Looking for the Unexpected in Super Sunday

With a handful of exceptions, I don’t believe in G.O.A.Ts.

Except for boxing, I don’t believe in the idea that one match or game completely defines a legacy.

In all sports, I don’t believe in the thought that a single play is the difference between winning and losing.

Yet, all of that seems to counter the one phenomenon that helps make the Super Bowl the pinnacle of single-day sporting events in the world; the ‘unsung hero’.

Football is considered the ultimate team sport, but for the millions of viewers who only watch the NFL’s championship game after avoiding all others in the last five months, you’re forgiven if you only know about a handful of players. However, the true narrative of football is created from the mix of the "must see" and the “who in the world is that?” As prognosticators and pop culture vultures keep the glaring spotlight on the established stars, it’s important also consider the obscure, the unknown and the unexpected players that could shine in Super Bowl XLVI.

From the Giants side, at this point, there are so many names that have entered the national conscious that to call anyone unsung would be reaching. Eli. Cruz. Nicks. Bradshaw. Jacobs. Osi. Tuck. JPP. Even Lawrence Tynes is a known commodity as his foot officially punched Super Bowl tickets twice in four years.

The most likely of the ‘unexpected’ may come from their defense as it has and always will go as far as their interior linemen play. Sure, the Giants are the only team in the NFL that can rotate five starting caliber defensive ends – Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora, Jason Pierre-Paul, the unsung Dave Tollefson and converted linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka. However, to a man, each will tell you that nothing happens without players in the middle. In fact, New York rotates their interior players as well, albeit without much fanfare.

New York Giants' Chris Canty (via Detroit Free Press)

Chris Canty and Bronx-born Rocky Bernard – both who joined the Giants as free agents after the 2009 season – join second-year tackle Linval Joseph in applying pressure on the inside by taking on the center and offensive guards. Because New York employs a 4-3 defense, interior tackles don’t get the attention as they do in a 3-4 setup. There’s a reason why you know of Haloti Ngata, Ndamakong Suh and New England’s own mastodon, Vince Wilfork; they move rather large men backwards equally as well, if not better than they perform their primary job of taking up space.

These guys aren’t sack artists and they excel mostly at slowing opposing rushing offenses – or at least forcing running backs to run on the outside for more room. What they are, however, are players that gave the Patriots’ offensive line fits back in November. If the defense performs to expectations en route to a win, those higher profile ends like Tuck and Umenyiora will immediately credit their teammates on the inside. As they should.

On the flip side, the entire team outside of Tom Brady, Wes Welker, Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez and the aforementioned Wilfork seem to be anonymous to non-Patriots fans. It’s the M.O. of New England; throw a bunch of guys out there and let Bill Belichick sort them out. And that’s the best way to describe how this franchise has reached its fifth Super Bowl in ten years.

Understanding that, is it possible that the unexpected performance come from The Law Firm?

BenJarvus Green-Ellis of New England (via Yahoo! Sports)

It may sound absurd to consider BenJarvus Green-Ellis as some sort of a sleeper, though he’s not exactly incapable of running the ball. The major story with him is well-earned; no fumbles in his four-year career, though to be fair, he’s not asked to be the Patriots’ bellwether. After all, New England doesn’t demand much from its running game – a contrast from their opponents who needed Eli Manning’s arm to compensate for a lack of punch by its league-worst rushing offense.

Despite the lack of lead back carries, the Patriots have never lost a game where The Law Firm is called upon for at least sixteen carries (14-0 since his rookie season).  He has actually performed admirably well against solid-to-strong defensive teams (and Indianapolis); Buffalo, Miami, Pittsburgh and the Jets.

Because Belichick is full of surprises, it wouldn’t be a shock if his team runs the ball a bit more than normal, especially to the outside in open space where Giants defenders have had trouble keeping up. Plus, considering how busy the Giants’ linebackers and safeties will be with Brady’s receiving options, there may be more opportunities for Green-Ellis, even if it’s to methodically move the chains.

Maybe Green-Ellis makes like Timmy Smith and stuns the world with a Super Bowl rushing record. Maybe one of those Giants defensive tackles channel their inner Leon Lett, only this time, actually scoring. That’s what makes the Super Bowl so compelling; for all the moments of brilliance by the game’s greatest, they are complimented, if not surpassed by someone who we didn’t see coming.

Favorite

Despite being one of the few who believes that this decade has not technically ended yet, seeing these “best of” and “worst of” lists in regards to what happened between 2000-2009 does bring back a ton of memories of what Time Magazine termed as “the decade from hell”.

However, if there is one list that raised an eyebrow, it was ESPN.com’s “Games of the Decade”. Now, these lists are typically created to stir up debates and ramp up hits to websites, despite the fact that ESPN.com is the Microsoft of online sports media. However, knowing this didn’t stop me from a peek and one look at this list made me take this brand new laptop… and just close the lid in absolute disgust.

What perturbed me about this list was that it seems as if the contributors highlighted games based on hyped-up stories, market sizes, controversies, historic end results and brand names instead of concentrating on the totality of the contests themselves. If that was the case, then only the 2008 Wimbledon Men’s Final would have been top-5 worthy and Game 5 of the 2005 NBA Finals wouldn’t have reached the top 40. Also, much to the chagrin of some Pittsburgh Steelers fans, last year’s very entertaining Super Bowl would have been eclipsed by at least three other Super Bowls: XXXIV (34: Titans-Rams), XXXVI (36: Rams-Patriots) and XLII (42: Patriots-Giants).

It may seem like the game you’ll read about is mentioned to counter this list and in some ways, there’s truth to that. Yet because of how overlooked this contest was by ESPN and others in the sports media world, this post actually brings up what was this Scribe’s favorite. It was not played during a postseason or for a championship, yet it should be in consideration for one the greatest games ever played. In fact, the recent string of “most watched NFL games in cable history” began with this gem on December 3rd, 2007.



For those who love a story, let me repaint the picture for you:

The New England Patriots, as history tells you, lost the last game that mattered, Super Bowl XLII to the New York Giants in what is considered by some to be the best Super Bowl of all-time. The Giants’ players wearing all black en route to Glendale, the annoying Mercury Morris, Eli to Tyree, Justin Tuck’s outstanding performance, scores from Randy Moss and Plaxico Burress, etc, etc.

Why that game shines as one of the crown jewels of American sports is not just because the Giants added “and 1” to New England’s 18, but because of how absolutely brilliant the Patriots were in the first sixteen.

Those very Patriots were assaulting the NFL history books as both Tom Brady and Randy Moss broke single-season touchdown records, Wes Welker eclipsed the Patriots’ single-season receptions record and head coach Bill Belichick coached in his fourth Super Bowl in a decade, the most for any head coach in such a time span in league history.

The Patriots came to Baltimore with an 11-0 record to face a 4-7 Ravens team without its starting quarterback (the late Steve McNair placed on injured reserve), several teammates in mourning and a general state of malaise from being out of the playoff picture.

Why this game sticks out compared to the hundreds of NFL games we’ve watched is simple; it was unexpected.

Pigskin pundits and anti-Patriots fans kept talking about how the Eagles presented the blueprint in how to stop New England. Yet, something seemed a bit off about that game. If this apparent blueprint called for the quarterback to throw three interceptions along with his three touchdowns (which A.J. Feely did), then any team that copied it set itself up for an embarrassing loss against men that were on a mission as these Pats were. Philadelphia played strong run defense, but couldn’t get a hand on New England wideouts; especially Wes Welker (13 catches, 149 yards) and Jabar Gaffney (six for 87 and a touchdown). Worse enough, the Eagles didn’t run the ball enough; unless you are one of the handful of elite (including injured-at-the-time Donovan McNabb), the more a quarterback throws, the greater chances grow at some costly interceptions.

The Ravens still boast two future Hall of Famers in middle linebacker Ray Lewis and free safety Ed Reed. Yet, as the norm since arriving in Maryland from Cleveland, the offense lacked a standout star and confidence in any of their quarterbacks to expand the run-based playbook. Willis McGahee, in his first season since being traded from Buffalo, had an inspired game with 138 yards and a rushing touchdown on thirty carries to go with four catches for 21 yards.

I mention those guys first because all of them are members of “The U”, the most accomplished modern college program among NFL players and fans. All three players “lost a brother” as fellow University of Miami alum Sean Taylor was memorialized earlier that day. The start of the clip above is all you need to know about how emotion buoyed them throughout the game.

The most surprising and most daring performance that night may have actually belonged to Kyle Boller. Once deposed as Baltimore’s quarterback of the future after three years of baffling inconsistency, Boller stood on the sidelines like a good soldier when McNair was traded from Tennessee the season before. Though the team was expected to follow up a 13-3 campaign and a near-defeat of the eventual champion Indianapolis Colts in 2006, the 2007 Ravens’ season was already a colossal disappointment. McNair’s injuries lead to Boller becoming starter and for this game, a resignation among Ravens fans set in; New England was going to annihilate these guys.

Boller wasn’t exactly Dan Fouts out there, but he was pretty composed considering the elements stirring around him that night. He completed fifteen of 23 passes for 210 yards and though he threw a fourth-quarter interception that led to a Patriots field goal, his two touchdown passes gave Baltimore leads that forced New England to respond with late game heroics.

If there was a play that defined the entire game, it was one that only seems to work in college or high school. Boller’s 52-yard Hail Mary pass that Mark Clayton actually caught was just two yards short. That last play of the game could have not only ended New England’s streak of perfection, but could have become legend if Clayton was deeper or there were two less defenders draped over him.

We all remember the penalties; the most memorable of the Ravens’ infractions was Bart Scott’s toss of official’s flag (thrown for an offside on teammate Reed). There were three Baltimore penalties on New England’s final drive, which led to Scott going bezerk. Comments after the game from the Baltimore locker room focused plenty on those flags, but even as Len Pasquarelli pointed out that the time, then-Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel wasn’t exactly happy with the officiating despite the victory. If this game needed some spice, the final three-plus minutes gave viewers an entire spice rack.

When I was watching it at the time, something told me that this was going to be a better-than-expected game. It was Monday night and at least for a few years, the Ravens played well on the national stage, strangely enough when they donned the all-black uniforms. You knew that players all over the NFL were feeling a little dour as Sean Taylor was laid to rest earlier in the day after such a violent death. Yet, the idea of the underdog getting over on the favorite once in a while is a tale as old as sports themselves. The idea that this was a trap game for New England may or may not have been reality, but the inspiration for Baltimore was ever-present through plenty of living rooms beyond Charm City.

In the most unfortunate way, the raw emotions of Lewis, Reed and McGahee - Taylor’s mentors and fellow alums – gave them one of the greatest performances of their careers. Though the alleged fanboyism of ESPN made millions of people sick of the Patriots, 17.5 million viewers (at least for the most watched program in cable history at the time) were fascinated by them for a night. As much as the words ‘drama’ and ‘must-see’ are now hackneyed on television, what happened at M&T Bank Stadium two Decembers ago provided all of that and more.

Why it’s not as recognized as other games this decade is beyond me.

Photo credits to UPI (Heath Evans photo) and the Baltimore Sun (Bart Scott photo)

YouTube props to 'footballanytime'

Imperfect

There’s something about second-guessing that is too easy. Sure, an entire industry – sports media – is founded on looking back and questioning the unsuccessful plays of the last game, but there are times where it’s just… just far too easy.

It’ll be known as The Call and if the New England Patriots somehow find themselves short of at least the third seed in the upcoming playoffs, every person who criticized head coach Bill Belichick will point to the infamous 4th-and-2 as the genesis of all that apparently went wrong.

You know full well that if Kevin Faulk made that catch for the first down, “the HC” would have been a genius, so the idea that there’s such debate and vitriol the day after is actually pretty comical. Probably funnier, if not sadder, is that the people who made Belichick a football demigod have the gall to actually ask if this ill-fated decision has an effect on his legacy (a featured poll in ESPN’s SportsNation).

Yet, enough fist-shaking at the fist shakers, here’s the absolute, fundamental core truth of not just The Call, but of every play in every sport; one’s success comes from another’s failure. An offense doesn’t just score strictly because a player made the right pass or another can smell the goal. A cornerback may have been a step behind; the power forward didn’t do enough to impede his opponent’s progress to the basket; the goalie made a terrible misplay of the header.

On the flip side, we’re conditioned to believe that scoring is everything in sports and that defense, while a nice-looking toy, is optional. The quarterback threw the ball late; the batter swung at a shoulder-high fastball (stupidly, of course); Chris Duhon decides he wants the last play of the first half.

We have to remind ourselves of this because while we will forever be told of how that 4th-and-2 decided this game, few will dare mention that if the Patriots imposed their will for the entire contest, that final 2:23 would have been played out in a completely different manner. If the Patriots’ defense – which was given 34 points from its offense – made their stops late, Tom Brady & company would have taken the victory formation to end the Colts’ undefeated stretch.

It may be a great topic for discussion for a while, but an excellent game as last night’s should serve as testimony to the fact that there has never been a game in the history of sports that was decided by just one play.

After all, The Catch (or The Catch II) didn’t just happen.

The Immaculate Reception didn’t just happen.

Heck, even The Goal That Really Wasn’t didn’t just happen.

Say What?!?!: Another thought to put this to bed: for those who believe that going for it was actually the right call, do you believe it was because of how much faith many instill in Bill Belichick? If this was a neophyte coach like Detroit’s Jim Schwartz or Kansas City’s Todd Haley, how would we receive the decision?
Photo Credit to AP via Yahoo! Sports

Twittering (9/14)

Because reception in the press box (not the rest of the media area, however) was non-existent, it was fruitless to try to converse with all as intended. However, being that we have a doubleheader for Monday Night Football, there's a doubleheader for Twitter... so long as the body makes it through the San Diego/Oakland contest.

Feel free to also ask questions and leave comments (via Twitter or this post) about yesterday's action, including the Redskins/Giants game. Since Monday's deadline night for the Beacon's sports section, I'll be polishing off two articles for the paper while the Patriots and Bills hold American television hostage. It's still the ideal time to chat as I'll be in such game mode that you'd swear I took a Jake Delhomme interception to the house.

By the way, never feel that it's going to be just about the NFL. As a subscriber the MLB Extra Innings, I would be the first to scream "turn to 432 RIGHT NOW! Blankety Blank is throwing a no-no!". For that reason, I ask that if there is something happening with your baseball team (non-northeastern teams, especially), you have permission to harrass us. Also, if you miss the NHL and NBA, cry with us, too.

twitter.com/asportsscribe

Social (III)

Note: Been having some issues with uploading photos over the last day or so (hopefully, it's more of a Blogger issue than a PC issue). So this post jumps the line of drafts. However, as there is more correspondence in what I personally believe is an intriguing and exciting topic in the sports world, there will be further updates to this particular post as well as the Social series.

After discussing and posting the press release about the New England Patriots' latest online venture, I was able to get in contact with Jim Munz, Product Manager of the OView platform at Optaros, about the Calendar Application that was released just a couple of weeks ago.  Questions are and will continue to be abound for sure, but this response speaks to the importance of protecting the Patriots brand while dealing with the social media realm. Please feel free to leave some as comments or email them to asportsscribe@gmail.com.

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Scribe: According to the quote from Fred Kirsch (director of interactive media at Patriots.com), protecting the Patriots brand is of the utmost order, not only for the franchise, but for a league that safeguards its image to the most minute detail. For the readers who may come upon this post that are not as familiar/aware of the business side of the NFL, could you elaborate some on this? What was the process in choosing the right tech partners and what was the reluctance in the past (if any) to come up with this application?

Pror to this news, I had discussed how sports leagues are starting to bring social media into their marketing fold with varying degrees of success and effort. I have always been surprised that the NFL, which is the country's most popular league, has been rather... should I say slow?... in adopting Facebook, MySpace and others as a part of their outreach with fans.

Munz: As you point out these sports franchises have been slow to adopt social tools such as Facebook, MySpace, (etc.) Part of the reason I believe that this is taking place is that in order to work within these spaces you need to provide something of value, in the case of the Patriots that is information, media, (etc.) around the Patriots to their fans. This works well for the fan when they do this because it provides another means to interact with the brand. A challenge is how do allow this out their and establish interactions around it with the fan base, without having people out on all of the sites where it lives 24/7.

The starting point here is with the Patriots Calendar App since it allows delivery across fan site, Facebook, and Patriots.com while at the same time providing the Patriots with a way to centrally manage this experience so they can maintain control of updating this information when it changes.

The Patriots are more progressive than most in this regards, they know they need to be out there doing these type of interactions on the social sites with their fans. But managing that without a tool to support them is difficult given the quick pace of the media schedule around the team.

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Many thanks again to the people at Optaros for the news and correspondence and I'm looking forward to contuing the conversation of social media and sports for all interested.

Social (II)

A big 'whoops' on my part for this one.

On occasion, I receive press releases about happenings in the sports media world. I don't post them here for two reasons; 1) Fang's Bites has that well-covered for us and 2) releases are sent to me because of work with other publications instead of Scribe, so I don't want to ruffle feathers by posting some without their awareness of this blog. However, through a friend of Scribe (and further back), this johnny-come-lately post is rather appropriate considering a recent discussion on social networking with sports leagues.

There was an intention to hold this until after the NFL Draft and maybe have a few questions answered. I was hoping to gain some insights from the Patriots and Optaros (the designers of the software) during the league's second most popular weekend behind Super Bowl weekend; how has the feedback been from users, future plans, etc. Whether it comes or not remains to be seen, yet consider this a mea culpa.

The NFL has become a 24-7-365 (or 366 on leap years) league where the regular season, playoffs and the Draft are not the only times in which it is in the spotlight. As we are well aware, the internet and mobile technologies have only exasperated the need for more info on everything related to the country's most popular league. Yet, while fans have created their own Facebook pages, MySpace accounts, iPhone applications and the like, they can't exactly match having rich media directly from the source. Even if you're not a Pats fan, expect your favorite teams to at least copy a similar model.

Many thanks to Pat Keating and Laurel Miltner.

The Patriots Calendar App is a downloadable calendar full of rich-media content from the New England Patriots, continually updated with all the team information that fans want to know, including: draft announcements, press conference videos, radio interviews, schedules, team history and special events.  

The Patriots Calendar App was developed by Boston-based consulting firm, Optaros, Inc. Dedicated to helping its customers reach and engage with fans anywhere on the Web, Optaros creates syndicated applications (like the Calendar App) through its new service, OView.  Using OView, the Patriots can manage all Calendar App content, aggregate numerous inbound RSS feeds, insert ads, make global updates, block undesirable sites and track user engagement analytics across domains.

Says Fred Kirsch, director of interactive media at Patriots.com: “We chose OView because it... balances our desire to engage fans across the Web with the need to protect our brand,” said Fred Kirsch, director of interactive media at Patriots.com.

You can download the Patriots Calendar App from the Patriots website here: http://www.patriots.com/news/index.cfm?ac=calendar or from Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?sid=beb4d2f14f2220e98a46b1af2ac9f6e9&id=37833023541&ref=search

See the full press release about the Patriots Calendar App at http://www.optaros.com/news/press-releases#optaros-delivers-front-row-seat-new-england-patriots-content

Aftermath

Every year in every sport, a prominent star gets injured and if that player is injured in a team sport, his or her mates have to find the best means to replace the missing production. Yet, for better or worse, it’s different when a future Hall-of-Famer (first ballot in this case, but that’s up for debate if desired) goes down.

So while New England Patriots fans are finding ways to remain upbeat in the aftermath of Tom Brady’s season-ending ACL tear, the organization moves forward despite that its greatest nightmare has come to life. Though a game has not been played just yet, the immediate reactions have been intriguing to say the least.

There are fans that are level-headed and subscribe to the ‘no one’s above the game’ theory of sports. Beyond the good looks and famous girlfriend, Brady is a football player first and one of the few players that can garner a national audience no matter who is the opponent. However, just as he was an unheralded Michigan quarterback who seemingly fell into stardom seven years ago when he replaced an injured Drew Bledsoe, these fans are always looking for the next out-of-nowhere star to emerge. Brady is arguably the very best quarterback of this generation, but these fans do not stop watching football because he won’t play under center this season.

There are the fans that do feel bad that Brady was hurt, but look at how his injury actually improves the chance for other teams to shine. Some Jets, Bills and even Dolphins (they looked halfway decent on Sunday, you have to admit) fans are excited about the possibilities now that Brady won’t try to break more records against their defenses. It’s still far too early to count New England out of the playoff hunt as there is enough offensive talent and faith in the Patriot Way to keep them in the conversation. With that said, there should be even more pressure on the remainder of the AFC East to stop the Patriots’ seven-year dominance over the division.

There are the ‘fans’ that are popping corks about Brady’s injury in the most morbid of fashions. These are the people who admittedly celebrated as the replay showed Bernard Pollard’s attempt to tackle Brady go awry. These are the people who proudly hail their hatred for everything Patriots based on their success in the 2000s, the Spygate allegations that ensued one year ago and their location; the current center of the American sporting universe that is the Boston metropolitan area.

There are the advertisers and network executives who are prognosticating ratings dips without New England’s leading man. Bill Gorman of TV by the Numbers analyzed the potential freak-out surrounding the four remaining nationally-televised games that feature the Pats this season. Just as ESPN and the broadcast networks are accused of star-hunting for Nielsen numbers, advertisers push that agenda because they want to be attached to the most ‘it’ celebrity, athlete or trend of the moment. Will advertisers suddenly try to pull out of their deals with the nets – or better yet, the NFL, itself – because of Brady’s injury? That is not only highly unlikely, but any credence given to that idea is phenomenally short-sighted and beyond stupid. After all, there are too few opportunities to be a sponsor or advertiser in NFL-affiliate content as is.

Of course, the Patriots players, coaches and management, notably the ‘HC’ Bill Belichick, have a completely different set of emotions and thoughts to deal with. Brady is far more than a guy wearing #12 and far more than last year’s MVP. The franchise may have revitalized itself with him as their quarterback, but it’s the system that will be tested in the coming weeks. Belichick and company, with owner Robert Kraft’s blessing, re-imaged the organization to be one that can survive any shock to the system. All-Pro defenders such as Junior Seau and Rodney Harrison who were seemingly past their prime were brought into New England to execute in a system that demands more of the mental than physical prowess. The offense may have added the deep threat in Randy Moss and the underneath killer in Wes Welker last season, but it’s all about adjusting to the defensive scheme in front of them rather than overwhelming the opponent with sheer talent.

As much as some fans, media and advertisers want it to be, the story of the 2008 season does not center on the new Jets’ quarterback nor will it feature how these Patriots try to rebound from the historic disappointments of last winter. By year’s end, we’ll understand more if it’s the players or the system that made the Patriots the team of the decade.

Matt Cassel, the stage is to your left.

Gigantic

Horrendous commercials. Great football game.

That's what Super Sunday is supposed to be about.

It'll be nice to say that I'll cover the Super Bowl champs next season.

Now, can everyone that considers him or herself a Giants fan lay off of Eli Manning? In fact, don't give me this "I knew it all along". You didn't. Please don't lie to yourself, the true Giants fans and that girl you've tried to talk to all night.

David Tyree! What can you say?

Remember the name Steve Smith. The one from USC. The one who caught passes in seven of New York's scoring drives in the playoffs.

Kawika Mitchell, who played out of his natural middle linebacker position to come to the Giants, is about to get a big pay raise. One year, $1 million seems like such a pittiance.

Justin Tuck is for real. Ask Tom Brady.

Lawrence Tynes won't get killed by Tom Coughlin, after all.

Coughlin, himself, should be recognized for being one of the best tactical coaches in the league. Has been for years, whether it was RIT, Boston College, Jacksonville or here with Big Blue.

Jeremy Shockey will be a man possessed next season, even if he has a ring now.

That Giants defense will be the copycat template General Managers use this offseason.

Will Tiki Barber be the grand marshall of Tuesday's parade? Looking forward to seeing that.

While I wouldn't call this game an upset in terms of man for man, coach for coach, roster for roster, in historical context, it's the biggest in league history.

As for Patriots fans. Disappointment is understandable, to say the least. However, the team will be back strong next season. With a couple of defensive tweaks.

Don't fall in love with history unless it's relevant.

Wes Welker is still the truth.

Randy Moss will have another shot at a ring and it will be as a Patriot.

It's time for the braintrust in Foxborough to address the aging middle of the defense in the Draft. Picking safety Brandon Merriweather last April was a start.

These Pats would have still KILLED the '72 Dolphins. But, now we have to endure Mercury Morris.

And now... onward to the NBA. And the rest of life.

Letter

An abridged version originally published on BlogCritics Magazine (blogcritics.org)

Dear NFL Patriots Giants Nielsen family Fans,

On Sunday, millions upon millions of Americans (and beyond) will take part in the unofficial national holiday called Super Sunday. The day, as you know, revolves around the biggest single-day televised event of the year, Super Bowl XLII. Besides the fact that this is the championship game of the National Football League, the Super Bowl is a social cauldron, if you will. The game huddles more people into homes across the country for one night than any major holiday, regardless of race, creed or income. The build up to the event is lengthy, but at 6:18 PM eastern standard time, the two weeks of hype and hope will culminate to what we hope is a game for the ages. There’s just one problem.

Some of you folks just don’t belong.

From the middle of the summer to the dead of the winter, football players, coaches, media and fans have prepared for this final night of action. For each team, there was training camp, four preseason games and sixteen regular season contests. Yet, the fans have prepared throughout the season as well. They follow the teams from the festive opening weekend to the final whistle of Week 17. When December becomes January, twelve teams embark into the second season; the league’s playoffs. These players and coaches are not only rewarded with the chance to become champions, but are redeemed for hard work and adversity from injuries and losing streaks to unexpected tragedies as the death of a teammate. When the playoffs begin, the football faithful are treated with four playoff games in each of January’s first weekends. Seemingly before we blink, twelve teams become eight and eight become four. These final four teams play for the conference championships and garner the attention of anyone that considers him or herself a NFL fan.

And then the NFC Championship Game ends.

The moment the winning team accepts the conference title, the hype machine begins. In addition to two weeks of over-analysis and jitters, there is a flood of news regarding everything that surrounds the game. The most talked about news revolves around which company will have a commercial during the game. And that’s most likely why some of you ‘fans’ are here. You don’t normally watch football unless one of the following occurs;
a) your significant other is hoarding the remote
b) your kids are hoarding the remote
c) you want to know who the heck is Tom Brady and why is TMZ talking about him (another letter for another day)

As much as most of us – this writer included – would rather that the reason you would come to our homes because you’re good company, we know better. We know that you are going to join us for Super Sunday because you want to see what Budweiser has to show us and you want free food. And that’s okay… to a point. On behalf of the football fans that have spent the last twenty weekends rearranging plans with the family, skipping out of church early or sacrificing a Friday night or two working overtime instead of on the weekend, we have some advice in order for you to have a hand in the fun.

There are plenty of you who come to the Super Bowl gatherings in order to eat someone else’s food. Maybe you didn’t get their fixes during the holidays or maybe you’re excusing yourself from dieting for one night, we don’t really know. Yet, we ask that if you are going to stock up food in your belly for ten full battalions that you at least donate something. More food or beverages would be great. Your dollars would be even better. Even a ‘thank you’ card in the mail would be a sign of appreciation. Yet, we ask that you remember that you do not treat our abodes like your own home; treat them like the White House. Be neat, be clean and please flush.

Some of you are here against your will. You might not like football because the person you are with is borderline-crazy about the game. Contrary to what you might think, you¹re still welcome. After all, someone has to take that drunken Patriots fan friend/relative/lover home. But we want you to enjoy yourself. There is likely a sane football fan in the room that you can talk to who would be a good sounding board to understand not only what is going on in the game, but why people care so much in the first place. You may become a fan or you may still hate the game. Yet you will have a deeper understanding for one of the country’s great passions. However, the rules for food apply to you as well. Do not eat because you’re bored; eat because you’re hungry.

There are those of you who are coming because it’s the biggest event of the year and you love football. The problem is that you don’t know a lick about the game and we know it. Now, we’re not asking you to name the offensive linemen of the 1958 Baltimore Colts. We’re not asking you how many Super Bowl rings John Madden won as a player (ZERO!) and we’re not asking about your fantasy team (which someone made for you, we bet). We are going to ask you to pick up a book to learn a bit more about the game before you step inside. Hey, there are a ton of fans that don’t have a clue either, so they can brush up on their knowledge. However, would you rather look like the smartest person in the room because you know four-yard completions help an offense move down the field or be embarrassed for screaming about ‘too many men on the field’… during warm-ups? There are few things more infuriating to any sports fan than the casual or non-fan who wants to puff his or her chest to fit in. Just as anything in life, learn the basics and let the rest come to you. Ask about what you are seeing and remember that football is about more than scoring points.

Finally, some of you are here for the 30-second commercials for which companies paid $3 million to air. You might be even more excited for them this year, given that the current writers¹ strike has compelled many of these companies to invest more money in these spots. We like the commercials as well, even though most ads do a poor job of selling the brands and products they are supposed to advertise. Commercials, themselves, have become entertainment, with kooky scenarios likened to sitcoms and some of your favorite celebrities lending their images and voices for dramatic effect. The ads may provide some laughs, but if you are still looking for entertainment because the ongoing writer’s strike has halted your favorite shows, look no further than the Super Bowl itself. The game is reality TV, drama, suspense and in some respects, comedy, all rolled into one. None of us know if the game will be good (Steelers/Seahawks, 2006), great (Titans/Rams, 2000) or horrendous (Broncos/Falcons, 1999). However, just like the last episode of The Sopranos, we fans tune in anyway just to see what happens. Still, if you¹re here just for the commercials, please understand that you shouldn¹t tie these ads to how good or bad the game is. Furthermore, the ads, as the games, may likely fail to live up to whatever hype non-sports media has built. Please focus on the game and not the newest version of Terry Tate.

There are only two things in life that unify people; death and the Super Bowl. While the former is rather depressing, the latter should be something for all of us to enjoy without feeling as if the game doesn’t matter. As much as we want the Patriots and Giants to give us a great battle, we understand that this is an event that can’t be missed. We know that the following Monday will be devoted to talking about the night before. We hope it’s for the right reasons and not because some car company thought a suicidal robot was funny… again.

Sincerely,
The Super Bowl Hosts

Reminder

I'll be on the air as usual for WHCR today.

An in-depth talk about the Giants' push for Super Bowl XLII. Next stop, Green Bay.

What's Going On begins at 3PM where Stephanie Stepp is live from Foxborough to talk about the AFC Championship Game and I will discuss the NFC tilt.

myspace.com/whcr

whcr.org

90.3 FM WHCR; Harlem, New York City

Upcoming

It has been a rather exhausting week professionally and personally, so Scribe hasn't benefited as it should. With that said, not only will there be new posts this weekend, but for the first time in weeks, I'll have some extensive airtime on What's Going On. While both of us will be in the Boston area, host Stephanie Stepp and I will be discussing the conference championship games on Sunday. While most of my discussion will deal with the NFC tilt, expect a dose regarding the AFC title game as well.

In addition, some of my posts will (hopefully) be featured on BlogCritics.org, a vast and diverse collection of blogs delving into any topic your heart desires.

Please feel free to spread the word and make sure to listen on Sunday at 3PM (Eastern) on WHCR 90.3 FM (in the immediate NYC area), myspace.com/whcr or whcr.org.

Coolhunting

In 2003, I ran into this book called No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies, written by Canadian activist and journalist Naomi Klein. Klein is known as one of the most vocal critics of the corporate umbrella and No Logo* became a significant manuscript for the anti-globalization movement. The book centered on branding and its impact on the world, most notably the largest brands such as Nike, Pepsi, McDonalds, Wal-Mart and MTV. Klein attempts to discuss how branding has ruined many third-world countries while it has enabled companies to try to pull the wool over consumers’ eyes through elaborate public relation campaigns and governmental assistance.

This book seems to be a contradiction to my undergraduate education at Babson College, and every single way it is. Whether I completely agreed with the book’s points is another matter completely, but I walked away with awareness of a business phenomenon called coolhunting. Coolhunting describes the efforts from marketing and advertising professionals to observe existing trends in culture and predict newer, emerging trends.

Coolhunting itself is nothing new. In fact, if we dig deep enough, it may be the basis for all that we love and give such attention to. Anything that we devote such time to starts with curiosity and slight interest before growing to become full-blown passions. All of us have varying levels of interests in sports, but there is no doubt that the casual fans are the ones who seem to have the greatest sway in how popular a sport can become. You can think of coolhunting in the way that empires used to colonize countries and consume the foreign resources.

Last night while in the press lounge for the historic matchup between the New England Patriots and New York Giants, the word popped up immediately after grabbing the game’s program. A fellow media head with season credentials told me and SPJ that there were 75 additional media requests for the game. The press box at Giants Stadium accommodates 250 people, has ten broadcast booths and the lounge itself houses a few dozen more. As expected, some of the additional media were extra television heads from CBS, NBC and the NFL Network (it was simulcasted) as well as the omnipresent ESPN. Then there were national columnists from various newspapers across the country such as Bill Rhoden from the New York Times (who attends a few Giants games throughout the season), Jay Mariotti of the Chicago Sun-Times and Jason Whitlock of the Kansas City Star (and other depots of infamy). Somehow, someway, I’m walking out of the lounge at game’s end next to Taye Diggs, who for some reason, not well-received by a lot of women. It reminded me of something SPJ said earlier in the night; “this isn’t just a football phenomenon, but somehow the NFL has made this a pop culture phenomenon.”

Now, there are playoff games and major boxing matchups – both I have been fortunate enough to have covered in 2007 – that can make you stand up and take notice of the influx of bandwagon fans with some sort of wealth to pay top dollar for the hot tickets in sports. The bandwagon media didn’t make too many regulars very happy, either, but it speaks to the reality that if an outlet isn’t covering an event, it’s too late in the overall discussion. Yet, all sports have had these peaks of popularity that can only be explained as… well, it may not be explained fully or at all.

The NFL has become the ‘Heroes’ or ‘Entourage’ of sports. It has always enjoyed a great national popularity; however, it seems as if it has never been promoted more heavily and more star-crossed than in the current day. From the advertising push of Peyton Manning to the use of popular artists for theme songs preceding the games themselves, the NFL is everywhere, even in its offseason. Baseball speaks of a boon of its own attendance figures and pats itself on the back about the advent of the wild card, which allows for more meaningful games in August and September than at anytime in its history. The NBA was probably the first sports league to grow globally, but in the 1980s and 1990s, it gave Madison Avenue, Main Street and Wall Street a universally revered player named Michael Jordan. Even in 2007, Major League Soccer and mixed martial arts organizations such as UFC have gone sexy in their own ways thanks to David Beckham (the most recognized active athlete in the world) and Chuck Liddell. Every sport wants to bring on more fans, especially casual fans that are looking for something to sink their teeth (and if lucky, wallets) into. The casual fan in sports may be the same person that looks for the ‘most talked about’ new TV show or blasts radio hits on the way to work. They’re looking to grab onto what’s hot right now, to colonize an unfamiliar form of entertainment, if you will. They’re interested in something because of what they heard from someone else or because they want to be in the know, yet there had to be something to lure them in. Sports organizations give them superstars and are well schooled in the art of creating them for good reason. No matter how passionate a team’s fan base can be, it needs a ‘face’ that can attract casual fans and corporate dollars. Yet, once these new sets of eyes are fixed on a game, what’s next?

The biggest problem with coolhunting in this realm is that the newbies aren’t learning anything. We have an absurd wealth of information, not only because of digital technologies, but because there are too many people in the world to not learn something from. However, with sports organizations seeking celebrity status through the media and marketing, there is little effort to actually explain their games to the new found consumers. Sports media, itself, is the most responsible for this lack of education. Outside of a few shows explaining the basics of a sport or DVDs geared to fine tune a young athlete’s game, you don’t see the major media outlets making a similar effort to attract new readers, listeners or viewers. For the most part, the casual fan may be unfamiliar with the intricacies of the game that allow the superstars to perform. Much of the time, the casual onlooker may not be as interested in the soul of the game as much as he or she is interested in seeing the end result – the superstar or his/her team scores.

On the way to The Meadowlands last night, the parking lots were full and brimming with fans, scalpers and stale beer. Normally, the stadium isn’t filled until a few minutes into the first quarter, but this was two hours before kickoff! A stadium that seats just over 80,000, yet there must have been a few thousand more there to tailgate and purchase ticket stubs at game’s end. With many New Englanders in town mixed with the New York/New Jersey population, it was a mix of Yankee Stadium and the worst fraternity house in your alma mater. In the two years I have covered the Giants, I had never seen anything like it before. Yet, this is what happens when something is ‘it’. The coolhunters want a piece.

Say What?!?!: Were my eyes deceiving me or did the Lakers wear the short shorts in their game against the Celtics? Maybe it’s been too long since we’ve seen John Stockton and Dennis Rodman in those just-below-the-booty length shorts, but Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom and Trevor Ariza look a little… Forgive me; I’m just lost for poignant words right now.

*If interested in the book, look to Amazon.com

What?!?!

Patriots - Giants Retardedness
Originally uploaded by A Sports Scribe

It takes a lot more to shock me these days. Yet, even if it's just a hoax or someone none-too-bright, you have to shake your head at this.

Empathy?

Not in any way, shape or form does this reflect my opinion or actions. If any offense is taken, I hope it is not towards me as I hope to invoke a conversation without creating a controversy.

That said, I have a question:

Which one of you New England Patriots fans are responsible for this Wiki as of December 8th, 2007 at 12:07PM?

"Eugene "Mercury" Morris (is) a homosexual male (born January 5, 1947 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is a former American football player who played running back in the American Football League in the 1960s and the NFL in the 1970s, and played in three Super Bowls."

"On December 5, 2007, Morris went on ESPN's Sportscenter and rapped about the 1972 Dolphins being the only team that will ever go undefeated in an NFL season. Morris was on ESPN with Josh Elliott in response to the New England Patriots undefeated record of 12-0, which, at the time, was 5 games short of matching the '72 Dolphins. Which he will be proven wrong about when the Pats are 19-0 with their fourth Superbowl"

Morris has managed to make people who despise New England sports teams and their fans to root hard for the Patriots to run the table. It's impressive, really. Now again, I don't condone or particularly care for the homosexual comment, but it speaks to how quickly a villian can become adored - if only for a moment. Sometimes, you root for a rival team so that your favorite can have a greater standing or chance in the playoffs. Yet, after these wonderful soundbites -sadly, his rhyming style is better than most rappers out now - well, comment yourself.



This weekend's theme is hoping that these villains who seem to represent wealth and cockiness (these Patriots and Floyd Mayweather, Jr.) are vanquished by a couple of heroes that are represent what is supposed to be a humble working class (the Pittsburgh Steelers and Ricky Hatton). Yet, you don't see Pernell Whitaker rounding the sports media circuits, do you?

Apex

Can the Patriots go undefeated? Can the Patriots go undefeated? Can the Patriots go undefeated?

That’s the question of the day every week regarding the NFL. Though there are plenty more questions worth asking, it’s the single question that starts a football conversation these days. So to start this post, let’s just get it out of the way.

While it’s going to be extremely difficult for the New England Patriots to run the table, doing so would hold much more significance than even fellow media types and fans could imagine… right now.

The potential unblemished season has yet to be put in perspective because 1) it’s not as guaranteed as it seems and 2) there are still the playoffs to think about. The 1972 Miami Dolphins are invoked every year a team gets past the middle of October without a loss, yet with the physical changes of the game as well as the changes in the playoff format throughout the last thirty-five years, the concept of going undefeated takes on new meaning.

After losing Super Bowl VI to the Dallas Cowboys, Don Shula sent a message to his team leading into the fall of 1972. He demanded that his team be perfect, to not only win every single game, but to leave no doubt that their loss was an aberration of how great they should be. When the Dolphins went undefeated during the 1972 regular season with a 14-0 record, they were three games ahead of the second-best team in AFC that season, the Pittsburgh Steelers (11-3). The Washington Redskins, the team that Miami would defeat in Super Bowl VII, also finished 11-3, having the NFC’s best mark. Within the AFC East, the Dolphins made the competition look amateurish, as the New York Jets were the division’s second-best at 7-7. Every other team in the league has already lost at least once by Week 3! Unlike the 2007 Patriots, the 1972 Dolphins didn’t have anyone chasing them into November. They also didn’t have free agency to fix any flaws. Shula demanded perfection through execution by essentially the same personnel. Bill Belichick demanded perfection through acquisition (Adalius Thomas, Randy Moss, Donte Stallworth and Wes Welker). Yet, like these Pats, the Dolphins wanted to wipe out the taste of a sour finale the year before.

Okay, there’s that Spygate thing, too.

When this was originally drafted, the Indianapolis Colts hadn't played yet. Adam Vinatieri hadn't missed two crucial field goals on a slippery Qualcomm Stadium field yet. Peyton Manning hadn't thrown five interceptions just yet. The Colts didn't lose two offensive linemen and Dwight Freeney yet. So with their loss to the San Diego Chargers tonight, the prospect of New England going undefeated may have lost a little shine, at least in this scribe's eyes. As hard as that is to believe, just imagine if the Colts ran the table until the Patriots come to play the New York Giants on December 29th? It would have left the champs with a 14-1 record going into their last game of the season; a showdown in Nashville against the Tennessee Titans the next day. The Patriots may have already won, but if Peyton Manning & Co. defeated the Titans, which would have kept only last week’s loss as the deciding factor between the first and second seed. In context, the Patriots would have needed to go undefeated in order to take home-field advantage outright. With the loss in San Diego, there is much more certainty that New England will play at home in the playoffs. A cold Foxboro in late January may be as intimidating as it gets in the league, but how cool would it have been for the Patriots to have to fight to have that edge?

If there is a team that may be able to threaten to slow down, it’s the Steelers. The Steelers have gotten little play nationally because of the dominance of the Pats and Colts, the not-so-surprising fall from grace of the Chargers and the surprise of the Lions, Browns and the defensive unit of the Giants. Yet, Pittsburgh has a top notch defense that can shut down the run and plays pretty well against the pass. With their offense able to score through the air as well as on the ground, this will be another tough test for New England. Yes, they have already faced a potent offense from Indianapolis, but this is a team that also knows what to expect from Belichick over the past few years.

At the end of it all, whether the Patriots finish the 2007 campaign undefeated or not, the only way that the record could even be discussed is if this team wins Super Bowl XLIII. Yet, they will belong in the conversation as one of the greatest teams to ever play the game if they do win the championship. Being that the Boston area is the center of the American sporting universe, do you think they’d really be upset if they lose just once during the season?

Say What?!?!: There is only one person happier about Ohio State’s loss to Illinois than anyone in the states of Michigan, Oregon, Louisiana, West Virginia and Oklahoma… Chris Fowler. Oh, he may not exactly wear the grin on his face this coming Saturday, but being one of the most consistently vocal critics of the Bowl Championship Series, Fowler might now want to embellish. He knows, as well as college football fans all over the country, that those computers – and the BCS brain trust – may find a way to keep the Buckeyes in the national title picture, regardless of their loss. There are going to be two one-loss teams in the plus-one game, whether Kansas or even Hawaii (a non- BCS school) likes it or not.
By the way, check the replay of the Miguel Cotto-Shane Mosley fight when you’re done watching DVR’ed episodes of ‘I Love New York’.