As I got ready, I realized I had way too much Giants gear on: my lucky shirt, my Manning jersey, my visor, beads I bought at the NFL Shop the day before, my ticket holder. Oh and have I mentioned that my nails had the NY logo on them? If there was ever a time to over do it though, it was the Super Bowl and I was ready.
My nails (and chubby fingers--no Spanx for hands) and all their NYG glory
We headed downstairs where the buses were already waiting to take us into Indianapolis. Daddy, very anxious to get this day started, wanted to board the bus immediately even though it wasn't leaving for another 30 minutes (at least).
As the bus pulled away from the hotel, my adrenaline started really pumping. I could not believe we were headed to the Super Bowl. Our first stop was the pregame party. I can't really tell you what my expectations were for it but I can tell you that they blew everything away. We walked into a full blown party. The DJ was in the front of the room and the music was pumping. There were trays and trays of hot food, 2 open full bars, and quite the dessert display.
We're READY TO PARRTAAAYY!
**Read like Kristin Wiig says in the plane scene of Bridesmaids
We grabbed some food and tried (unsuccessfully) to find somewhere to sit. While my father and husband looked around, I went to the restroom. Of course, in typical fashion, there was a long line for the women's room and no line in the men's bathroom. This is not usually the case at sporting events but it was early and all the women got off the bus and headed straight for the women's room. So I did what any rational person who had to pee something terrible would do, I went in the men's room.
I met back up with Daddy and Hubby and scarfed down my food while standing. Then we started to walk around. I quickly discovered that we were likely the poorest people in the place. There was a silent auction happening with a lot of really cool memorabilia (some Giants related and some not). I glanced at a couple of minimum bids and when the cheapest I could find was $500, I quit looking.
Soon, old timers from the Super Bowl XXI and XXV were at the party signing autographs. We made our way around and checked everyone out. Hubby and Daddy were taking advantage of the open bar. I was just soaking it all in. We chatted with some fellow fans and then before we knew it, it was time to walk over to the stadium. We left in a huge mob of Giants fans. It was awesome. We chanted and cheered the few blocks to the game.
Leaving the party and heading to the stadium.
Then, just like that, we were at the gate. The gate to the enter the SUPER BOWL.
Let's be clear. At this point, I still couldn't believe we were there.
We had left several hours early so that we could check out the stadium. So when we got to the gate there were no lines. We made our way quickly through security.
Walking through the gate.
And then we were in.
Lucas Oil Stadium is a beautiful stadium to begin with. Add that we were there for the Super Bowl and I swear it had a heavenly glow about it.
We decided to take a peak at the field before we made our way all the way up to our seats. As we stood back and took pictures from the top of the field level seats, the gentleman working looked at us and said "You can go down there and take pictures if you'd like." Have I mentioned that the people in Indianapolis were the nicest people I have ever been around?? So we went down and started taking pictures of the field. NBC was set up on our sideline so practically right in front of us was Bob Costas and Rodney Harrison.
Then I left my father and husband to meet a woman for the first time that I had known about for years and who played a very important role in my life--she helped me find the church that Hubby and I got married in. This is a great story and I can't do it justice embedded in this post. Hopefully one day soon (and as you see, sometimes "soon" is 20 days late) I'll write about this mystery woman and the great story about how we finally met.
I met back up with my father and husband and we headed to our seats. They were high but they were great. We had a terrific view of the entire field, and since we booked through a Giants-affiliated travel agency, our entire section was filled with NY fans. We were on the Giants sideline by the Patriots painted end zone. Subsequently, this would be the end zone where nearly all important scoring and plays happened.
Our view
As we sat there very excited, Hubby struck up a conversation with the men next to him. I leaned over and said, "Can you believe you're here?" As you know, not believing I was there has been quite the theme for the entire weekend. This guy turns to me and dead pans, "Yes." Oh, excuuuuuse me. I guess for me this was an experience of a lifetime. For this guy, just a regular Sunday. I should have asked him what does get him excited. Perhaps his miniature giraffe does.
The "fluff" before the game seemed to take forever. The teams were announced, America the Beautiful, The Star Spangled Banner (not fluff) were sung, and the Man of Year award was given. We got to see the back of this since for some reason it all was facing the Patriots sideline--possibly because they were the home team. The coin was tossed. The Giants picked tails and lost. My dad yelled, "It's almost always heads! Why would they pick tails?" To which I sarcastically responded, "Actually, they had about a 50/50 shot with that." And then I dropped it. So, the Patriots decided to defer. This is an argument every week in our house. Hubby thinks you should get the ball first and put points on the board first. I don't know why anyone would ever NOT defer (except for overtime, of course). You want the momentum in the second half. Period.
So again, after what felt like an eternity, the Patriots finally kicked off.
Kick Off
The Giants were driving down the field towards our end zone. The team was looking great. Eli completed pass after pass. But unfortunately, just before they reached field goal territory, the drive was stalled. Weatherford (who's quickly becoming one of my favorite characters on the team) came out to punt. He pinned the Patriots within the 10-yard line, setting up the Giants for their first score.
Brady, the Patriots supposed elite quarterback, made an epic mistake on the very first play. While under pressure from Tuck, he threw the ball away while still in the end zone. It was glorious to see the ref throw the flag because it really only meant one thing. Intentional grounding. When the QB does that in the end zone, it puts 2 points on the board for the opposing team. So with an assist from Justin Tuck, Brady scored the Giants first points LITERALLY right in front of us.
Notice Brady on his back. A similar site to Super Bowl XLII
Flag thrown and the official is signalling Intentional Grounding.
Notice Brady sadly looking at the flag on the ground.
The Giants got the ball back and scored on the next drive. So ultimately, Brady's mistake cost the Patriots 9 points. The Giants looked great in the first half. They controlled the ball for most of the half. They weren't making any mistakes. Unfortunately, though, the score didn't reflect that at halftime. The Patriots headed into the locker room with the lead, 10-9. We had Chatty McCommentators behind us, so of course, they had some choice words for this situation. It didn't matter though. I wasn't giving up faith.
Madonna came out and performed the half time show. The most exciting parts for me were: 1. Watching the set up of the stage in such a short time. 2. She finished with Like A Prayer. 3. The take down of the stage in such a short time. Other than that, I felt like I was watching a woman perform out her mid-life crisis right before my eyes and on one of the biggest stages in the world.
Madonna, 53, with pom poms & fishnet stockings.
Who said she was acting age appropriate?
So that wrapped up and the teams came out to play the second half. For the Patriots first possession, they scored a touch down, making the score 17-9, in a game that the Giants had essentially dominated. I wish I had known then what I know now. This would be the last time the Patriots would put any points on their board. Had I known this, I wouldn't have been so stressed out for the last 30 minutes of play.
In the 3rd quarter, the Giants scored two field goals--in our end zone. But to win the Super Bowl, that wasn't going to cut it. To start the 4th quarter, the Patriots still had the lead 17-15. The 4th quarter was very stressful to me. I'm certain my blood pressure was through the roof. I didn't say a word for the final 15 minutes of play. I just sat in my seat and watched it play out. And honestly, I prayed. This is not something I typically do but in that 4th quarter, I was talking to God and hoping He was listening.
With just 3:46 minutes left, the Giants got the ball back on their 12-yard line. We watched them drive the ball all the way down the field. Then we watched Bradshaw score in a very bizarre fashion. As the Patriots opened a lane for him, he turned around and sat in the end zone.
I don't blame Bradshaw for not being able to stop himself here.
In fact, I'm not sure how much I would have agreed with it if he did.
I'd rather the points and to force Brady to take it all the way down the field for a touchdown.
Field goal wouldn't be good enough.
We would later find out that Eli was yelling, "Don't score! Don't score!" So as Bradshaw scored what would be the winning touchdown, only the fans got to celebrate. Rather than seeing 6 points on the board, the Giants saw :57 seconds left on the clock and they were giving the ball back to the Patriots. The problem with that was, and I knew it right away, that was exactly the same amount of time they turned the ball over to Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers during the regular season. The Packers won that game as Rodgers orchestrated a brilliant drive down the field.
So I watched as Brady got the ball back with :57 seconds left. I'm fairly certain I did not breath during that time. The defense came out strong. On 3rd down, Tuck sacked Brady for a 6-yard loss. You heard a loud sigh of relief from the crowd that was mostly Giants fans. Then, in one of the very few plays that showed Brady deserved all the hype that he gets, he converted the 4th and 16. The game wasn't over yet.
Then with the Patriots at mid-field and only :09 seconds left, Brady did the only thing he could do. He heaved it down the field in a Hail Mary attempt. As it was all happening in slow-mo to me, this was playing over and over in my mind.
And then, the ball hit the ground.
THE GIANTS WON!!!
My favorite post-game celebration picture.
Love the NJ fist pump right!
All the emotions that had built up in that last quarter, burst it's way out of me in hysterical crying. Yes, HYSTERICAL crying. Everyone in our section hugged and high-fived. It was such a rush to be there and be part of it. After the ceremony to present the Giants with the Lombardi trophy, we headed back for the Big Blue Travel after party celebration. Honestly, having not had a single drink during the entire game, I was on such a high, I felt like I was drunk. I bought a couple of shirts on our way out and yelled in the streets once outside. I yelled of course, the most logical thing I could think of--something I stood by all season:
Now we need to question if Brady should be in the same sentence as Eli for elite quarterbacks! You can't spell ELITE without ELI!
The two quarterbacks went head to head in two Super Bowls, and Eli left both times with a new car and a trip to Disney World. I'd take Eli over Brady ANY DAY!
We headed back to the party and celebrated with all the NYG fans. We had a champagne toast and took full advantage of the open bar.
What an amazing experience. I still cannot believe I was there.
