Super Bowl XVLI - A Rematch of XLII

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I have chosen my very first post to be on the rematch of Super Bowl XLII.  I can remember the excitement leading up to that game on Feb. 3, '08.  The Patriots were having an unprecedented season.  They were 18-0 heading into that game in Glendale, Arizona.  They were to be the first team to ever win 19 games in one season.  The '72 Dolphins had won 17 games (including Super Bowl VII), and the '08 Patriots could have joined those Dolphins as the only teams to have undefeated seasons.  But then suddenly, Eli Manning eluded a tackle, David Tyree made an unbelievable catch, and the Giants marched on to the Vince Lombardi Trophy.  

As the line, "well... that's sports!", was said by many, it doesn't seem to do justice to this game and this loss for the Patriots.  The Giants were victorious, shocking much of the sports world.  The Patriots were at a loss for words.  It seems it would have been so much better had the Patriots lost that final regular season game to the Giants and breathed a collective sigh of relief, because the pressure for perfection may have no longer been all-consuming.  However, that is not what happened at all, and instead shirts were sold which mockingly jeered, "18-1".  The Patriots took it in stride, let it sink in, and prepared for the next season.  

New England had a great team and a bright future, so they probably assumed they would be back.  Instead, the Patriots haven’t been back to the big game since that loss in Super Bowl XLII until now.  Maybe the best part of this Super Bowl (at least for those Patriots who were there in '08) is that they get a rematch.  Without taking anything away from the Giants and their victory in Glendale, it is now Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and company who will not need any extra motivation for this coming Super Bowl.  It has been the Patriots defence that has been their achilles' heal this season, while it is the Giants defence that is often viewed as the heart of their team.  Eli Manning, with his batch of speedy receivers have caught fire at the right time, and look to continue their winning ways.  The Giants look like a formidable opponent for these motivated Patriots.  New England will need their young defence to step up, just as they did this past Sunday, if they want any chance to slowing down Eli and company.  The outcome of this Super Bowl may very well come down to the match up of the Patriots' offence and the Giants' defence.  Can the New York pass-rush get to Brady in time so that he can't hit Welker and Gronkowski in stride?  

With all of this in mind, we will sit back and enjoy what promises to be another classic Super Bowl between these two rivals.

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