Bowling for History

Tomorrow is, as they say, a moment of destiny. On the one side, is the New England Patriots, seeking to win its fourth Superbowl under Tom Brady's leadership, and more importantly, to wrap up a historical season, one that hasn't been matched since the 1973 Dolphins went undefeated in the regular season, then won the Superbowl. This New England team, were it to make good on what it seems certain they will do, would have won two more games than the Dolphins, as the regular season is now 16 games, not the 14 games of the '73 Dolphins.

On the other side is the improbable New York Giants. Most people thought that we'd be seeing the Cowboys play for the Superbowl, or had hoped that Brett Favre had one more hurrah in him, in his best season at Green Bay in a long time. On the verge of retiring with a subpar record last year, Favre lead a young team to a 13-3 record. Both lost to the Manning that most people didn't expect. Eli.

Peyton's Indianapolis Colts were the defending world champion. World. Of course, that's mostly because no one else in the world cares to play this most violent of sports. We love our superlatives, indeed, the pinnacle of the sport of American football is given the name Superbowl as if it were emblazoned with a big "S", cape fluttering in the wind, hair coiffed with a perfect curl.

The Colts faced their nemesis, the Patriots, as both were undefeated, and gave them the closest challenge they had had up to that point. The Colts would go on to a second loss against the Chargers, and then to a third meaningless loss at the end of the season, where they rested key players, only to have the Chargers knock them out again during the playoffs. Everyone felt certain the Colts would win that one, but that is, as they say, why we play the game.

Peyton had a rocky start with the Colts, having a record of 3-13 that first year, but playing every snap, and even setting records for touchdown passes by a rookie. The next year, the team was starting to turn around, and after a few years, the Colts were about as steady a team as one could expect, typically a shoo-in for the playoffs, only to find frustration against the Patriots.

Peyton was the brainy one, the one that would coax his receivers to practice during the off-season, the one who grilled his coordinators to ask the how's and the why's of what they were doing. Tee Martin may have brought UT its most recent national championship, a year after Peyton left, but it's Peyton that UT fans remember, because everytime Peyton does well in the NFL, UT fans recall that he went to Tennessee. They forget he didn't win them a national championship, and often struggled to get past Florida. It doesn't matter. His consistent success in the pros are a source of Tennessee pride. The Tennessee Titans may be the state football team, but the Colts resonate as much with Tennesseans as the Titans.

Eli was the one that followed in dad's footsteps, headed to Ole Miss, where his dad, Archie is still revered. Dad labored as a QB for the New Orleans Saints, where he was the best player on an awful team. Without free agency, he spent his career doing the best he could with no chance of finding another team.

Eli's not nearly as tall as Peyton, not the kind of workhorse that Peyton is, and of course, faces comparisons to his more prolific brother. Nearly everyone makes the comparison, and wonders why Eli isn't as good. Giants fans remember the Superbowl loss to the Ravens when a primarily defensive team with a dont-lose-the-game quarterback in Trent Dilfer still did enough to get the Ravens their only Superbowl, and they remember Phil Simms and defeating the Buffalo Bills juggernaut, who four times made it to the Superbowl, and lost each time, the closest one being the first time when Parcells' Giants eked out a win over the Bills.

New York fans, used to feasting on the success of the Yankees, are tough fans. When the teams are not winning, they are frustrated, as many fans can be. It's just that New York teams expect to win. Calls for booting Tom Coughlin, the Giants coach, and finding a new QB to replace erratic Eli were heard early. And yet, the Giants had a spotty record.

After starting 6-2, they lost to Dallas, and then came the see-saw of win one week and loss the next. In the last game, the Giants would face the Patriots. The Patriots had long since wrapped up the season, having gone perfect. Would they rest their players? Or would they go for history? The Giants also didn't need the victory. Eli had, however, played inconsistently, often tossing interceptions, his completion percentage not comparable to the elites of the game.

Of course, the Patriots decided to go undefeated and make history, and the Giants, for their part, felt Eli needed another game to gain more confidence, to play freely, not to overthink, to be overly cautious. On a game that was televised on three networks to maximize the visibility of this historic game, the Giants gave the Patriots all it could handle, and despite the loss, Eli played well, and the confidence from this game appears to have buoyed him through the playoffs.

The New York naysayers are now whooping it up. They saw that the Giants gave the Patriots trouble. Plaxico Burress is hurt, but plans to play, and their success seems to depend on how well he can play. Most people still think the Patriots will win, but hope the Giants can at least play competitively until the half. Of course, some feel the Giants will pull off the upset, that the pressure of finally having to finish a perfect season will be too much, that the ghosts of the '73 Dolphins will conjure a hex that will leave the Patriots stunned.

And that, as they say, is why they play the game.

But, in case the game is a blowout, there's always the commercials.