Out Of Bounds: Another ELIte Performance

Well this was an interesting weekend, wasn’t it? Not only did we get to see the arrogant Nick Diaz lose to Carlos Condit and throw a childish temper tantrum afterwards at UFC 143, but we got to witness an absolutely amazing Super Bowl on Sunday night that went right down to the wire.

The Giants really couldn’t have started out any better than they did. While they were forced to punt on their first drive, they turned things around in a hurry. Tom Brady had to heave the ball 30 yards away from everybody while getting pressured in the end-zone, which resulted in the game’s first score—a safety. If you were one of those lucky bastards that threw out the crazy 50-to-1 bet that a safety would result in the first score of the game, congratulations. The Giants then strung together a nine-play, 78-yard drive to take a commanding 9-0 lead. At that time, Eli Manning was 9-9 with 71 yards and a touchdown, as he looked fired up and ready to lead the G-Men to another title.

But the Patriots weren’t ready to give up in the first half, as they came back and netted a field-goal shortly after the second quarter began. After three consecutive punts, the Patriots got the ball back with four minutes remaining in the half and Tom Brady did what he’s been doing for years. He completed 10 consecutive passes and absolutely carved up the Giants secondary, as he put together a 14-play, 96-yard drive with only eight seconds remaining. With a 10-9 lead, the Patriots went into the locker room with a ton of momentum, especially because they were going to get the ball back to start the third quarter.

After watching what was probably the strangest piece of television I have ever seen with the halftime show, the Patriots’ momentum carried right into the second half as soon as they stormed out of the gate. Brady was on fire and ran the no-huddle offense right down the Giants’ throats before eventually hitting Aaron Hernandez for a touchdown while breaking the Super Bowl record for most consecutive completions. With the Patriots up 17-9, the Giants replied with back-to-back field goals, putting the game at 17-15 going into the fourth quarter.

New York’s defense stepped up huge in the fourth quarter just when it looked like New England was going to take some time off the clock and put more points on the board. But the Giants weren’t ready to concede, as they forced a punt by the Patriots with 3:46 remaining. Eli proved to be clutch yet again, as he marched the Giants deep into the Patriots territory with the help of Mario Manningham, who emerged for 56 yards on the most important possession of the game. Eventually, Ahmad Bradshaw rushed the ball up the middle for a touchdown, which was a bad score due to the time they left on the clock for Brady to counter.

With almost a minute left in the friggin’ Super Bowl, you absolutely do NOT want to give the ball back to Brady. He’s proven time and time again that he can lead his team to a victory without much time remaining. After converting a 4th-and-16, Brady still had a chance to win the game. He launched the ball roughly 50 yards into the end-zone for a last-ditch effort, though his prayers couldn’t be answered with the Hail Mary. Instead, Eli led the Giants to another championship and won his second Super Bowl MVP.

While I absolutely can’t stand either team (especially the Patriots), this was one of the most entertaining games I’ve watched in some time. My heart was beating out of my chest in anticipation of how it was going to end. Justin Tuck rushed Tom Brady constantly and Jason Pierre-Paul batted down many of his passes. They combined to put on an all-around great performance and while the Giants were only 9-7 in the regular season, they proved that it doesn’t matter what happens in the regular season so long as you get it together towards the end of the year. Eli’s legacy is now etched in stone and if he continues to perform at even an average level, he’ll be enshrined in Canton along with his older brother, Peyton.

A few last tidbits I took away from the night of the Super Bowl: Madonna’s lip-synching performance was awful, there were WAY too many commercials for cars, and the brand new Bud Light Platinum that was featured is incredible. The only thing that infuriated me was seeing The Cult’s epic hit “She Sells Sanctuary” in a Budweiser ad mixed with some rap song by a guy named Flo Rida (Florida?). Seriously, who thought that it would be a good idea to take such a classic song and have some rapper that you can hardly understand sing instead of Ian Astbury? Besides that the game was an absolute classic and it was enjoyable for just about everyone, even the casual football fan. Better luck next year, New England.