As the AFC Championship occurred, the worst of the worst happened. From the time-span of 3:30 PM to 7:00 PM, Colts fans were on their seats, just hoping that the Baltimore Ravens can stop the New England Patriots from entering Indianapolis for this year's Super Bowl.
Billy Cundiff ruined it. After he missed the potential game-tying field goal, it was all over. The Patriots are coming to Indianapolis are going to play for a Super Bowl title on the house Peyton Manning built: Lucas Oil Stadium.
Not a good year for Colts fans. And it will be the worst ever, at least for me by far, for an NFL season this year if the Patriots win it all.
Which is why many are rooting for the Big Blue New York Giants, with their tough defense and clutch quarterback (yes, he's clutch) Eli Manning. As you remember, the Giants were able to win it all, thanks to a miscue by Kyle Williams on San Fran's side, as he dropped the ball during a punt return. With that, New York completed a victory in the NFC Championship and Candlestick Park with the game-winning field goal set by Lawrence Tynes.
With this, we are now in for another Super Bowl rematch, this time from a fabulous game from 2007. As you all remember, the 10-6 Giants were able to knock off the 16-0 Patriots in the big show. And this season feels much like it.
I mean, New York enters at 10-6 and goes with huge surprises in the playoffs. All of a sudden, their running game is back again with their one-two punch of Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw. They have their own new sets of receivers different from the magical group of 2007 that featured Plaxico Burress, Amani Toomer, Kevin Boss, and David Tyree. This season, they have Hakeem Nicks, Mario Manningham, Victor Cruz, and Jake Ballard.
As for the Patriots, Tom Brady has been hot this season with the Pats' riding as the number one seed, knocking off teams like it's nothing in the playoffs. Brady also has a new, unstoppable target who his much different than Randy Moss: Ron Gronkowski. Not to mention the others like Aaron Hernandez, Wes Welker, BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Danny Woodhead, and Deion Branch.
For me, I just want the Giants to win. And I've already explained it enough. For me, I was rooting for a San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens Super Bowl matchup. I was going for a Harbaugh-Bowl, but of course, the Patriots ruin it like other stories (hint: Tim Tebow).
But I don't think this Super Bowl is gonna have more of an impact than it will for Peyton Manning. No matter who wins, this whole season has been a nightmare for the four-time MVP. I mean, he has already missed the season and his future is still in question. Indianapolis has a chance of letting him go on March 8th, and it adds more drama with Andrew Luck involved as the Colts hold the number one pick of the draft.
But not only that: there's also the Super Bowl match-up. It will be his arch-rival and his little brother playing for a Super Bowl....on his turf. And it won't look too good for him if either one wins. Take a look.
If Tom Brady wins, he will get his fourth ring. This starts bringing up the Manning-Brady discussion again, which I thought ended after how the Colts ended up after the season was over. Honestly, rings are a team thing to me, but of course, ESPN is going to be doing stuff like that. In fact, they will just compare Brady to Joe Montana. It just doesn't look good.
However, if Eli Manning wins, it's a different story. I mean, it's a good thing and I know Peyton will be cheering for his bro, but it will be extremely awkward if Eli wins. Why? If he wins, he has more rings than his big brother. Everyone is gonna be like "Look now, Peyton will now be considered Eli's brother." Not only that, we'll have ESPN debating on who is the better quarterback: Peyton or Eli? They'll also compare who is better in the playoffs, because if Eli wins, his record will be 8-3 in the post-season. Manning is 9-10 in the post-season.
It will just be crazy. Honestly, if you look at it correctly, Peyton is better. You just can't say a four-time MVP who was basically his whole team, along with amazing stats, is worse than Eli or Tom. I think Peyton is the best QB in NFL history.
But it's going to happen.
Hence, this could be Peyton Manning's worse nightmare.
And it has just begun.
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