Josh Koehn and Andrew Matheson determine who will win Super Bowl
XLII, the New England Patriots or New York Giants. Their reasons
might surprise you.
Andrew Matheson: Okay, I’ll admit the Patriots aren’t playing as well as they were earlier this season. Tom Brady is banged up. Eli Manning is playing out of his gourd. New York is the new black. Gisele Bundchen is Brady’s Yoko. The Manning’s have New England’s number.
If I omitted any other reasons as to why the New York football Giants will win Sunday in Super Bowl ex-el-i-i, I apologize.
Josh Koehn: No, I think you did an excellent job of proving my point for me. The Giants will win. ‘Nuff said.
AM: Not so fast. The fact is, the media will always build up the underdog because either A): They want you to watch the game in order to boost ratings, or B): It makes for a more compelling argument when you pick the underdog, in this case, the Giants.
If I sat here and told you why the Patriots will demolish New York on Sunday, casual fans might be less inclined to watch the Super Bowl. If I sat here and told you why the Patriots will win the Super Bowl, you’ll probably stop reading because they’re the favorite – they’re supposed to win.
JK: I think most people have already stopped reading.
AM: Agreed.
JK: I wrote a column a few weeks back that quarterback play decides close matchups in the NFL. Eli Manning and the Giants were playing in Tampa Bay against Jeff Garcia. I took age and experience over, uh, beauty. I underestimated Manning and each week since it’s become harder to do so. The Giants have played better than any team in the playoffs, even New England, and they have the right pieces to give the Patriots serious problems.
AM: They’ve played “better” than every team in the NFC, a D-League of sorts for the NFL. The fact is, the Pats have Brady, who can will his team to a win, as he has done in three previous Super Bowls. Eli Manning is too young and fresh-faced to stare Bill Belichick in the eye/lens and not blink.
But I’m a Patriots fan, so no matter how compelling a pro-Giants stance would be, I just can’t write it. I’m sorry. It’s the easier route to take, I know, and it would allow me to be a stirrer of pots, but I just can’t do it.
JK: I stir pots like I’m running a sports soup kitchen. But I genuinely believe the Giants can take this game. They’re playing at a higher level right now, and that’s the most important thing. Plaxico Burress at receiver and the Giant’s defensive line need to make five big plays to make it happen. (Why five? Because five makes it sound official. Look at any magazine cover of what you need to so to lose weight.)
AM: The Patriots are the better team, and the fact that they’re not playing as well compared to earlier this season, or are more vulnerable now, is a statement that is completely moot. Yes, the Patriots aren’t scoring 52 points a game as they were in Weeks 8 and 11. But if you think back to when New England won three Super Bowls, they weren’t scoring 52 points then either. Can’t we just agree on the fact that even at their worst, the Patriots are still the best?
JK: Let me answer your question with a question. Ever heard of a little thing called karma? The best example I could ever give you of karma coming back to haunt a team would be a group of people who cheated, ran up the score on opponents and never suffered defeat, only to lose the championship. Forget stirring – you can sit on it, Potsie.
AM: Ahhh, you media types are always living in the past. Everyone was using cameras. It was the cool thing to do then.
The Pats should be terrifying to any and all Giants fans. Opposing teams have found a way to break down certain key areas of the Patriots in the playoffs, and yet, they’re still too good to lose.
Pats 38, G-Men 17.
JK: I think I speak for all sports fans, Beantown boosters aside, when I say it’s time the Boston Sports scene took a hit.
G-Men 34, Pats 31.
