Post Super Bowl Thoughts

   There was so much hype leading up to SB XLVI, the question was, would the game live up to it?
   
    Absolutely!
   
    I can't remember if it was Michaels or Collinsworth who said it during the telecast when they said (paraphrasing here) 'why can't these two teams play every year for the super bowl?'
   
    That may be taking it a little too far, but the game definitely delivered.
   
    Throughout the game I made several observations, and the two biggest ones probably could've changed the course of the game.
   
    The first one I jotted down came in the first quarter, with the Giants driving deep into Patriots territory.  Victor Cruz catches a short pass over the middle, taking it to the New England seven yard line...where the Patriots' Moore strips him of the ball.
   
    Turnover Giants, right?
   
    WRONG.
   
    The Patriots had 12 men on the field.  Result?
   
    Giants get the ball back and ultimately score.  Take that touchdown away, and Patriot players are the ones making out with the Lombardi trophy post game.
   
    The second most crucial observation I made came in the fourth quarter:  the catch Wes Welker should've made.  You can say he 'dropped the ball' on that one because that's a catch he shoulda had.  He was wide open, and was able to get both hands on the ball.  They say if you're a receiver, and can get ONE hand on the ball, you should catch it.  He had TWO!
   
    The Patriots already had the lead at that point.  The catch would've put them in field goal range to extend the lead, and put the Giants in a world of trouble with only one timeout left, and under four minutes remaining.
   
    He makes that catch, patriots probably win, and Welker is still out partying right now, and hasn't slepped.  But those are the breaks, as my 49er fans have reminded me.
   
    Take away a couple costly mistakes in their game versus the Giants a couple weeks ago, and the niners are probably playing for the super bowl.  Football can be a cruel game like that.
   
    Which is why I kind of like the NBA/MLB playoff format better.  In order to truly determine who the best team is, they need to play more than one time, that way you won't get arguments like this.  If a team gets lucky one game, now they have a chance to prove they're better, by winning the next game, or in a three, five game series.  But I understand - due to the physicality of football - playing a multiple game series would not be possible.  I mean you saw how many injuries took place in that game alone.  They wouldn't be able to rebound, a play another game, a couple days later...let alone a 3-5 game set.
   
    But I digress.
   
    For somebody with no real rooting interest (although I was rooting for former Duck/current Patriot safety Patrick Chung to get a ring) I was not disappointed with the game.  Already looking forward to the off-season storylines, the draft, and the start of next season!