The rest of my day is going to occupied with pre-game festivities, halftime shows, and an unknown amount of high fat munchies. Oh, and there’s some football game going on today too.
My official Super Bowl XLII prediction is that the New York Giants will upset the New England Patriots, ending the game in regulation with a final score of 33-27. This will put a serious damper on the Patriots’ undefeated regular season, but my prediction can be broken down into three core factors.
1. The New York Giants have nothing to lose: Everyone is fully expecting that the Tom Brady and Bill Belichick machine will stomp all over the Giants, so it means that the latter really have nothing to lose. They can take a lot more chances, coming heavy on the blitz, trying trick plays on offense… whatever it takes to win. If you thought the Pats had a lot of pressure on Week 17 of the regular season, imagine how much pressure they’re feeling today.
2. The Patriots have not dominated the playoffs: This might be a slight change in philosophy, but during the NFL regular season, the Patriots were known to absolutely demolish their opponents, effectively beating teams by well over 20 points. By contrast, Brady had a less than stellar performance against the San Diego Chargers in the AFC Championship game. If it wasn’t for Laurence Maroney, the Pats might not have won and thus, might not have made it to Super Bowl XLII.
3. The Giants are riding a lot of momentum: The Patriots may be 18-0, but the Giants are riding a ten-game road winning streak, and the Super Bowl is just another road game. Also, have a look at the path that New York had to take to get to today’s game. Everyone expected the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to beat them. Everyone expected the Dallas Cowboys to beat them. Everyone expected the Green Bay Packers (in a ridiculously cold game) to beat them. And today, everyone is expecting the Pats to beat them. Somehow, it seems like the odds are almost in their favor when the Giants are the underdogs. Eli Manning has matured greatly and he’s finally emerged from his older brother’s shadow.
Mark my words. The Giants are winning Super Bowl XLII.
I bet on Giants. Place your bets, people!
You predicted correctly! It was a pretty exciting finish, and this is coming from a guy who is not an NFL crazed maniac! 😉
looks like you were right…
Nice prediction! I thought the Giants would cover the spread but I didn’t think they would pull out the victory.
The Giants defense was dominating and in the face of Brady all day. Very entertaining game.