Although I hate the Giants-I hate the smug, arrogant Pats even worse and jumped for joy when I saw the Pats get beat-also-a lot of know it all sportscasters got egg on their face when their darling Patriots lost.

Cheaters never prosper

You can't give this item anything less than a five, as it was probably one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history (and a very entertaining game at that). At the end of the day, this game was a battle of two excellent defenses. Neither offense did anything particularly remarkable.

The Patriot offense in the first half of the season was high powered, but the turning point for this team came when they played Philadelphia back in November. The Eagles figured out that by constantly blitzing Brady and double-teaming Randy Moss that you can make the game close enough to win. New England beat Philadelphia, but it was a close victory that was aided by Eagles QB A.J. Feeley's tendency to make untimely interceptions. Yet, after that, most of the teams that played the Patriots replicated that strategy with success; indeed, they never covered the point spread after the Philadelphia game. Before that, they were beating teams consistently by a 20+ point margin and Brady consistently passed for 4 touchdowns a game. Most of the games they played in December and through the playoffs were close affairs. Some of that can be attributed to bad weather, but their offense was never the same after the Philadelphia game.

The Patriot defense also started showing its age down the stretch, and that became especially apparent in the Super Bowl. Simply put, the Giants defense was able to consistently apply pressure against the Patriots offensive line. It also helped that Brady was playing with an injured ankle; that affected how he threw the ball and his ability to maneuver inside the pocket. I think that a completely healthy Patriots team would have beaten the Giants. Still, it was a great game.

He he he. So far this is one of my favorite stories.

This sums up my feelings on the matter:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fko26iTduWY

UPDATE: Also, I must say that I think the Patriots must feel like a guy that just went on the perfect date and didn't score at the end...

Certainly a huge sports story for all the right reasons- and the NY media market will insure its staying power. . .

The Super Bowl is one of the biggest stories every year in American sports. Throw in a potentially undefeated team with a quarterback who has crossed over to a pop-culture icon, and this year has an even bigger draw. The game was close and the underdog won, which is always a popular Super Bowl plot.

You had to be at least somewhat fearful of this game if you were a Pats fan.  The Giants just win two huge games, knocking off two of the league's powerhouses back to back at their homes - Dallas and Green Bay - and their defense was out to kill people.  Combine that with really a lackluster finish to the season and playoffs by the Pats compared to how they started, and you've got yourself a game.  Granted, the Patriots still should have won that game, Eli and crew pulled a couple rabbits out of their hats that they didn't even think they had during that last drive, but give them credit - Brady had absolutely little shot of getting any drives going with that pressure the D threw at them all day.