COLUMN: NFL 2012 champion is too difficult to pick
I was 13 when I sat in my living room and began watching the pregame for Super Bowl XXXVI. Jimmy Kimmel had just done a comedy spot about how much money it costs to buy ad space during the Super Bowl and did a whole bit about “wasting $2 million of Fox’s money,” just before making his game prediction inside the stadium. His pick was a shocker, as he went with the Patriots.
The Jumbotron behind him flashed “Really?” and he reconfirmed he was going with the New England underdog, led by some scrappy newcomer named Tom Brady over the overwhelmingly favored St. Louis Rams. It was as bold and odd as his quirky sense of humor, and what was even more strange, he was right — the Patriots hung on, despite Kurt Warner’s 365 passing yards, and pulled off a miracle championship win off of Adam Vinateri’s foot.
At the time I couldn’t have been happier. I’m from L.A., home of the former Los Angeles Rams before one-sided owner Georgia Frontier didn’t see eye to eye with SoCal and snuck the team to St. Louis seemingly out the back door.
The Rams’ organization left a bad taste in my mouth, along with my family and friends who suddenly had no football team to support, and we were ecstatic when a “nobody” quarterback who was drafted after 198 other prospects kept the Warner, Frontier and the returning champions quiet. For a brief moment I was a Pats fan.
It’s been a decade of dominant footballs times, near misses, alleged taping of games and a wild pass that seems to glue itself to David Tyree’s helmet, and tides have turned. In a few short years, the charming underdog has become the perennial favorite and facing a team praying for a “New York miracle” in Indianapolis on Sunday.
The correlations between that game in 2002 and Super Bowl XLVI this Sunday are pretty uncanny, the most namely of such is the pairing of a high-octane, nearly unstoppable offense and an ever-questioned quarterback who has something to prove in an effort to lift him to elite status.
In all my years of priding myself on being an expert analyst and a master predictor — at least in my head — this may be the toughest pick I have ever laid out.
Stats, players and matchups don’t determine the winner in this case; it simply comes down to who the football gods back up at the right time. It comes down to the heart, the spectacle and which story makes more sense to come true. Is it time for the Patriots, who are pseudo-lacking their best offensive threat in Rob Gronkowski, to reclaim a throne that has been theirs for most of the last decade, or an all-around deceptively dangerous team, on all sides of the ball, who believe beyond all odds they can slay the giant because they’ve done it twice in the last four years?
I went through all the numbers and couldn’t make a pick, outlined every scenario and couldn’t make a pick; I even flipped a coin and didn’t feel comfortable. I’m close to picking Madonna to win the thing. My only real argument is that it’s been 10 years since the game-changing Patriots made their mark, and it’s only natural that it comes full circle, because that’s just how sports work.
It’s in that respect I am looking for the Giants to make the right move at the right time and give Brady night terrors from here to retirement.
Giants 31, Patriots 24
I may be wrong in this game, but only one claim is true: After an exuberantly exciting season, the NFL has officially survived the lockout. Football heals all wounds.
– Steve Schwartzman is a junior majoring in communication studies. He has had just about every job in sports writing, including blogs, analysis, statistics and fantasy football tips, but especially loves making bold picks. Think you can outpick Steve? Let him know: steve.schwartzman@aggiemail.usu.edu.