My Blue Heaven

This time around, the Giants play the giant-killers. And the part of Goliath, aka Kurt Warner, aka Earl Morrall, will be played by Tom Brady.

Eli Manning is in much the same situation Tom Brady faced after the 2001 season, three super bowl rings and two supermodels ago. Back then the Brady was the unproven phenom on the rise, facing huge odds against the offensive juggernaut Rams. Now Page Six Tom is the establishment.

Thus the upside for Manning this year is that much higher, as the juggernaut Pats he is facing are Pursuing Perfection. Unprecedented all-time glory is there for the taking – or at the very least the biggest glory since lamb chops Namath in SB III.

Plus, every decent American not afflicted with Patriotitis is rooting for the Jints. “Unless you’re a cheater-loving chowderhead” is how the loveable NY Post drew the battle lines in this morning’s paper, including their political style USA mockup with the continental US all in blue save the New England states, including the classic halving of Connecticut down the CT river. Clearly the Post editors has some lingering Yankee bitterness to expunge, and lest they get too caught up in their us vs. them mentality, I’d like to remind them not to exclude Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and Western Samoa who I understand all are blue as well.

There were so many bright spots in an absolute classic NFC Championship Game at Lambeau. Plaxico times three great catches in the first half, laying out tipping balls to himself, domination over the Packers corner Al Harris. The ageless Amani Toomer’s tiptoe act, touching a single blade of grass with each toe before going out of bounds. And you had to applaud Coughlin’s handling of the two pronged running attack. After the Packers got punched in the mouth by the bruising Brandon Jacobs, Ahamad Bradshaw would come in with a whole other gear and knife through the secondary for 10+ yards.

Sure there was plenty of bad play and bad luck. None worse than McQuarters Fumble #1, which lodged itself in the stomach of wayward Packers lineman Mark Tauscher to preserve the possession within the red zone on the way to a TD. But listen, Domenick Hixon seemed to have radar tracking on the ball amongst a sea of green jerseys while recovering McQuarters Fumble #2, and then you had Corey Webster in the right place and not dropping Brett Favre’s interception in OT. And of course one good kick out of three.

And that shows me enough game plan, enough game-ready performances and enough luck to believe the Giants won’t embarrass me when I prepare to make The Greatest Prediction in the History of Sports in one sentence from now. The Giants will win Super Bowl XLII.

Editors Note: That would come exactly one year to the day from the current Greatest Prediction Ever, which was my call of a return TD by Devin Hester on the last Super Bowl's opening play. More on that this week when I return with this years edition of my Super Bowl Magic Moments.