Will the empire Srike Back (thoughts on the Giants Patriots Super Bowl)

Sadly, the Giants made it into the Super Bowl. They will face the Patriots. As a Cowboys fan, I am happy the NFC East has a representative in the Big Dance. After all, the NFC East used to be the best and toughest division of the NFL. This year, the NFC East finished second to the AFC South. Of course, all teams in the NFC East played New England so perhaps the overall divisional records are somewhat deceiving. I just wish it was the Cowboys in the Super Bowl instead of a team I despise.

A New York, New England Super Bowl has more significance than just two teams. Yankee fans had to endure yet another disappointing season capped off by their bitter rivals, the Red Sox, winning a World Series again. As a Red Sox fan who watched many Yankees World Series wins, I know how painful that can be. But now they have the chance for revenge. Once again, New York and Massachusetts square off, only this time, it is for all the marbles. In baseball, the Yankees and Red Sox can only square off in what amounts to the semi-final. For a while, it appeared as though the Red Sox might square off against the Mets in a rematch of the 1986 World Series. But while the Yankees fizzled against Cleveland, the Mets didn’t even make it to the post season thanks to one of the most epic, if not the most epic, collapses in Major League Baseball history. And just when New Yorkers were getting through the latter stages of grief, they realized their basketball team was the Isaiah Thomas coached Knicks. It was back to the beginning of the five stages after that.

As if that were not bad enough, the Boston Celtics exploded out of the ruins of the past two decades to post one of the best starts in NBA history. The Celtics are a force again, while the Knicks are a farce.

All this can change if the Giants manage to spoil New England’s bid for the only 19-0 record in NFL history. They know if they beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl, the pats and their fans will run to the nearest bridge from which to throw themselves off. A loss would be devastating for New England, ruining their first 18 wins. New York can extract sweet revenge. This game is not just about two football teams, it is about a normally dominant city suddenly finding itself submerged by its rival Boston. New York is to Boston in the sports world, what Rome was to the Germans. For centuries Rome dominated. Their will was law. They enslaved and prospered and went from strength to strength. Then suddenly, seemingly without warning, they were rocked to their very core. The Barbarians arrived, the ones they used to dominate and enslaved, only now, it was the Barbarians who won all the battles, and took all the treasure. It was the Barbarians who called the shots and dictated how the Romans should conduct themselves.

In two weeks, the Empire has the chance to strike back and erase the futility which it has experienced for the entirety of the 21st century. It is fitting that the empire faces the rebels who have swept all before them. New York and Massachusetts square off in the biggest game of all. Actually, however, New England is not just Massachusetts. New England comprises a number of small states which band together to support the New England teams. New England is, then, an alliance of states which oppose New York. New England is the Rebel Alliance.

In 2004, the Death Star Yankees were just about to destroy the rebel base. The Yankees started their firing sequence. The Red Sox comeback was just as miraculous as Luke Skywalker firing that proton torpedo at the right angle without the aid of his navigational computer. The Yankees exploded and haven’t been the same since. From then on, the Rebel Alliance was more than a mere annoyance to the Empire, it was a real threat. The destruction of the 2004 Death Star was followed by more rebel alliance triumphs as the empire struggled to regain supremacy.

If the Empire wins, Pats fans will have to endure their 18-1 2007 team being mentioned as the greatest choke job in the history of football. If the Patriots win, New York will live for decades, possibly even centuries, being reminded of the only 19-0 team in NFL history, and of how six of those 19 wins came against teams from New York, two against the Jets, two against the Bills, and most important of all, two against the Giants. No matter what happens, one set of fans will be sent screaming into sports hell for all eternity. It just doesn’t’ get any better than this!

For the record, and as a Cowboys fan, may the Rebels prevail! My prediction, New England 41, New York 13.

Reflections on the 2007 Dallas Cowboys

Another season comes and goes and the Cowboys will once again watch the super bowl on TV. This year, the end of the team’s season is even more disappointing because the Cowboys were 13-3 during the regular season and were the top seed in the NFC. And now it’s gone, and what makes this pill even more difficult to swallow is the Giants are the ones who tossed us out after the Cowboys nailed them twice during the regular season. Congratulations to the Giants. We will fight again next year and may the Cowboys extract revenge. Who knows, perhaps we will. I do take comfort in two things, though, after this disaster. First, the Giants and their fans will almost certainly be feeling our pain next week. As much as they were the better team today, I cannot see them defeating Green Bay on the frozen tundra. And even if they did somehow, the Patriots would smash their guts out in the Super Bowl. I don’t care that their first meeting ended 38-35. Once the Patriots shifted gears, the Giants were blown away, scoring their last touchdown only in garbage time. But Giants fans are better off than Cowboys fans now and there is no denying this. Second, Colts fans are probably more in shock than we are. It is nice to know someone else is in as much pain as we are. Misery loves company. Sure the Colts can remember last year’s Super Bowl win, but to lose at home to a Chargers team minus their starting quarterback and superstar running back has got to hurt. It will be interesting if Payton manning receives as much criticism as Tony Romo. Both quarterbacks los by four points while playing at home with 13-3 teams behind them. For the record, I’m glad we have Romo and I think we have a quarterback who we can count on for years to come. Even Roger Staubach could not bring the team back all the time.

Despite all the frustration and disappointment, though, we have had many good times this year. For most of the season, our offense was one of the most exciting and dynamic in NFL history, just not when we needed it most. We had a number of comeback wins that would do Roger Staubach proud. Who can forget the miracle in buffalo? I was on Crete at the time, in the middle of nowhere listening to Brad sham on the radio via the internet. My internet time was running out and in fact, time ran out just when the Cowboys were called for a penalty on that last drive. I ran down to the lobby at 5:30 in the morning (I was on Greece time) to buy more internet time. When I got back I expected to read about the loss, only to discover that amazing 25-24 win. Our first match against the Redskins came down to the wire with the defense holding on in that one. We were also pleasantly surprised when, early in the season, we smoked Chicago, the defending NFC champions, in their own house. We didn’t know at the time they wouldn’t make the playoffs.

We saw one of the most amazing quarterback scrambles of all time when Romo picked up an errant shotgun snap 33 yards behind the line of scrimmage and turned that disaster into a four yard gain, and we saw Marion Barber slip away from the entire Patriots team to avoid a safety. We saw the Cowboys make Adrian Peterson look like a mortal after his monster game the week before. We saw Jason Witten tie and NFL record for catches by a tight end in a game, his last in that game giving the Cowboys a 28-27 thrilling win against a Detroit team desperate to stay alive.

Yes, our season ended in frustration, but we could have been the Dolphins, Saints, Bears, Vikings, Lions, Bills, 49ers, Cardinals and a host of other teams. For that matter, we could have been the Colts, who are probably more stunned than we are right now. A few years ago, we were the Cardinals, Dolphins and Falcons. We had three 5-11 seasons in a row. Thanks to this year’s Cowboys, we had some good times and wild rides. Who knows what the future holds. If Owens and Glenn can perform at a high level next year, being a year older, then the Cowboys should contend again. Hopefully, we’ll get some good draft picks and a special teams which actually knows how to contain a return. Maybe the Cowboys are like the Colts in Dungy’s early years, always close, but never quite there. Last year, they arrived, and perhaps with a little luck, we’ll arrive next year. I do not think we’ll pull a Chicago and completely lose it next year.

As for this year, I’m hoping the Patriots go 19-0. I was around when the ’72 Dolphins went 17-0 and it would be nice to see that mark beaten.