Superbowl opinion - Part I

So, upset or no upset?

Clearly, an upset. All bets were on the Patriots winning the game (though apparently not all bets were actually on the Pats - bookmakers were giving them winner by a 14-point margin and the majority of betters chose to put their money on the Giants, assuming that even if they got beat, it would be by a smaller margin), the first team to go through a 16-game regular season undefeated and probably one of the top 5 offensive team in league history.

The real question for me is: surprise or no surprise?

The answer for me is a no. Taking someone by surprise is defined a taking him unaware. If anyone thinks the Patriots were not aware of the potential of this Giants team, they are seriously deluding themselves. The week 17 games was one of the three games in the regular season that New England won by a margin of only 3 points (Philadelphia and Baltimore being the other two in week 12 & 13 respectively - the Colts game was an easy one, won by a huge margin of 4 points!) and the Giants scored more points than any other team did this year, including pre- and postseason.

As Strahan so emphatically said right after the game, that defeat in week 17 made the team believe that they were capable of playing in the same league as the undefeated Patriots and probably gave them a mental edge as they went on to seek revenge for that defeat.

Postseason results were also a clear indicator of form. The Patriots had to beat Jacksonville and San Diego to reach the Superbowl; solid teams both of them, but hardly contenders for the championship. On the other hand, the Giants had to defeat Tampa Bay (same comment as above applies here), then Dallas and Green Bay, two very good team who clearly had a shot at the Superbowl. Furthermore, the Giants seemed to gain in confidence with every match whereas the Patriots seemed to be a team completely different than the one who played so brilliantly throughout the season.

So great upset for the Giants, congratulations to the team and their fans, but I am more disappointed than surprised by New England's defeat. Not that I am a fan of the Patriots (though I was a fan of their pass-only approach), but I would have loved to witness history since I was not even born in 1972 when the Dolphins became the first and only team to this date to go through a season undefeated.

But there is only one person to blame for this defeat: why did coach Belichick wear a red sweater instead of his lucky gray one?