Super Bowl Prediction Thread

Seventeen hours into the pre-game show and it is safe to say Super Bowl XLII will be an event for the ages. The quality of the game remains to be seen.

Other safe bets include a record sports book on the game, that New England's LBs are old, and whichever QB gets hit more today will lose. Here's to an actual game of the ages.

35-34. Jints.

Comments

[agares]

Patriots 30
Giants 17

[Ali]

This Bostonian thinks it is the Patriots.

But hold on, do we even need a prediction thread? Give me a break, are you trying to imply that NE could possibly loose this thing? Blah. Ridiculous. That's like saying Rudy winning the general elections.

[Plexico]

Giants 23-17.

[sine]

34-20 Patriots.

[Ali]

42-20 Patriots

[GILMORE]

Al Qaeda attacks the US Arizona stadium, nation rallies behind Bush, US invades iran, McCain wins in landslide, US annexes mexico, scientists discover fuel made from pinto beans

[tim]

Patriots will cheat and win. Congress will stick its nose in where it doesn't belong. No one outside of the multi-state collective that the Pats represent will pay much credence to anything that the Pats have done under their current cheatin' coach, who will resign following the season in a deal made a couple of months ago with the commish. The commish will resign shortly after the NFL gets dragged through the mud over its cover-up of the cheating by a congress sticking its nose in where it doesn't belong.

I'll still watch for the commercials.

[Episiarch]

I predict that Daniel Day-Lewis will win for best actor for There Will Be Blood.

[javier]

Pats 38 - 17.

But nobody wins when I get as drunk as I am going to get today.

[Foxhunter]

Bill Belichick loses and then benches Tom Brady for Vinnie Testaverde. The Pats go 5-11 next year and move to Baltimore. God that would be sweet.

YOU LOST CLEVELAND THE TEAM YOU JERK!

[tim]

You win javier, you win.

[Nostradamus]

"The arc of the treasure deceived by Achilles,
the quadrangule known to the procreators.
The invention will be known by the Royal deed;
a corpse seen hanging in the sight of the populace.

The Celtic army against the mountaineers,
Those who will be learned and able in bird-calling:

Peasants will soon work fresh presses,
All hurled on the sword's edge.

When the sepulchre of the great Roman is found,
The day after a Pontiff will be elected:
Scarcely will he be approved by the Senate
Poisoned, his blood in the sacred chalice.

[Lefty]

All of you ReasonHeads are idiots. The Patriots are going kill the Giants. I can tell by the amount of antipathy. And Foxhunter you don't know where your ass is. Vinny T isn't on the Patriots roster.

New England Rules in a mega blow out.

Eli is a sissy.

[GILMORE]

I will add, that after the Al Qaeda operatives who infiltrated the halftime-show dancers and blow Ryan Seacrest and Tom Petty to bits are identified, thousands of people will nevertheless deny that they in fact blew up at all, and that the government used lazer lights and smoke machines to stage a fake attack, also citing something involving the metellurgy of tubas under high stress, and the jews.

[alcohol is a field goal]

Shitty Football 42, Audience 3

[Mike M.]

Patriots win 27-20, Tom and Giselle go to Disneyland, get pregnant, have six kids, and film a new reality TV show in the offseason called "The Brady Bundchen".

(Tip of the hat to Dennis Miller).

[Warty]

And Foxhunter you don't know where your ass is. Vinny T isn't on the Patriots roster.

Whoooosh.

[tim]

Lefty is the perfect example of why fair-weather fans and cheating teams deserve each other.

Yes lefty, Vinny doesn't actually play for the Patriots. Good catch there. Just found out there was a team representing your area of the country this decade, right?

[GILMORE]

Episiarch | February 3, 2008, 2:39pm | #
I predict that Daniel Day-Lewis will win for best actor for There Will Be Blood.

Duh! Dude is a shoo in.

[Timon19]

Most ridiculously overblown collection of insincerity in all of sports. Millions of people who don't give a flying fuck about the teams involved suddenly become massive raving fans of one or the other.

It's actually comically pathetic.

Yes, I'm a wet blanket. Sue me.

[Lefty]

We have MIT, we have Harvard, We have Deval Patrick and host a RINOs here in NE. We rule. We will kick New York Ass in a New York Minute. I am not a fair weather fan as I had to endure Floyd Little, OJ and Victor Kiam over a near millenium only to see the day that Joe Montana shines Tom Terrific's shoes. The rest of the nation is losers. Arlen Spector should start worrying about his own seat. Rumor is that Heinz Kerry will move back to PA to run again him so that she can join Long John in the Senate.

[Lefty]

Hey Timon

Millions are interested because millions are riding on the game. It's called gambling, you fool.

[J sub D]

My prediction?

Televisions sales in the NYC area skyrocket after bottles, mugs, steins and Patriot fans are thrown thru screens by Giants fans in the 3rd quarter.

Pats - 44
Giants - 27

[BakedPenguin]

Pats 28: Giants 20

'72 Dolphins: 96 tears

[tim]

Not fair-weather, but doesn't know the less than stellar, pre-video history of you team's commander in Cheat? Fine, we'll mark you off as ignorant.

Rumor has it that the Pats' XLII champion caps waiting on the sideline tonight have an asterisk already stitched in. I'm guessing that Mike Walsh is going to get more press coverage than the entire pro bowl next week when the football writers of america descend on Hawaii for their annual vacation.

[Lamar]

I predict 6 ounces of vomited chili, of which approximately 1.5 ounces will not make it into the toilet bowl.

[tim]

Matt Walsh, sorry, they won't be hunting for missing children

[Episiarch]

I should have put a couple hundred on the Giants. They're going to be super motivated with all the Patriots triumphalism going on. If they can just stop the Pats from beating the spread, we all win.

[J sub D]

It's actually comically pathetic.

It's actually a completely secular, non-governmental national holiday. It lags only December 31 for the bar/lounge/tavern business. These are overwhelmingly small businesses, the backbone of the American economy, and they deserve one day of guaranteed crowds.

Plus the commercials are usually pretty good.

[jawbreaker]

"Bill Belichick loses and then benches Tom Brady for Vinnie Testaverde. The Pats go 5-11 next year and move to Baltimore. God that would be sweet."

Best Hit+Run post ever.

GO BROWNS.

[Monkey Of Fear]

Daniel Day-Lewis better win ... but then again, I will not be watching. Haven't watched that sorry train of self-adulating, starry-eyed nonsense for close to ten years. And don't get me started on the affirmative action Oscars a few years back . . . Anyways, here's my sagacious pick for the SB.

Giants 33-Pats 30
A classic for the ages.

[Monkey Of Fear]

Oh, and I forgot ... GO BROWNS!

Monkey Of Fear was born in Elyria, Ohio. Sometime in the 1970's.

[stephen the goldberger]

Patriots 24
Giants 10

[Episiarch]

If the Giants win I'm going to have to hole up in a bomb shelter--being in Connecticut, I am too close to the thermonuclear style blast which will occur when every head in Boston explodes.

[JLM]

As a disgruntled Bears fan, my hopes of a 10 interception Brett Favre meldown and a 70-0 Patriots win over the fudgepackers were crushed last week when they lost. Now all I have to root for is a Patriots win so that Shula and the 72 Dolphins can shove their yearly champagne toast up their collective ass.

Patriots 35
Giants 20

[Ventifact]

At the risk of moving this thread in the direction of interesting discussion...

Just found out there was a team representing your area of the country this decade, right?

Millions of people who don't give a flying fuck about the teams involved suddenly become massive raving fans of one or the other.

It's actually comically pathetic.

How exactly do teams "represent" an area? What characteristics or interests of an area do they carry forth? Teams are traditionally run by jerking cities into massive handouts equivalent to taxing a region and giving the results to rich owners. And a team takes on its location's characteristics... uh, maybe by naming itself after some random feature of its hometown? (Which is probably obsolete anyway.)

As for fans, nothing perplexes me quite like the near-universal notion that the acts of paying close attention to a team's progress and hoping your darndest the team wins entitles you to a share of the glory when they win. Don't get me wrong -- I don't think pro sports are worthless, or that being interested in sports is silly. But the weird mutual ownership thing teams and fans express for each other makes me feel... weird. Hmm. I must be a libertarian?

[Some Limey Bloke]

What kind of football score is that? A real football score is Tottenham 1 - 2 Chelsea!

This armored wank-ball you yanks like so much is a laugh

Cheerio!

[Jim Bob]

Go Giants!

[Timon19]

Lefty, no one seems to make a big deal out of a typical day in Vegas. Just sayin'.

J Sub,

The fact that it is secular and non-governmental is a point in its favor. The fact that it's on a Sunday cancels out any pretensions of it actually being a holiday in and of itself. I don't get the day off as a result of it being the Super Bowl, and just about every business ever stays open the entire time.

No business "deserves" anything. I appreciate the contributions of small bar and tavern owners, but the world doesn't owe them anything.

Sorry, but I just get curmudgeonly on this day, but at the same time I get extremely amused and slightly apprehensive that a very large number of people will be using their evenings to get stupid drunk while mindlessly watching a 4+-hour broadcast of a 1-hour game, then drive home. Hooray! Then come into work tomorrow and be completely and totally useless! Awesome!

Aside from the gamblers, it all seems to be a rather massive waste for so little benefit (except to the city holding the event).

[GILMORE]

Daniel Day Lewis will follow up his oscar winning performance this year by entering, competing, and winning American Idol in the role of an austistic teenage asian girl.

what is the deal with the above New Englander's inferiority complex, btw?

[Adam]

31-21 Giants, and New England fans continue their reign as biggest douchebags in all of fandom, regardless of outcome. (See, for instance, Lefty above.)

[Adam]

Manning: 1 INT
Brady: 3 INT

[BakedPenguin]

Ventifact - this Onion Article should help answer some of your questions.

[bob]

I predict NOW will claim that the bogus wife-beating statistics were way up this year and ask that all men be castrated.

[GILMORE]

nothing perplexes me quite like the near-universal notion that the acts of paying close attention to a team's progress and hoping your darndest the team wins entitles you to a share of the glory when they win.

dude, read Joseph Campbell's "hero with a thousand faces". the whole shit is like tribal battle reenactment rituals. The players become avatars of the community's collective perception of themselves. If the teams win, fans are themselves responsible for giving the team use of their 'mojo' as it were. All sports are basically communal rituals of identification re-enforcement.

Except golf. That was just invented to get away from wives.

[SIV]

This is actually a double holiday weekend.

[chancelikely]

Plaxico gets the score right but the teams wrong: Pats 23, New York Football Giants 17.

[J sub D]

The fact that it's on a Sunday cancels out any pretensions of it actually being a holiday in and of itself.

Easter's not a holiday? In what part of Burma were you raised?

Of course the Super Bowl is stupid if examined critically. Excepting tax freedom day, name a holiday or celebration that isn't.

[SIV]

6 more weeks of winter?

Contry-Style Groundhog

1. 1 groundhog
2. 1/2 c. flour
3. 1/4 tsp. salt
4. 1/4 tsp. pepper
5. 1/4 tsp. soda
6. 1/4 c. cooking oil
7. 1/2 tsp. sugar

NOTE:Clean and skin as soon as possible. Remove all sent glands. Cut off head, feet and tail. Cure in cool place by suspending from hook approximately 4 days. When ready to cook, lard according to recipe.

Dress groundhog as for rabbit, removing the small sacs in the back and under the forearm. Soak groundhog overnight in salted water to remove wild flavor. Combine flour, salt, pepper and sada; rub into groundhog pieces. Brown grounhog in hot oil in skillet; sprinkle with sugar. Reduce heat; add 1/2 cup water. Cover; simmer for about 30 minutes or until tender. Remove cover; cook for 10 minutes longer.

[Legate Damar]

Color me apathetic. I dislike it when 5 months of football results in 2 teams that I dislike but neither of which I truly hate.

I already know that no matter what happens, I'll be disappointed that whoever won, won.

Go Browns!

[JW]

I predict:

Owners of the rights to Queen's "We are the Champions" - 42
Whiny little bitches - 3

[Kolohe]

Pats 24 Giants 20

[The Ron Paul Football Report]

Jew Town 32
Mick Town 30

The Jew Town defensive line is full of young black men, vicious and fleet-footed. White Mick Town QB has no chance.

[Click \'n\' Learn]

I'm going to go for a hike. I predict I'll be back sometime around 10 minutes in the fourth quarter, and I guess I'll watch it. Also, one of the teams will win.

[Eryk Boston]

The big bet is how long they can keep their regular season win streak going next season. Around 30 wins, the rest of the country will hate us.

Patriots, Red Sox, Celtics and the Revolution. Its a good thing the Bruins are mediocre or we'd be seeing lynch mobs.

[Tsu Dho Nihm]

This will be a difficult game to watch. As a Colts fan, I have a hatred for the Pats. But I grew up a 'Skins fan, so I've hated the Giants longer than the Pats.

Anyhoo, I'm glad there's a hockey game on so I can easily avoid the inane chatter of the SB pregame.

And the prediction?
New England 34
New York 20

[Chris Potter]

Eryk,

I wish I had such problems!

-- exiled Cubs, Bears, Bulls, Blackhawks fan

[Eryk Boston]

Oh, and either 28-17 or 45-37 Patriots.

[GinSlinger]

As a disgruntled Bears fan, my hopes of a 10 interception Brett Favre meldown and a 70-0 Patriots win over the fudgepackers were crushed last week when they lost.

Wow, you didn't follw the Bears very well this year, huh? Exactly 50% of the Pack's losses were at the hands of the Bears, if nothing else, beating the Pack twice makes the Bears slightly less of a laughing stock. Had the Packers ended up in the SB, and beat the Pats, well there'd be something to hang your ear-flapped hat on.

Oh, and the Black-and-Blue is the best division in football.

[Chris Potter]

GinSlinger,

The Packers lost 3 games this season, so it was actually ~67%.

[Nathan Wind]

Over early.

Pats 38
Giants 10

[Chris Potter]

I loved how the commentators for the NFC Championship were highlighting how great Favre was in the cold and snow. They obviously didn't see the game at Soldier Field this year, where Kyle Orton made him look like...well, Kyle Orton, and in a game that the Pack had to win to keep in the race for the #1 seed, he acted like he was glad to get back to his parka and the bench each time he failed on 3rd Down or threw an INT.

If the Pack knows what's good for them, they'll trade him to a Southern team ASAP. Atlanta or Miami might be in the hunt for that.

[J sub D]

Patriots, Red Sox, Celtics and the Revolution.

Tigers (will do better than the Red Sox), Pistons (Conference finals 5 straight years, have the Celtics made the playoff in that tome?), Red Wings (It's hard to believe the Bruins are one of the original 6), and the Lions [blows chunks].
I'm unimpressed with Beantown atheletics.

That's right GILMORE, it's tribal thinking. I enjoy the simian portion of my psyche, I just don't let it rule.

[Bingo]

I predict I will be too drunk to care!

[Bryan]

Giants lead 13-3 at halftime, Belichick sacrifices a live goat in the locker room, and the Patriots win 38-27.

And Cleveland breaks more TVs than New York.

[drawnasunder]

I think it will be right down to the wire:

I predict O'Neil and Teal'C will [thanks to the techno-know-how of Carter and the mad cyphering skillz of The Wonder That Is Daniel Jackson] come tumbling though the stargate just before the clock runs out, and their flawless mission record will be intact.

[Fantasy of a Gaint fan]

Gaints win 17-13

Newspapers in Boston prematurely print headlines for February 4th declaring a Patriots victory ala the "Dewey defeats Truman" headline in 1948. Eli Manning is seen in humorous photo-op holding up one such paper.

T-shirt vendors in New England struggle to figure out what to do with the massive amount of "19-0" themed shirts they already ordered.

[Sam Grove]

I predict that I will have zero interest in the game.

[Daze]

Puppy Bowl IV has been one for the ages.

[sine]

Based on the Republican primary: McCain > Romney > Giuliani

therefore...

Arizona > Massachusetts > New York

and...

Cardinals > Patriots > Giants

Patriots win today.

[joe]

Tom Brady will lead one of his trademark fourth-quarter drives, culminating in a game-winning 53- yard touchdown pass to Daisuke Matsusaka, thereby segueing smoothly into the next major sport that will be dominated by a Boston team.

Pats 31, Giants 27

[JLM]

GinSlinger and Chris Potter,

Oh yeah, I took great pleasure in the smackdown that the Bears put on the Pack this year. I was also annoyed to no end by all the "Brett Favre is so grrrrrreat!!! in the snow and cold" bullshit. He got killed in the Bears game and threw his patented game losing interception against the Giants. It's consistent with all of the talk about him. He loses a lot of games by throwing Rex Grossman-ish stupid passes and never gets any shit about it.

[Fluffy]

Is this the worst opening of all time? What's this football players reading the D of I shit?

[Timon19]

J Sub,

At least on Easter, shit closes (though not everything).

[Fluffy]

Or is this an ad for the Navy? I'm confused.

[Fluffy]

Isn't this whole sequence just giving aid and comfort to the terrorists?

[JLM]

I guess there is no point in reading the Bill of Rights since its generally ignored these days.

[boston]

brady smirk - 31
manning face - 20

[SIV]

Terrible National Anthem

I hate those American Idol vocal "flourishes"

[Chris Potter]

I predict that Dondero will root for whichever team is winning at the time.

"All you Giants supporters were talking about how great Umenyora and Strahan were, on that last drive they didn't get any sacks! How 'convenient' that you guys disappear all of the sudden."

[Cesar]

I predict the Pats win in one of the most boring Superbowls ever.

Oh, and American Idol is the spawn of either Stan or Al Qaeda. Or Both.

[squarooticus]

Imagine what it's like being a New York sports fan living in Boston for the past 10 years. Ugh.

[J sub D]

Oh, and American Idol is the spawn of either Stan or Al Qaeda. Or Both.

Really? I'd have never expected Stan to be so irresponsible.

[SIV]

PSA with drug dealer lamenting your kids are getting better stuff than he sells out of your medicine cabinet. If you have enough extra 'script narcotics for your kids to develop drug problems can you please refer me to your physician?

[Ali]

Earlier I said:

42-20 Patriots

Ehem, lets make that:

24-23 Patriots

I hope there is no trend here 😉

[Cesar]

I meant to say "satan". Damn laptop.

PSA with drug dealer lamenting your kids are getting better stuff than he sells out of your medicine cabinet.

For once an anti-drug PSA actually makes a correct statement--though not in the way they probably intended.

Pharmaceuticals will of course be safe (in the correct dosage) and pure unlike street drugs, where God knows what other stuff they've been cut with.

Now back to the Superbowl and my completely legal InterstateCommerce, bourbon whiskey.

[JLM]

Maker's Mark?

[Cesar]

Maker's Mark?

Nope. Fighting Cock.

[J sub D]

I meant to say "satan". Damn laptop.

I knew that.
I couldn't resist.

[SIV]

Maker's Mark?

Nope. Fighting Cock.

Saving a few bucks there with the Kickin' Chicken.... and a higher alchohol content to boot.

[joe]

Damn. I'll bet nobody said "14-6."

[SIV]

Oldies act for halftime. I saw Tom Petty almost exactly 30 years ago, before I was old enough to drive.

[Cesar]

Ever since the Janet Jackson debacle they've been scared to get anyone under the age of 30.

[Fluffy]

Why even bother to have a half time show? Just show tape of Prince from last year.

[Eddy]

Is the DH rule in play for tonight's game?

Oh what the heck.
Giants 10
Nippon Ham 14

[Patrick]

Props to Petty & co for putting on the first ever halftime show that wasn't a complete abomination.

[Ali]

Ever since the Janet Jackson debacle they've been scared to get anyone under the age of 30 and female.

[NP]

I love Tom Petty, and I also grant that having the most American of all bands conclude the most American of all sports was a nice touch. But man, Petty really sounded like what he is tonite: a geezer. This should've been one time the NFL allowed steroids (or whatever the hell would've helped) for performance enhancement.

[David E. Gallaher]

What's with Danicka Patrick undressing.
(I think I saw it on one of the early commercials.)

[Chris Potter]

Coke favors bipartisanship. I was hoping Carville and Frist would get hit by a garbage truck while they were biking, myself.

[GILMORE]

11:05 left in the 4th.

Not quite the 'stomping' people predicted yet. NYG 10, NEP 7.

And coca cola must be at the end of their rope. There's a subtext of desperation in their feel-good ads. A cry for help almost.

[GILMORE]

Chris =

my fantasy was them getting sideswiped while they rode segways.

[Ali]

joe, Eddy- It is smiling yp to you guys, especially Eddy. Lets see. Darn, was I way off.

[Ali]

"yp" --> "up"

[GILMORE]

i feel so badly for the pats fans. really.

[Daniel Reeves]

Oh HELL NO. They did not. Damn Giants.

[Vlad Drac]

You sports people are fucking weird.

[GILMORE]

ouch. brady sacked again. 19 secs. the horror! The horror!

[GILMORE]

start spreading the news...

[19-0]

You can't have it, Patriots,
Not yours.

[GILMORE]

kind of a weak move on pats part not coming back on the field to finish it. Bill B. seems to have headed to the lockers before the clock ran out. dont they normally at least shake hands? what prima donnas

[Ali]

(Me putting on a Dondero hat)

The good thing is, I will be able to sleep tonight with no crazy patriot fans on the streets.

🙂

Good, the NE fans deserve to learn to be humble.

[Chris Potter]

Ali,

Dondero does not wear a hat.

You may, however, put on a moustache.

[KD]

Jeff Taylor | February 3, 2008, 1:53pm

Other safe bets include a record sports book on the game, ... and whichever QB gets hit more today will lose.

Jeff Taylor called it right off the top.

[joe]

Incredible.

An intimidating performance by the Giants defense against the Tom Brady/Randy Moss Patriots.

Usi MVP?

[ReasonHeads]

Lefty | February 3, 2008, 2:49pm | #
All of you ReasonHeads are idiots. The Patriots are going kill the Giants. I can tell by the amount of antipathy. [...]

New England Rules in a mega blow out.

Eli is a sissy.

Who's the idiot now, Lefty?

[Eddy]

Ali, I don't understand. Did the Chunichi Dragons play instead of the Yomiuri Giants? I could swear the Giants were playing the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters.

Damn, just checked. It was the Dragons over the Ham Fighters.
3-1 FIghters
8-1 Dragons
9-1 Dragons
4-2 Dragons

I guess I haven't been paying much attention.

[tim]

My grandmammy always tought me that cheaters never prosper. And here I thought she was just a crazy old bat.

[Chris Potter]

Luckily, the House commercial just showed the good doctor abusing the hell out of Vicodin, to counteract that prescription drug abuse PSA during the Super Bowl. Balance is restored.

[Brian Courts]

My grandmammy always tought me that cheaters never prosper.

Heh. Kind of ironic that Belichick ends up costing his team the game with that stupid decision to go for it on 4th and, what, 13 instead of taking the field goal. In a low-scoring game like that passing up points was inexcusable. If he kicks the field goal we're probably talking about the Patriots winning the first overtime Super Bowl.

[Adam]

I think there was someone named Lefty here who wanted to lick my nuts? Holla!

[Chris Potter]

It would've been a 49-yard FG, and their kicker has been non-automatic even at shorter distances. These what-ifs are interminable anyway...the Giants had a tough-luck tipped INT in the red zone, that probably cost them an easy FG at least.

[kcjerith]

Yea, I just went back and read Lefty's comments, and he sounded like a douche bag. I really could have cared less about the game (though I watched anyway), but it is nice that Lefty has to eat his words.

Adam, don't let let lefty lick your nuts, lefty is not even worthy enough to lick my dogs balls

[Brian Courts]

It would've been a 49-yard FG, and their kicker has been non-automatic even at shorter distances. These what-ifs are interminable anyway...

Well, Gostkowski made 18 of 19 this year inside 40 yards and was 3 of 5 beyond 40 so I'd say that's pretty automatic at closer distances. In this case the game was indoors with no wind and perfect conditions so you have to expect him to make that kick.

Your second point is very true however, but I still like the idea of blaming Belichick. 🙂

[bill]

Oh my god, Brady played like shit and whoever calls plays for them should be fired.

[The Wine Commonsewer]

Tom Petty beats the crap out of Janet Jackson.

Giants pull it out with two great plays.

[The Wine Commonsewer]

Oh, and the chili was good.

Edsmeade zin was fab, the Italian stuff was good too.

[Obligatory post by a woman]

What, was there some sort of football game going on tonight?

[JLM]

I heard Murcury Morris tonight on ESPN say something like "Anything can happen on any given Sunday, except in 1972". I hope the 72 Dolphins all choke on their champagne tonight. Fuck them.

Still, it's damn nice to see Strahan get his ring. And I don't much care one way or the other about Eli, but I've heard so many talking heads speak of him with certainty like he is an average quarterback that will never amount to anything that it is somewhat gratifying to see him shut them up.

[Chris Potter]

Just cause Reason links to your articles now doesn't mean you can get all snippy, woman.

[Balph Eubank]

I think this thread has demonstrated one thing:

Libertarians are a bunch of nerds who don't know jack about football.

P.S. I predicted the outcome incorrectly myself.

[Chris Potter]

So it looks like Jeff Taylor, Adam, Monkey of Fear, Plexico, Fantasy of a Giants Fan, and the Ron Paul Football Report all picked the right winner. Fantasy of a Giants Fan was (ironically) closest to reality as far as the actual score...

[Chris Potter]

Next year's halftime act at the Super Bowl: Britney Spears.

You heard it here first.

[GinSlinger]

It may be the beer, or the euphoria, but, um, Chris, if I had said "four losses in the season" you would have been correct in pointing that out. But, the Packers lost 4 games this year, so still 50%. True, the Bears provided 66.66666666666(etc)% of the Packers' losses for the season. Thanks for making your correction(?).

That Soldier Field game was brutal, but I'm not sure how much of it was the weather. The Bears made Favre look pretty foolish at home earlier in the season. But, yeah, he's not the same in cold weather as he was in, say '91, though he is a lot better in domes.

[GinSlinger]

Also, did I miss the mention of Belichick leaving the field before the game was over? What sportsmanship. How many of the previous 18 teams he beat left the field before the game was over?

[GILMORE]

yeah, I mentioned it. I thought it was particularly poor timing. But it happened when other people had already rushed the field. I still think he should have sent his guys out there to finish the game as is his job

[Chris Potter]

GinSlinger,

He left 'cause he thought the game was actually over. The clock ran down to :00, then he went on to the field and shook Coughlin's hand, and a ton of other people also went onto the field. Then the scoreboard controller put a second back on the clock because the clock should have stopped with the change of possession. The officials had to get everyone off the field, and the Pats did indeed field 11 men for the final kneel-down by Manning. It's not like the team walked out, it was just a misunderstanding caused by the scoreboard clock running when it shouldn't have.

[Not That Anyone Cares]

The clock on my TV never went to zero until they cleared the field and finished the game.

We thought Belichik was a toad but maybe we were wrong.

[tim]

Cheater and Coughlin were informed while shaking hands that there was one more second left. Coughlin went back to his sideline and sent his team back out, cheater walked away. Bruschi had to get the Pats D together to get back out. At least the whole team isn't as classless as the coach. Now begins the offseason unravelling, starting with the Walsh interview next week. This might be the most exciting pro-bowl week ever.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that both cheater and Goodell won't have jobs with the NFL in two months time.

[GILMORE]

I figured there was something like that going on. The way it looked on TV was pretty poor because the commentators had no interpretation of how it was going down. they seemed as confused as the audience

[Foxhunter]

Amen Belichick...the big winner tonight was the Browns because after completely screwing the team over (benching Bernie Kosar for Vinnie Testaverde and then going 5-11 and losing the team to Baltimore, Lefty) you lost and will be called out as the cheater you became. Unscrupulous, ill-mannered, petty, and brash - you get a whole off-season to wonder how you blew one of the biggest upsets of all time.

There is a God and maybe, just maybe, he's from Cleveland.

[jonelin]

i'm a bears' fan, but tonight, i was a giants' fan! am i the only lady in the house who always thought tom brady looked insincere, like he would drop a rufi in you drink?

my ire of ne aside i must say... best super bowl
in ages!!!

[Stevo Darkly]

Okay, I'm here with my prediction!

Giants 17, Patriots 14

Sorry I'm late, I've been busy at work and missed the actual game. What was the final score?

[Adam]

Damn, Nostradamus nailed it!

[joe]

Uh, yeah, God decided to punish Belichick by having him lose the fourth Superbowl he's been to in the past 7 years.

All night, the Patriots had taken Burress out of the game, doubling him, organizing the defense around denying him, and it showed in the 1-reception-in-7-throws he'd gotten into the fourth quarter.

And then, in that final drive, he ends up with one-on-one with Ellis Hobbes? How did that happen?

[Episiarch]

19 and OH NOES!

[Taktix?]

I am just glad we don't have to hear the Sports media fellatiate Tom Brady for the next 10 years...

[Timon19]

No, but instead we have to hear about the "Giant Upset" for approximately the next 645 hours, to the exclusion of nearly all else. Either way, it would have be interminable.

Yep. Still grouchy, though as a Browns fan, hearing that Old Bill got beat finally was pretty nice. Then SportCenter droned onandonandonandonandon...

[Taktix?]

Timon19,

Good thing they didn't start talking about how the Steelers knocked you guys out of the playoffs 🙂

[Timon19]

Since no one expected the Browns to come anywhere close, not even the most deluded Browns fan, that really wouldn't be all that much heartburn. That and I'm so jaded in regards to the NFL that I care more about when assholes lose than when the Browns win, when I pay attention at all (which is very, very infrequently). The Browns are basically an afterthought.

[some dude]

I haven't read the whole thread, but has anyone explained what "Jints" is?

[Timon19]

My guess is it's Yinzer-speak for "Giants".

[joe]

And to think there were rumors that Coughlin was going to get fired earlier this season.

The Giants were a great story this year, and the sports media was so focused on the Perfect Patriots and the records they kept setting that there wasn't much attention paid to the G-men.

Eli joining the top ranks of NFL quarterbacks. Beating Dallas in Dallas and then Green Bay on the tundra. Losing to the Pats by three, then beating them by three. That was an impressive performance over the past month.

[Lamar]

Did anybody notice that the timekeeper was absolutely awful? In the first quarter there was a running play up the gut yet they stopped the clock for some unknown reason. After that weirdness we started looking at the clock after every play to see what they would do. At one point they forgot to start the clock at the snap, then the clock sped up and knocked off about 12 seconds superfast, then stopped. It was liked they guessed at how long the play lasted. Then they should have just ran the last damn second off the clock. After a game full of clock errors, they got all uppity at the end.

Great game. Crazy clock, and not just at the end.

[Yankees Fan]

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

[Timon19]

Yeah, this controversy and accusations of classlessness by Bill over the fucking clock is absolutely friggin' stupid. There was no possible way the Pats could have done anything with that one second back on the clock. Seeing as it appears to have been a timekeeper error to boot, who the fuck cares if he walked off?

Even if it was legitimately at one second with no confusion, what's the problem? In golf, the guy who has no chance to win the match concedes all the remaining holes, or the last putt on an individual hole because it would be a pointless exercise to go through the motions to "complete" it. Why isn't that the case in football?

That's yet another thing that is stupid as shit about football - the slavish devotion to The Clock. The game was over. It had come to a natural(-ish) end. To clear the field and scramble everyone back into their places for a meaningless, one-second play is just plain retarded.

[Timon19]

...and I hate Belichick.

[Ethan]

Move over Bill Buckner, Asante Samuel's in town!

[chthus]

The "clock" is something kept by an official timekeeper, separate from the clock you see on the TV, usually just mimicking the one in the stadium display, which is unofficial. Discrepancies between the two result in the clock on the display/TV to be corrected to match the official timekeeper.

As for Belechick's behavior, it's not golf. Yes, there was confusion, but even some of his players came out of the tunnel. Just not him or the spoiled little Brady. It was poor sportsmanship in professional football, though perhaps mitigated by the shock that they were beaten. Still kinda classless, as losing gracefully at a sport is generally considered the classy behavior.

[Crypt-O-Nite]

The Super Bowl has jumped the shark. I couldn't shake that sense after last night's game.

Maybe it's just me. Maybe it's just within my particular little world, my group of friends. I dunno. Whatever the case, the whole thing -- commercials included -- seems lame and tired now. The edge of excitement is gone.

Yawn.

[Timon19]

Why is it poor sportsmanship? The play wouldn't have made a difference, Belichick shook Coughlin's hand and appeared to take the loss as well as anyone.

Granted, football is not golf, but what the hell is the purpose of getting everyone back into their pre-programmed positions for running one fucking second off the clock? The game was over. Done. Nothing could be done. Why can't the opposing coach concede? Is it because it's not "manly" enough or something? To me, it's a rather sportsmanlike and graceful gesture to acknowledge when you're beaten and cannot do anything to change it.

[Taktix?]

Crypt-O-Nite,

At least Tom Petty is better than those feeble attempts at cultural displays they used to have...

[matt]

"The Super Bowl has jumped the shark. I couldn't shake that sense after last night's game."

Are you serious? That was the best Super Bowl in recent memory, and is sure to be an all-time classic.

The commercials were lame, but who cares? Do you even watch football?

[David]

Granted, football is not golf, but what the hell is the purpose of getting everyone back into their pre-programmed positions for running one fucking second off the clock? The game was over. Done. Nothing could be done. Why can't the opposing coach concede? Is it because it's not "manly" enough or something? To me, it's a rather sportsmanlike and graceful gesture to acknowledge when you're beaten and cannot do anything to change it.

You're not familiar with the Miracle at the Meadowands?

[Timon19]

David,

Did anyone on God's green earth expect Manning to do ANYTHING other than kneel with one second left? Especially with a 30-year-old embarrassment on the books? Not to mention the very large difference between 31 seconds and 1 second?

I can see where a coach or quarterback MIGHT want to hand off with more than a play clock's worth of time left, but with one second? In the Super Bowl?

Besides, why is it not gracious to prevent the opposition from even considering something so boneheaded? I don't get it.

[joe]

Yesterday's game was probably godawful boring to people who aren't real football fans. I mean, there weren't any 70 yard touchdown passes golly-gee highlight reel runs or anything. Just a lot of big guys whose names you don't remember outmuscling each other.

These are the same people who think a 1-0 baseball game that features a complete game 2-hitter from the winner and an 8-1/3-inning 4 hitter from the losing pitcher is boring, too.

[P Brooks]

That was the first footbal game I even bothered to watch all year, and I only intermittently was paying attention. The teevee was on, but the sound was off; didn't even turn it up for the Travelin Wilburys.

I was yelling for the Giants to go for the end zone on that last play, but I have hated Belichick for a lot longer than one season.

[ChrisO]

At least Tom Petty is better than those feeble attempts at cultural displays they used to have...

Oh, I don't know. "Up With People" was always good for a laugh or two at halftime. Of course, anyone under 35 probably doesn't have an effing clue what I'm talking about. Tom Petty and the band actually rocked a lot harder than I thought they would. Mike Campbell has always been one of the more underrated rock guitarists.

[stubby]

I'm not a huge football fan, but I know enough to be able to follow a game (I'm from Texas - I think it's inherited or something) and I thought the game was fantastic. Tyree's helmet head catch and Eli's pass to Plaxico - that's the kind of football even nerdy girls like me remember. And to think I was bugging the husband to leave the party with 2 minutes left on the clock cause I wanted to get the kid in bed. And I was thinking - hm, I wonder if this could turn out to be some kind of Heidi game? Nah, the assholes are gonna win...

Full disclosure: I hate the Pats because they cheat and their Qback walked out on a pregnant girlfriend, and I love the Giants cause Eli Manning is just so damned cute and looks like he's not old enough to order a drink by himself, and I just liking watching wild card sure-bet losers beat the undefeated big swinging d***s. And Giselle's datin a looossserrrr......

[stubby]

And joe: the last 5 minutes of the game was all about golly-gee highlight reel moments. They will be showing Tyree's catch forever...

[Chris Potter]

I remember "Up With People" performing at the Bears-Pats Super Bowl after the '85 season. But I was like 4 at the time, so I don't remember anything about them except the name.

I did see a bus with "Up With People" plastered all over the sides at an Ohio McDonald's a few years ago. I don't know if it was really them or just someone who hasn't had a chance to repaint the thing yet.

[Gilbert Martin]

"These are the same people who think a 1-0 baseball game that features a complete game 2-hitter from the winner and an 8-1/3-inning 4 hitter from the losing pitcher is boring, too."

A baseball game of any type is boring.

[Scooby]

Looks like we have a winner, only one point off on the score prediction:
http://www.reason.com/blog/show/124768.html#904724

Too bad it was from someone who can't spell "Giants" in a thread where it is spelled out in the vast majority of the posts.

[Adam]

LEFTY!! This one's for you!!

[GILMORE]

joe | February 4, 2008, 9:28am | #

I agree, Eli has made a real mark in his career, and it would be fun to go back and review the last month or 2 of his games.