Super Bowl 2008 - Clyde's Take

I have moved away from North Jersey, slowly but surely, since I've graduated from college in 1999. Every move I've made along the way has been for practical reasons. And, as is the case with most situations in life, the series of moves has had its pros and cons. (Pros: cheaper cost of living, less traffic, etc... Cons: distance from friends / family / things that are familiar to me, etc...)

One of the less substantial changes of this succession of moves has been in what sports teams one finds themselves following. Living about 12 miles from Philadelphia, I find myself in the heart of Eagles country. I have blogged about this before when I was not using an alias, but nothing in North Jersey compares to the fanatic passion that people down here have about the "Birds"... maybe in Green Bay where the Pack is the only substantial game in town it is similar. I just remember that last spring, people would forget that the Phillies had a very good team and were fighting for the playoffs anytime T.O. or Donovan's name would come up.

Growing up, I was always a die-hard Knicks fan (as is LJT of Where's Luke fame) and a casual fan of other NY teams. At different times, I watched the Yankees and Giants with some degree of interest, and for whatever reason never got into the Nets, but nothing matched my fanaticism of the Knicks. I did always want to know how the Giants were doing. This season, I would watch most of the Eagles games on Sundays, but would follow the Giants games with a keen interest as well. My brother and my grandfather (who both live within 15 minutes or so of Giants stadium) are both pretty steady Giants fans. And, as a result, as this season unfolded I found myself rooting for the Giants (a) making it into the playoffs, and then (b) having some success in the playoffs. If one were to ask me "If the Giants play the Eagles, who do you want to win?" my answer would be that it's a win-win (or lose-lose, depending on if you're a half-empty or half-full kind of person) situation, as I do genuinely wish success for both teams.

As the Giants started this run of great play, starting towards the end of the regular season and continuing through the playoffs, I found myself more emotionally invested with each passing week with them. I was bummed out when Shockey was knocked out. I called Tiki Barber a bitch as well. And I was psyched with each momentum-building playoff win. I discussed the games with my grandfather each week, as he looks forward to each game and doesn't miss them. When the playoffs started, I genuinely said to him, "You know, there's no reason why the Giants could make a run to the Super Bowl". Ever the optimist, he said, "Yeah, they could. It will be tough, but they could." I thought about it and replied, "No, seriously... I don't see why they're not as good as Green Bay or Dallas, or better." With each passing week he would say to me, "You know, you're the only guy who really thought that they would make it all the way to the Super Bowl that I've talked to." And now in retrospect, I realize that I genuinely have been thinking that they would do it, in my heart. So once the Super Bowl matchups were set, I said to my grandfather, "You know, I really think the Super Bowl will be a good game. I think the Giants really could take it." He replied similarly to his response to my comments about their playoff runs, something like, "Yeah, you're right, they could."

I was wondering if my newly-found emotional interest in the Giants' success was a product of being a North Jersey guy at heart, or if it was more that I knew that not only my brother and grandfather watching passionately each week, but also my buddies from Teaneck, such as the boys at Where's Luke, MMG, etc..., were donning their Giants jerseys and gathering each Sunday to root for the G-Men throughout the season, whether things were going well or not

Come Super Bowl Sunday, I traveled the almost-2 hours to North Jersey to go to Manhattan and watch the game with these die-hard fans. About 20 of us were packed into Side Bar's NYC apartment. Beer and food were consumed and cards were played. But finally, the game started...

The camaraderie of the guys made the whole event one that I will never forget. The true Giants fans did not begrudge those of us who were more casual football fans (like me), or even the Jets fans in the room. Everybody was there on that Sunday with the same spirit and passion, though the die-hards must have felt it much more deeply than myself (hard to imagine, as I was also yelling and jumping around with each crucial down, and demonstratively yelling at Tom Brady every time he was knocked down!)

The fourth quarter was something that an over-the-top Hollywood movie would be jealous of. The tug-of-war which lasted through three quarters seemed to end when Brady finally broke through and dramatically did what he has done all season, leading the Patriots to a fluid, solid drive and the go-ahead touchdown with under 3 minutes left in the game. Then, I don't need to go into hyperbole to describe the Giants final winning drive...

The moment I'll remember most about the fourth quarter was when we all collectively seemed to realize that Plaxico was wide open and Eli was about to loft it up for him. Without looking around the room, I knew that everybody was ecstatically holding their breath, praying inside for Plaxico to not drop it and for there to be no flags on the play. My brother said that he saw my face from across the room as Eli threw it and the look on my face was priceless - sheer ecstasy, even before Plaxico caught it. The celebration that followed the catch was hugging, jumping, yelling, etc... all the way through the next kickoff.

The following morning (aside from being tired from the 2-hour ride home, and about 4 hours of sleep) at work the buzz of the dramatic fourth quarter still stayed with me. Even despite the debacle of five of us being stuck in the elevator throughout halftime, it was an unbelievable memorable experience.

It would be easy for true, hardcore Giants fans to begrudge the casual fans (like myself) and resent them for not staying along on the ride all season and then celebrating with them for the Giants victory, but they did not seem to do so. I would like to thank them (especially Side Bar) for allowing me to share the joy with them in this awesome experience, one that I will never forget.

Pictures forthcoming, when I get home... (and only if they came out ok - the ones I took during the postgame celebrating I was distracted from as champagne was hitting me from across the room!)