Surfing the Inner N8

Insights & Outsights from a Guy Trying to Follow Jesus

Super Bowl–Hey, What’s Up With the Roman Numerals, Anyway?

What a Super Bowl!  It was an amazing game.  Probably the best defensive Super Bowl game I’ve seen.  Only problem was the outcome.  Two facts haunt me:

  • The Giants won the Super Bowl.  The Giants?!?  Are you kidding me?  What happened to all the talk about the Packers, the Cowboys, the Patriots, even the Colts?  It bugs me that a team that Dallas beat out in their division by three games–and beat twice!–won the Super Bowl.  It bugs me that the team  that knocked Dallas out of the playoffs after such a great season won the Super Bowl.
  • It just doesn’t seem right that a team can have the best season in NFL history… and lose the Super Bowl!  To go 18-0 and then lose the Super Bowl with 35 seconds left in the game just doesn’t seem right.  I watched the game with my father-in-law, who’s a big Pats fan, and I felt bad for him even though he’s got that cool New England nonchalance about him.  I can’t imagine having my team dominate the whole season until the last 35 seconds of the Super Bowl.  Mm mm mm (insert slow head shake).
  • Okay, a third haunting fact: Daryl is a Giants fan.  And I’m spending about 10 hours with him today.

A few cool things about it though:

  • It’s pretty cool having a guy lead his team to win the Super Bowl one year, and having his younger–and much less touted–brother win it with the underdog team the following year.  I have to admit it was kinda neat watching Peyton’s reaction up in his box to that last-second touchdown.
  • The Giants earned it in the postseason.  Beating the Cowboys, Packers, and Patriots all in a row… unbelievable.  No team in history has ever played on the road like they did.  Overcoming an 0-2 start to go all the way is pretty impressive.  And the way their defense played last night, especially the way they dominated the best quarterback in the league, along with his offensive line, was downright inspiring.
  • I always enjoy seeing a New York athlete silence his critics.  What’ve you got to say about Eli now?
  • The Super Bowl we watched couldn’t compete with the super bowl of chili & nachos I had.  Carolyn’s mom hooked us up with some serious nachoage–complete with avocados!  And Carolyn made some spicy chicken BBQ stuff to also go on nachos.  It was most delectable.  And the chocolate cake… there just ain’t no words fer it.

Even so, I look forward to a Cowboys-Patriots rematch in next year’s Super Bowl, since it didn’t happen this time.  (Press the “Comments” link below to leave a sneering remark.)

(By the way, I’d offer up a link to an article on the game, but I can’t find one worth linking to.)

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Nathan Hyde

I’m a Christ follower in Ocean Pines, Maryland. After God, my wife, and daughter, my favorite things are my students, Mexican food, reading, and Orioles baseball.

3 responses to “Super Bowl–Hey, What’s Up With the Roman Numerals, Anyway?”

  1. Christi

    Great game. I mean, GREAT game. Eli played so well, as did the Giants defense, and they just plain out-played the Pats. Having said that, you can’t take away from their stellar, record-breaking season. It was a great year in football all around, and makes being a fan so much fun.

    My favorite moment of the game? When “Manning, not known as a scrambler, broke free of the Patriots’ pass rush, scrambled to his right and made an incredible 32-yard completion to David Tyree with 59 seconds left in regulation.” (quote from espn.com). When Eli came out of the pile standing, I thought “that play changes the course of this game”.

    Man, what a good game.

  2. Judy

    Nathan,

    At the end, in an on-screen interview the football player was indeed thanking God for his team’s success!

    That was the best part!

    Judy

  3. Nathan Hyde

    Yeah, Eli’s play up the middle was definitely the key play. I still can’t believe he escaped!

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