F C U K the begrudgers - C'mon NEW ENGLAND!

[Drumanee 1]

yea he had an awesome second half. if u have read this thread you'll read about 'the catch' and wat eli done to get the ball away watch this. he deserved it for this alone

http://youtube.com/watch?v=e5BWzoyzVbc

are yous on the wind up?fcuk me youll see a better catch at a u/12 match every saturday,gridiron is the biggest load of crap i have ever seen,a friend of mine is into it big time and i argue with him all the time so i took his advice and gave it a chance last night,well sorry but what a load of bollicks,jesus the last 5 mins of the game took nearly a hour

An under-12. Right...

I don't particularly like hurling, but I wouldn't presume to basically call people idiots just because they do enjoy it.

And say what you like about the time-keeping, but at least they get their full hour of playing time. During the Donegal-Kerry match the other evening, there was about 10 minutes of football played during one 25 minute stretch, which is fairly typical of quite a few gaelic football matches.

where did i say people were idiots if they liked gridiron?i just dont like it but to milions it's there no1 sport whereas i dont expect gaa football to be everybodys cup of tea either

[The Real Laoislad]

Had never watched a full game before and like POG the only thing i knew about the game was from playing Madden on the Playstation..
Have to say i found myself unable to turn it off and go to bed..I was glued to it and i didn't even give a feck who won..
Really enjoyed it but am paying for it today for staying up late last night

[lurganblue]

Really enjoyed it but am paying for it today for staying up late last night

thats why i went to sleep. couldnt have got up for work the next day if i hadnt have. not that i'm working hard or anything

going home soon to hit the red button on bbc and watch the highlights of what i missed

[Gabriel_Hurl]

Great game - a close defensive game is just as good as a 38-35 wide open game if you ask me.

The Giants front 7 were beasts the whole game - and I do think one of them should have gotten the MVP award.

Mr Spagnuolo off to the Redskins?

[BallyhaiseMan]

Absolutely delighted for Eli Manning after all the flack hes taken.

also Justin Tuck , Umenyiora(sp??) and Strahan were absolutely magnificant as was the whole Giants D

i enjoyed that Superbowl more than any other one ive seen before.

The Giants Defensive Co-ordinator as Gabirel has just said will have the pick of his head coaching jobs.

[lurganblue]

i asked this on the other thread, but was strahan not considering retiring at the start of the year?

[BallyhaiseMan]

He was LB. didnt partcipate in voluntary workouts etc, was encouraged by his dad to quit.

i would say he might quit after this though.

[lurganblue]

bet he's glad he gave it another year though

[The Real Laoislad]

Really enjoyed it but am paying for it today for staying up late last night

thats why i went to sleep. couldnt have got up for work the next day if i hadnt have. not that i'm working hard or anything

going home soon to hit the red button on bbc and watch the highlights of what i missed

I gave myself a half day today..The perks of working for yourself!

[Declan]

Interesting take on the whole razzamatazz

The Super Bowl: Who Stole the Soul?
by Dave Zirin

Apparently it's not killer bees, sleeper cells, or flesh eating viruses we are supposed to fear this week. According to the mainstream media, it's the Super Bowl that's hazardous to our health.

The LA Times ran an article this week titled, "Sports is a strain on fans' hearts". "In Germany," the piece opened, "a study finds a spike in heart attacks on soccer game days. Super Bowl viewers, take heed."

It seems that the adrenaline and heart pounding passion of Super Bowl Sunday could send the hundred million viewers into a pulmonary panic. Balderdash. If you want to know if the Super Bowl will strike you dead, don't ask a doctor. Ask a sports writer.

The NFL Championship is many things, but a white knuckled adrenaline overload aint one of them. In other words, any heart attacks this weekend are far more likely to come from undigested animal fat than adrenaline.

Before it is anything else, before it's even a football game, the Super Bowl is first and foremost a two week entertainment festival for the rich and shameless: a corporate Woodstock with suits and sports cars subbing for ponchos and patchouli. Less free love and drugs, more hookers and scotch.

One headline preceding the big game read "Phoenix Faces Super Bowl Parking Woe: Where to Put Gulfstreams?" As the article stated, "The Arizona host committee expects 800 to 1,000 private jets, or more, to use the airports before Sunday's game. That will be at least double the number when nearby Tempe was the site of the Super Bowl in 1996." Giants co-owner Steve Tisch spoke about the pugilistic plutocrats at the airport. "'When that game's over and a lot of people who've flown on private planes want to go home and everybody feels that they're entitled to be the first to take off, that's when it gets interesting. A lot of people are saying to their pilots to tell the tower, "Do you know who I've got on my plane?"'

What a terrifically charming slice of life. Is now an appropriate time to tell Mr. Tisch that 21.2% of children in Arizona live below the poverty line? Or 40% of Native Americans? Can he hear me over the jets?

The thought of corporate execs swinging their egos to get their planes out of an airport hangar is a perfect snapshot for the excess that's smothered the game. The Super Bowl has become a place to see and be seen. Q ratings matter more than quarterbacks. And spectacle has triumphed over sport.

Consider the 2004 game between the Patriots and Panthers. It will be remembered for eternity as the day Janet Jackson flashed the world, even though it was probably the best quarterback duel in the history of the game. Tom Brady set a record for completions, driving the Patriots down field for a last second Vinatieri fieldgoal.

But what I remember against my will, after Jackson's Action, was the sight of so much smoke, fog and haze from the halftime pyro, it was hard to see what was happening the first five minutes of the second half. The game looked like it was being played on the back streets of London's East End, with Jack the Ripper ready to slice up an unsuspecting Antowain Smith.

No question it's the spectacle that drives the spectacular ratings. Of the 20 most watched shows in history, 10 are Super Bowls. For the overwhelming majority of the public, this is a day to rank the commercials, grade the halftime show, and eat enough trans fats to make a goat nauseous. But one thing it is not, is a place to invest any kind of passion in the game itself.

Here's a modest proposal. Let's start playing the Super Bowl at the home stadium of the team with the best record. Imagine this Sunday instead of playing on the fast tracks of Scottsdale, in front of an audience text messaging in between martintis, the Patriots had to prove their worth in the Frigidaire of New England. Imagine if the fans were those same beautifully hateable minions that have been slogging to Foxboro all year. Imagine the excitement as the Giants would attempt to win a fourth straight game on the road. Imagine Eli avenging the Mannings in front of the Foxboro faithful (and just imagine...I'm from New York). Instead both teams have become scenery, some athletic bursts of poetry around which to sell us erection medicine, beer, and tires that are allegedly being produced by African child labor.

But exhilaration just isn't part of the program. Like a burly sous-chef pounding a chicken breast into flattened submission, the audacity and excitement of the great game of football have been pummeled out of the contest. A great way to avoid dangerous over stimulation would be to take five hours... and watch the game.

[Leg End]

did any of you's see the ''biggest hit ever'' this year of reid for the colts taking out henry of the titans. cringe worthy.. i've posted it on the classic you tube thread.. hve a look

[Gabriel_Hurl]

There's no way a Superbowl will be played anywhere else than a city with a warm climate - it's one of the conditions for a city being awarded a Superbowl

[Leg End]

There is a minimum average temperature requirement for OUTDOOR stadiums but indoor stadiums in cold climates still have the chance of applying.... which is why it was in phoenix last night with a temperature of 4 degrees celcius but they had the facility of closing the roof

[GY Joe]

F U C K I N G... Gutted.

Have to hand it to the Giants, their pass rush was unstoppable. The MVP was Strahan or Tuck, Manning was great but how lucky was he not to be sacked on that hail mary play.. The football gods were on NY's side. New England just did not perform, and I'm sorry to say, that was Tommy Terrific's second bad game in a row.

What a letdown, for 18 games the excitement has been building. Its like being about buried to the back axle in a virgin's honeypot and her old man walks in.. What an anti-climax for Patriot fans, and I suspect not a few neutrals.

All I can say is that New England can be proud, I think they brought gridiron to a whole new level this year, and a whole new audience. They just dont do boring. And they certainly dont do boring Superbowls. Thats a point difference in the last 4 superbowls of +3, +3, +3 and sniff -3

[Leg End]

F U C K I N G... Gutted.

The MVP was Strahan or Tuck, Manning was great but how lucky was he not to be sacked on that hail mary play.. The football gods were on NY's side.

agree with most of what u said but this.... it was the blockers job to make sure he didn't get sacked so this was maybe their fault that they got through but thought it was brilliant not lucky the way manning got out of it and the pass and catch to follow were superb