This Week in Fantasy Sports 2.8.08

Posted by Mark Crouse on 02.08.2008

TWIFS reports from Super Bowl XLII as history is made. Get Mark's first hand account of the proceedings in this week's edition!

Welcome to a special edition of This Week in Fantasy Sports. Unlike sitcoms in the '80's, this special edition in no way involves teen drinking, pedophilia, or gateway drugs. It does, however involve the wife and I in Phoenix, Arizona for Super Bowl XLII. So for this week, we'll take a breather from the MLB fantasy team previews and get TWIFS' first hand account of being at the Super Bowl. The goal of this column is not to go into detail regarding x's and o's of the game. Everyone saw the game and knows what happened. This week's edition is to give a fan's look into what happens at the big game when attending in person, to give a feel for what it's like to be at this history-making event.

-This is my first trip to Phoenix, and for those who haven't been, it's flat. It is also probably the only three day stretch in Arizona where it rained or looked like it would rain in quite some time. Temps are in the 50's and it's light jacket weather.

-The wife and I wake up Sunday and peruse our Super Bowl visitors guide to assess the parking situation. We did not purchase a parking pass, which were being sold for as much as $70.00 online. We head toward Glendale and follow clearly marked signs to what is called the "White Lot." Once again, wifey is a logistical genius, as parking in this area is about one block from University of Phoenix Stadium by a footbridge over the freeway. Cost for parking: $50.00. We just saved $20.00.

-It occurs to me that this stadium was built with the fan's convenience and comfort in mind, since every sports facility on the east coast takes approximately half of one's life to park and walk to the stadium, since almost all of them are built inside of an already established cityscape. I love the Southwest. It's like civilization got a second chance, and everything that sucked about the east coast was corrected.

-We enter security at approximately 1:00 PM (remember, kickoff is at 4:30 PM, since Arizona is two hours behind EST). Security was extensive, but run so efficiently that it took minimal time to be checked, our bags searched, and our tickets scanned. The whole process took about 20 minutes.

-On to the NFL Experience, which can be most accurately described as a state fair with an NFL theme. There were various football drills and games for the kids and patient adults, as well as a huge NFL Stadium Store, which had everything you could find online or at your local sporting goods store like jerseys, shirts, and other trinkets from all NFL teams. Unfortunately, I never got inside since the line to get in and overpay for standard goods was a mile long. Our NFL experience was waiting at a concession stand for 45 minutes to buy pizza and two sodas. There weren't nearly enough places to buy food for an event that everyone arrives overly early for.

-Another note about the NFL Experience: they only take Visa, due to the credit card giant being the exclusive sponsor of the event. I hope they paid enough for the NFL to make up for the number of frustrated fans that couldn't buy what they wanted until they got into the stadium, which accepted any number of credit options. Bad move by the NFL if you ask me.

-The crowd is flooded with Giants fans, and not just fans that happen to be wearing Giants jerseys, but real deal New Yorkers. I can tell because they clog up the already ridiculous concession lines by congregating but not buying anything, then scrambling to give one guy money to buy beer. They also all seem to know each other. I love New York.

-We are implored by the PA announcer to head into the stadium for the pregame show featuring Alicia Keys. After walking into the stadium and finding our seats at around 3:15 PM, we hear the end of Keys' set and settle in to watch the player warmups. Warmups aren't particularly exciting, but the crowd reacts as the stadium video boards spotlight players randomly and show them warming up. Inexplicably, the crowd goes wild when Giants cornerback R.W. McQuarters appears on screen. In a lighthearted moment among the stressed players nervously stretching, playing catch, and shooting the breeze, McQuarters looks at the crowd and points to himself, as if to say, "Is that for me?" The fans go wild.

-It is absolutely striking how many Giants fans are in attendance. I had always heard that the Super Bowl was a sterile environment to watch football in due to the overabundance of stuffed suits and corporate sponsors. While the crowd never entered a frenzy like a home game for an NFL team, the Giants supporters had incessant chants filling the stadium, and it was obvious they travel well.

-For the record, I'm attending this game as a football fan, not as a fan of either team. I'm wearing an Atlanta Falcons windbreaker to have at least one person representing my team at the Super Bowl. I'm here to see history being made, one way or another. I lean over to the wife and make a prediction right before the national anthem just for fun: Patriots win but don't cover the 12-point spread, with Wes Welker winning MVP honors.

-I haven't seen the game on television, but Jordin Sparks' rendition of the Star Spangled Banner is amazing on a technical and emotional level. The roof is closed, so we can't see the Blue Angels fly overhead except on the video board. This is the moment that you can't feel on television. Right now everyone at home is watching commercials, while the stadium is rocking and everyone in attendance is wound up to the point of breaking. The players are nervously doing their final preparations, and the kickoff is imminent. Let's play some football!

-The Giants' opening drive takes ten minutes off the clock and makes a statement that they are not intimidated by the Pats. Although the drive ends in a field goal, Manning and company seem to establish some confidence that they don't seem to have a shortage of to begin with. The drive seems even longer since television time outs chop up the action and keep the offense from getting into too much of a rhythm. Something you don't see at home is the body language of the players during these artificial breaks in the action. They stand near the line of scrimmage, some looking bored, most of them looking anxious to get the next play off. I never realized how much the marketing of the Super Bowl affects the actual game play.

-The Patriots march down the field to score on a Maroney plunge from the one yard line. The Patriot fans in the stadium let out a sigh of relief and convince themselves that the Giants will fall in line and roll over for them on their march to history.

-The Pats fail to capitalize on an interception, which to me feels like a significant turn of events, since Manning and company had moved the ball relatively easily until the turnover. The Pats offense has no edge. They are clearly not the middle-finger waving Patriots from September and October. Brady is getting killed by what amounts to a standard 4-3 pass rush. Wes Welker is the only member of the New England offense with any success against a Giants defense that is perfectly content to let him run all over the middle of the field. Brady doesn't even try to get the ball to the outside, since he's on his duff well before Moss and Stallworth could break free from coverage.

-It's 7-3 at halftime and everyone looks stunned for one reason or another. Kudos to University of Phoenix Stadium (which needs a nickname, by the way) for having manageable restroom lines and shorter than expected concession lines. Tom Petty and Heartbreakers put on an entertaining show as the wife and I marvel at how quickly the crew put together and tear down the impressively lighted stage.

-The third quarter is a fitting prelude to the legendary fourth quarter, with Patriots fans getting increasingly worried and Giants fans beginning to allow themselves to think the G-Men can pull the upset for the ages. I am slack-jawed as the Patriots eschew a 48-yard field goal attempt indoors that would put them up 10-3 to fail to convert 4th and 13. This seems like a move of desperation, rather than a show of confidence.

-The Giants finally break through and score a touchdown to take the lead in the fourth quarter. The worst nightmare for the Pats and their fans is becoming a reality, and you can see it in the stands. This moment is the absolute embodiment of a momentum shift, with the Giants turning confidence into points, and the Pats looking completely stunned and lost.

-Brady shows a ton of grittiness after being hit more times than he ever has in his pro career and leads the offense for a lead-regaining touchdown. A classic "Let's go defense," chant boomed through the stadium as Brady finally connected with Moss for the go-ahead score. With 2:43 left on the clock, the Giants have just enough time to come back once again. And that sets the stage for...

-The Giants start the most talked about drive in recent history at their own 17 yard line. After moving the Giants forward methodically, Manning escapes a ferocious rush on 3rd and 5 to find a leaping David Tyree who holds onto the ball and keeps New York in the game. The media has said all that can be said about this play, but just know that it was apparent that we just saw what would become part of Super Bowl lore with Manning finally showing something beyond natural ability and measurables. This will be his legacy, his play that showed he had "it."

-Manning hits Burress in the end zone with 35 seconds left. The crowd goes ballistic, and I turn to the wife and say, "They scored too soon." With only a field goal needed to tie, Brady throws an incomplete pass, gets crushed by the Giants pass rush for a sack, and throws two incomplete hail mary's to Moss to finish off the perfect season. Corey Webster's coverage of Moss on the last two plays should be kept on tape and shown to all young corners to show how not to get called for pass interference.

-As the confetti cannons fire and the Giants fans go insane, I look out onto the field and am completely stunned. The impossible happened and I now live in a world where Eli Manning is a Super Bowl MVP and Tom Coughlin is no longer on the ropes as the Giants head coach. We hang around for the trophy ceremony, and although the worst thing to happen in the world of sports is for New York to win something, I legitimately feel good about Manning's moment in the sun. One last shout out to Phoenix is in order, as we exit the parking lot exactly 23 minutes after leaving the stadium. Can't beat that with a stick.


That is all for this week. We'll get back to fantasy baseball next week, with more team previews and a look at some fantasy websites that I am particularly fond of. Until then, drop me a line at [e-mail]. Godspeed.