A Giants Win Would Be Bigger Than Football

Spoken or unspoken there is an implicit rivalry between New York and Boston. I'm not just talking about sports, in which the rivalries are palatable but a rivalry between cities. New Yorkers sometimes scoff at the thought of Boston being a true "city" despite the fact that much less impressive dots on the map are labelled cities. (Buffalo for example). I suppose that attitude comes from living in the shadow of what is arguably the largest, fastest, and most important city on the planet. On the other hand, what Boston lacks in skyscrapers and terrorist attacks, it makes up for in the zealous representation of the city's reputation by it's residents. My best guess is that there are fewer people moving to Boston from around the country than to NY, making the population more homogenous and the "herd mentality" has a greater chance of prevailing when there are fewer varied opinions to stand in the way. It's likely that there are more college age transplants or transients to Boston than there are people moving there for other reasons.

A quick tangent: Moving to Boston or New England in general for four years of college, particularly if you are from New York, does not justify being a Patriots fan. Maybe if you never followed football and didn't have a team I could consider letting it slide, but probably not. Think about it, if you're a Yankees, Knicks, and Rangers fan, how could you be a Patriots fan? Sports between New York and Boston transcends the individual teams, it is about pride in the city you call(ed) home.

With this thought in mind, while the Giants are playing in the Super Bowl as much for themselves and the franchise, with a victory they could avenge the past year of New England/Boston sports dominance. A true New York sports fan would be lying if they said that the Boston sports dominance didn't annoy them just a little. They would be quick to blame it on New York GM's and NY athletes as much as giving credit to the Boston teams for their success. Perhaps I get it more living in a "middle state" between Boston and New York where the mixing of fans is more prominent and the debate can certainly become heated.

Think about it though. The Celtics are the best team in the NBA, the Red Sox won the World Series, and the Patriots are 18-0 and heading to what will likely be a perfect 19-0 and a Super Bowl victory. New York teams on the other hand, the Mets collapse, the assorted Yankee drama surrounding A-Rod, the Steinbrenner sons who appear to be baseballs version of Uday and Kusay Hussein, brash, ignorant at times, growing up under the idea that the Yankees are bigger than baseball and feeling that they can make unreasonable demands and statements. Not to mention the debacle that is the NY Knickerbockers. Hockey is hockey, neither city is doing great in that department. It's been a year of celebrating Boston's sports triumphs.

The Giants could end that on Super Bowl Sunday. Think about it, if there was ever a "sure thing" it is that the Patriots will be triumphant. Could you imagine if the Giants upset that perfect picture? It would be bigger news than the Celtics dominating the NBA, bigger than the Red Sox winning the World Series. If the Patriots win, surely it will be a glorious and celebrated accomplishment, but it will be meeting expectations and that just isn't as sweet as exceeding them. A Giants win would not just be a victory for the Giants, but really a victory for all of New York as well as an implicit fuck you from all fans of NY sports teams, hell the rest of the country, to the Patriots for their brash, arrogant public image and to New England fans in general for buying into it.