Thoughts On Superbowl XLII
Our time-machine broke down and we didn't get to see the best part of the game!
It seemed like a common enough, simple enough plan. We went to our friends' house to watch the NFL championship game with them. They've got a new baby, and post-game travel for them is harder than for us (the kids formerly in our house are grown and out the door). Additionally, we've got two overly friendly dogs that may or may not mix with football, babies, and mom who doesn't much care for dogs.
Easy enough, we brought the pizza and an appetizer, they provided the jumbotron television, snacks, and drinks. We arrived a little early, after noticing that kick-off wasn't at 6PM as previously thought, but nearly 43 minutes earlier. The wife-part of our couple friends had run a quick errand, so we used the power of time-shifting to pause the football action until she returned. We also waited after her return to allow the women-folk time to prepare the food (they told us guys to get out of the way), and deal with the just waking-up offspring.
Thanks to the Digital Video Recorder, anyone's entertainment center can become part of a time machine. Start watching a show and at times you deem necessary, pause the action, and pick it up later. As long as you don't change the channel, get interrupted by other input such as an annoying neighbor running down the street shouting the final score, or someone snooping the Internet, your confined space allows the perceived reality shift that lets the otherwise live action happen on your schedule.
When the food was ready and the child fed, everyone gathered and we started watching the action. The consensus was to root for the Giants for a variety of reasons, the least of which is that our hometown Vikings had earlier defeated the team and this victory would in some circles of logic show that the Vikings are indeed a top-notch team, and the next-to-least of which is that the Giants were representing the NFC, the conference in which the Vikings also play. There were other factors such as the Manning brothers winning consecutive Superbowls, the defeat of the otherwise undefeated Patriots, the rematch of the last regular season game pitting the Giants against the Patriots, and the near Cinderella-story of the Giants trek to victory or David-versus-Goliath feel of taking the Patriots down when it counted.
The first quarter and first plays of the second quarter set up most of the game. The Giants trek most of the way down the field, taking an apparent Superbowl record with three first-down conversions in an opening drive (really?), but leave the field with just a field goal. First blood and all that; at least it wasn't a punt. The Patriots take the remaining time of the first quarter and the first bit of the second quarter to return down the end of the field, taking advantage of a potentially questionable foul to score a touchdown, bringing them to the 7-3 lead they'd carry for the bulk of the game.
The next half of football play, from middle of the second quarter to the middle of the fourth quarter, there was a lot of good football played. Both teams went down a little, but not enough. The Giants held the Patriots to few or no yards, and even forced three-and-outs of long negative yards. No one could score, though.
Late in the fourth quarter, the Giants again score, this time a touch-down, taking a quick 10-7 lead.
"The game isn't over yet," was proclaimed many times by us spectators and the announcers on the tube.
Now, this is where the time machine breakdown begins.
