plax is not familiar with the results of previous predictions by players of teams going up against the Pats: Anthony Smith was depantsed on national television as New England smacked around his Steelers 34-13 and Igor Olshansky and his Chargers were kept out of the end zone in the AFC Championship, losing 21-12. Still, maybe the big guy knows what he is doing. We will find out soon enough.
3) …as is Tom Brady.
Tom Brady was asked by the media what he thought of Plaxaco’s turn as football psychic. Much like his response to Anthony Smith (“well done is better than well said”), his answer was brief, but telling: “Seventeen points? Okay. Is Plax playing defense.” He continued by lavishing praise upon the Giants and applauding their confidence, but it was obvious that the prediction was on his mind, as his final statement scoffed at the 23-17 score once again. Brady and the Pats may be smooth and complimentary when dealing with these issues publicly, but I have no doubt in my mind that the 23-17 score will be firmly entrenched in the minds of every player and coach around 6:30 this evening.
4) Can’t Spy-gate just DIE?
As far as these claims of the Patriots taping the Rams final walkthrough before Super Bowl XXXVI go, I would like to see some form of valid evidence before we vilify New England any further. Sure, they were caught over-stepping a rules a bit in Week 1, but let’s not assume that this alleged transgression is true as well. As of right now, no one seems to have any answers. We have a lot of rumored sources making all sorts of accusations, but for the time being, there is no. Valid. Evidence. Oh, I guess we have one former Patriots employee who was fired in 2003. Gee, there is no chance that he’s just a disgruntled former worker who is hoping to take down his old employer, is there? Granted, New England opened this can of worms with the Week 1 incident, but is it not out of the realm of possibility that people view “spying” as the perfect way to fabricate a story about the Patriots? Does no one find it ironic that the sources decided to wait until the weekend of the Super Bowl to reveal this “information?” Will people concede that there are 31 jealous teams who would love to see the Patriots fall from grace right now, and they view playing up Spy-gate as the perfect way to do it? It just seems like all season long, people kept doubting the Patriots, rationalizing their continued success as a by-product of Spy-gate. Now that the team is knocking on the door of a 19-0 season, it seems like accusations of espionage would be the best way to deflect any positive attention, because a majority of the public would entertain the idea based on the Week 1 incident. Yes, the Patriots are partly to blame for this being such a major issue during Super Bowl weekend. But if these allegations are false, and we have every right to believe they are until evidence is produced to back them up, it is a shame that arguably the best team of all time will be unable to fully enjoy their historic season, providing they find a way to win the big game.
5) Senator Specter, I personally feel that congress should focus on bigger issues than any problem the NFL brings to the table.
If Spy-gate is resurrected with a vengeance, and becomes a full-blown legal issue (and thanks to ESPN, there is a great chance that this will happen) we all have Arlen Specter to blame. He is, after all, one of the many people who decided that Super Bowl weekend would be the best time to create a distraction for the NFL. Yes, Spy-gate deserves to be looked into once again if more evidence is brought forth, but whether or not this is the case, congress has no business deciding in the outcome. Much in the same way I feel about congress and steroids, I believe that our country has far, far, far too many problems in its own right for our legislative branch to pump valuable resources into figuring out whether or not an NFL team used improper video surveillance. No matter where you stand on the Spy-gate issue, I hope you can concede that this is a matter which should be dealt with internally. Besides, if you’re rooting against the Patriots, maybe you would be better off if Specter and congress weren’t involved in an investigation. After all, this is the same man who proposed the “single bullet theory,” claiming that JFK and John Connally were both hit with the same “magic” bullet, despite eye witness reports to the contrary.
***THE MAIN EVENT***
Now, without further ado, I give you my prediction for Super Bowl XLII:
I have felt very apprehensive about this game ever since its hype began (y’know, as soon as Lawrence Tynes field goal soared through the uprights). I firmly believe the Patriots are the better team, but they didn’t look quite so sharp in the AFC Title game, and the Giants appear to be peaking at just the right time.
The nervous part of me looks at the game as such:
--New England has not replicated the dominance that seemed to reach a climax in its 56 point beat-down of Buffalo.
--Tom Brady didn’t have his A-game against the Chargers.
--Randy Moss hasn’t been very explosive in the playoffs.
--Eli Manning is playing the best football of his career right now.
--The Giants have the personnel up front to give New England’s O-line fits.
--The Giants also have the running backs capable of tearing through New England’s defense.
When I take all of these things into consideration, I still think that New England can win, but I feel like it would be a nail-biter.
Even the pessimist in me would still probably make the pick of New England winning 33-30. But that isn’t my prediction. Before I locked 33-30 in, I decided to look over the positives:
--New England is coming off a bye week. The last two times this happened: regular season bye: New England puts up 56 points. Wild-card bye: Tom Brady goes 26/28 in a win over Jacksonville.
--Bill Belichick is a master of putting together a winning game plan. He also has the luxury of just playing (and winning against) the Giants a month ago—he’ll have his team ready for anything.
--The Patriots won against the Giants in Week 17 on the road, in a hostile environment, in cold weather.
--New England looked unstoppable earlier this year when they were able to play in warm weather and/or domes: the Super Bowl is being played in Glendale, Arizona.
--It’s Bill Belichick, Tom Brady, and the rest of the gang in a huge game.
--They are up against Tom Coughlin, Eli Manning, and the rest of the gang in a huge game.
--New England will be motivated by the (surprisingly high number of) people who are picking them to lose.
--New England will be even more motivated by the Plaxaco Burress prediction.
--New England will be motivated most of all by the resurgence of Spy-gate.
--New England’s off-season additions and other ring-thirsty players will be focused on playing at the highest level possible.
When I take in all of the information, I feel a little bit better. By no means should the Giants be taken lightly, after all, they did give New England a run for their money in Week 17. But in a neutral environment that is more conducive to favoring the Patriots style of play, I have a little more confidence than I usually do heading in to big games. And when you consider all the motivating factors for the Pats, their track record in big games, and their level of play this season, I feel obligated to at least give them a more favorable prediction. I mean, it isn’t like it actually has any bearing in the outcome of the actual game. So, with that in mind, here goes (and remember, you’ve gotta go big or stay home):
New England 56
New York 24
I just think that in a year where the Patriots broke so many records as a team, it would be fitting for them to set a new benchmark for points in a game. I’ll knock on wood to make sure this pick doesn’t jinx them. And I’ll also have my fingers crossed all game long in hopes of seeing this prediction come to fruition.
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