The Giants Win the Superbowl

[The Imp]

GRRM will be walking on a cloud. It was a great game.

I'm so happy.

This will speed up TWoW by months

 

[juleska]

Hahaha! I didn't know he was a Giants fan? I'm in Bagram and therefore didn't see the game....even forgot it was today.

 

[Tywin]

They showed a couple shots of Soldiers watching at Bagram. Get ye to the MWR tent.

 

[The Imp]

Hahaha! I didn't know he was a Giants fan? I'm in Bagram and therefore didn't see the game....even forgot it was today.

He's a big Giants fan, in more ways than one. GRRM "cheats' in the same way I do. We root for the Giants but also the Jets, but when it's Giants vs Jets it's GIants all the way

 

[juleska]

Yeah there are places to see it, but with the time difference you have to stay up all night. When you work 7 days a week / 12 hrs a day, the idea of giving up what precious little sleep you get is not all that enticing. Maybe if I was a huge fan of either team. LOL

 

[Eulalia]

Great game, right to the finish! Yes, I hope that hastens the completion of the next book.

Somewhere in these threads isn't there a Song of Ice and Fire football thread?We could always have a draft. Who would get the Mountain?

 

[Koopa]

I remember that a couple of years ago one of the TV channels in Belgium made a lot 'reclame' (dutch word for commercial with a slightly different connotation in my meaning) that they'd be showing the Superbowl on tv in the night.

Having never watched it before and wanting to see what the fuss in america was all about. I decided to stay up. That was a mistake.

First thing that annoyed me was America way of making tv. Every 5 seconds or so you got hit with a bout of commercials. Not even all the time during time-outs, or breaks but in the middle of the game....

Then there was the commentary, for what seemed like nothing special, these dudes where raving like lunatics about some move a player made. I get that they where trying to get you all existed, get you into the feel of the game like when you're in the stadium itself but this was nonstop hysterics and therefore annoyance.

And then there was the game itself. I tried, i mean i really tried to like the game. But i just couldn't get into it. I think it may be a european thing. cause i never understood what americans liked so much about some other sports as well. I mean Nascar!! Riding around for god knows how many laps in a circle..... . In a goddamn circle.... .

The only game that is truly popular in america that i like is basketball. And even there i'd wish they made a rule change, and got rid of the amount of time-outs coaches can call. Once the game hits the 4th quarter the game seems to be in intermission. What should be 12 minutes ends up closer to 30 minutes. I mean what gives... . They're proffesional athletes, can't they think of plays themselves. What do they need their coach for all the time. Shouldn't that be part of basketball. Or is it that they can't run for 12 minutes on end...

 

[Tywin]

If you don't understand the rules of American football and/or have never played it yourself, then you will never appreciate watching it. The game involves a high amount of strategy as you get a set number of attempts (downs) to move the ball down the field into the goal area (endzone) while the other team does their best to physically destroy your ball carrier. The game is more a series of sprints than an ongoing endurance game (like soccer or basketball), and the trade off is that people move faster and hit harder. The shear size and athleticism of the athletes adds to this also - football is a place where very large men are successful.

There are certainly a lot of commercials in professional football, and that can be an annoyance. During the Superbowl, however, watching commercials has become an anticipated entertainment event in America. Commercial time during the Superbowl is the most expensive advertising time there is by several magnitudes (the price of airtime dwarfs that of the Olympics or the World Cup), so a lot of advertisers take that opportunity to roll out their best and funniest commercials.

 

[Koopa]

I understand the rules. I actually like a couple of movies made about american football. The real deal was a dissapointment though.

As for playing, i guess the closest i got was playing a version of rugby as a kid. So yes in that regard, definitely not the same thing.

 

[Tywin]

Rugby is fun, and you get scuffed up a bit, but it's a different game from American Football. There's more breakaway and open field running in football.

Here's a link to this year's commercials, some funny ones in there and some crappy ones. Critiquing commercials that screwed up their $3.5million 30 second spots is another part of Superbowl culture for us:

http://screenrant.com/super-bowl-commercials-2012-aco-149203/

The Doritos one with the dog is probably my favorite.

 

[reiver33]

I stayed up to watch it and it wasn't a classic game, but OK. Some of the unforced errors were beyond belief (called for 12 men on the field?) and the usual crop of just plain dumb play calling, but there you go. Having said that it kept your attention right to the end, as you can't write off the Pats even with 5 seconds on the clock.

I went with the Giants as they used to typify ball-control football, back when I first started watching the NFL on Channel 4 (in the same way the Jets were 'last one to score wins').

Roll on next season...

PS If anyone has a spare quarterback, please forward to the Jets, c/o...

 

[The Imp]

I stayed up to watch it and it wasn't a classic game, but OK. Some of the unforced errors were beyond belief (called for 12 men on the field?) and the usual crop of just plain dumb play calling, but there you go. Having said that it kept your attention right to the end, as you can't write off the Pats even with 5 seconds on the clock.

I went with the Giants as they used to typify ball-control football, back when I first started watching the NFL on Channel 4 (in the same way the Jets were 'last one to score wins').

Roll on next season...

PS If anyone has a spare quarterback, please forward to the Jets, c/o...

No game is mistake free, but this one had very few penalties and even fewer turnovers. It was a tight game the whole way, and any game that is in doubt up to the end of the last play is a classic IMO. The average Superbowl is a blowout and ends up being boring. This one was a nailbiter right to the end.

This is GRRM's blog post about the game

G-MEN!!! GIANTS!!!

• Feb. 5th, 2012 at 11:19 PM

Life is magical and full of joy.

They did it. They did it again. Deja three! First Superbowl 42, then this year's regular season game in Foxboro, then tonight! Big Blue 3, Patriots 0. Eli 3, Brady 0. Coughlin 3, Evil Little Bill 0.

Hot damn. Excuse my enthusiasm. I'd be doing a salsa dance right now, but I did one earlier and I think I threw my hip out. (No, don't send get well cards, just kidding).

I do swear, though, the similarities between this one and Superbowl 42 were pretty damn eerie. Same teams. Even the same uniforms (Pats in blue, Jints in white). Close game. G-Men down late in the fourth quarter, and Eli leads a desperate, heroic drive. Instead of Tyree's miracle catch, Manningham's miracle catch. Instead of Burress, Bradshaw takes it in for the go-ahead touchdown (though this time, the Pats and Evil Little Bill let the Giants score). But there's still time on the clock for Tom Brady to answer. In 42, the Gmen shut him down in four plays... though on one of them, the third down pass, the ball was just inches beyond Randy Moss's outstretched fingers. In 46, it looked almost like a replay... but Brady makes the 4th down connection on 4th and 16, and it comes down to a Hail Mary... and the deflected pass is just inches beyond the grasp of a diving Gronk. Whew. And YAY! That sonic boom you heard was my house in Santa Fe exploding with excitement.

Football truly is a game of inches. The Giants did get several lucky bounces this time. They fumbled twice and recovered both times. A third fumble, potentially disasterous, was undone when the Pats had twelve men on the field. And SB 42 turned on Asante Samuel letting a game-ending INT slip through his hands. Well, SB 46 turned on Wes Welker letting a game-ending reception bounce off his.

Even so, the Giants deserved the win. Eli outplayed Brady. The Giants receivers outplayed the Pats receivers. Both defenses played well, but the Giants D were toughest in the clutch, when the game on the line, and the Pats D wilted in the fourth quarter.

And Coughlin outcoached Evil Little Bill. I have to say it... I understand why the Pats parted like the Red Sea to let Bradshaw score on that last Giants TD, but I think it was a bad call by Belichick. It was second and goal, sure. If the Pats stuff Bradshaw, then it's third and goal. The G-Men probably try another run. Maybe they punch it in, maybe not. Maybe Kevin Glibride tries to outsmart the defense and calls a pass. In either scenario, lots of stuff can happen. Bradshaw might fumble. He'd already fumbled once. A pass might be deflected or intercepted. If the Patriots can hold the Giants for ONE MORE PLAY, they force a field goal attempt. A chip shot, sure. But kickers have been known to miss chip shots, especially when a world championship is on the line. Which Evil Little Bill should know, seeing as how the Pats are only in this SuperBowl because THE RAVENS KICKER MISSED A CHIP SHOT TWO WEEKS AGO. Belichick could have put this game on his D and Lawrence Tynes. Instead he chose to put it on Tom Brady and the Giants D. Which is how SB 42 ended too. And we know how that one worked out.

Bad call, Evil Little Bill. Bad bad call.

I do feel sorry for Wes Welker, a great and gutsy player who made a mistake that will likely haunt him for the rest of his career, and go down in SuperBowl history beside the Jackie Smith drop, Earl Morrell missing Jimmy Orr wide open in the endzone, and Scott Norwood's wide right. Welker may play for the despised Pats, but he reminds me of Wayne Chrebet, one of my favorite all-time Jets. I hope the Pats fans won't buckner him.

I also felt sorry for Robert Kraft. I do wish the TV cameras had not turned on him so mercilessly (and so long) after Brady's last hail mary fell incomplete. He looked so heartbroken. I admit, I love seeing Jerry Jones make his Pissy Face every time the Giants beat the Cowboys, but I can't hate Kraft the way I do JJ. TV can be cruel at times.

Mostly though, I feel good for all the Giants... Cruz and Nicks played great games, Mario Manningham came through when it mattered most, Chase Blackburn (out of football at mid-season) had a key interception, Tuck and JPP were amazing...

And the Giants are once again world champions!

What a game. What a season. What a year.

Bring on the parade.

 

[Grunkins]

Traitor!

 

[Tywin]

I faded off halfway through that post, just like I faded off halfway through the Superbowl. New York vs New England = no one outside of the east coast really cares much. No one had a stake in it... none of our rivals or our conference members.

 

[The Imp]

I faded off halfway through that post, just like I faded off halfway through the Superbowl. New York vs New England = no one outside of the east coast really cares much. No one had a stake in it... none of our rivals or our conference members.

I watch the Superbowl every year because it has the potential to be a great game. I don't need to have a wolf in the fight, although this year The Patriots were "Ghosted"

 

[Wiggum]

There is only one place that The Lombardi Trophy should be.

That being said, I always root NFC, and its nice to see Eli finally getting respect.

He's like the Dirk Nowitzki of the NFL.

 

[Tywin]

There is only one place that The Lombardi Trophy should be.

Hallas Hall?

 

[The Imp]

There is only one place that The Lombardi Trophy should be.

That being said, I always root NFC, and its nice to see Eli finally getting respect.

He's like the Dirk Nowitzki of the NFL.

Eli has proven he's a clutch as they come. He's beaten Brady and the Patriots twice now, and just shines when the pressure is on. His growth since being drafted has been amazing.

 

[Wiggum]

Hallas Hall?

Lol, I was actually engaged to a dedicated Bears fan.

Made for some arguments, but I always took the view that even though she was rooting for the wrong team, she did enjoy watching football.

I'll take that disparity any day of the week.

Especially Sunday.