How to be a Passionate Underdog

If you were one of the millions who watched the Super Bowl on February 3, you were treated to a lesson in perseverance and determination. The underrated New York Giants beat the powerhouse New England Patriots 17-14 and put their hopes of a perfect season to a crushing end. You could see it in the faces of veterans like Tedy Bruschi and Junior Seau - complete disbelief. Talk about shock and awe! The Giants quite simply wanted this more, and played with a passion that gives hope to underdogs everywhere. This was one of those games that make you fall in love with the NFL all over again (or start your courtship)! For those of you who missed it, the most passionate plays were:

The catch by Amani Toomer: Determined to give his team the first down, this veteran receiver kept aware of where his feet were and made a beautiful 38-yard catch in the second quarter. Of course, the only Eli Manning interception of the game soon followed when Steve Smith couldn’t hold on to one, but that didn’t deter the G-Men.

The winning TD by Plaxico Burress: with a simple lob from Eli Manning, he was underestimated by Ellis Hobbs and scored the game-winning touchdown with only about 39 seconds left.

But the play of the game was earlier in the final 4th quarter scoring drive:

It was 3rd and 5 to go and Eli Manning took the snap in the shotgun and looked like he would certainly be sacked. Not so – he showed what a passionate player he is and avoided the take down. Even more impressive was the desperation pass that followed by an exponentially more exciting circus catch by David Tyree.

So yes, NFL fans, we must take Eli Manning seriously now. I take back everything that I said about him earlier this year. Heck, I am almost past his high-maintenance draft day shenanigans. He really deserves credit since he mounted an exceptional post season and showed he could deliver when it counts. Maybe now he’ll get more speaking parts in commercials!