Super Sunday has come and gone once again. The scene was all too familiar: The Big, Bad New England Patriots facing off against the team that most had written off for inconsistency throughout the regular season, The New York Giants. Once again, the Giants prevailed proving that winning the big game isn’t all about Hall of Fame caliber quarterbacks and coaching. The resulting game has thus given us many valuable lessons about teamwork, fight, and resilience. Here are some lessons we can learn from Super Bowl XLVI:
Lesson 1: It isn’t about the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog.
No one can deny the Patriots had ferocity and a legacy of winning on their side. The Patriots came into this game with a vendetta, a sense of revenge that the Giants simply could not replicate. How could the Patriots not come into this game fighting for a chance to prove that Super Bowl XLII was just a fluke? The Giants had after all ruined what would have been the first perfect season since that of the 1972 Miami Dolphins. Then consider the fact this was Bill Belichick and Tom Brady’s fifth trip to the Super Bowl. They had been at this stage and won before. On top of that, the Giants even entered the NFL playoffs a lowly 9-7 while the Patriots were AFC Champions at 13-3. No one had ever won the Super Bowl after going 9-7 during the regular season; yet, somehow the Giants did it. The Giants showed, once again, that the underdogs can have the patience, determination, skill, and teamwork necessary to win, despite going up against a team that has proved itself time and time again.
Superbowl 46 Highlights (Giants vs Patriots 2012)
Lesson 2: Sometimes you just can’t stop your momentum.
Giants are down by two with the ball almost at the goal line with less than a minute to go on the clock. They have several scoring options. Had the game not been so close in score and not so near the end, the option would have been obvious: go for the touchdown. However, the most strategic thing to do in this situation is to run the clock and go for the field goal in order to limit the amount of time the Patriots would have to score. Ahmad Bradshaw, realizing this would be the better play, tries to stop short at the end zone but then falls. How can one blame him? Sometimes there is a force that propels you forward, no matter how hard you are trying to stop it. In the case of this, it is important to roll with the punches and keep on going. Perhaps this also teaches us to consider all the pros and cons before settling on a certain idea or path in life. Yet, in sports, decisions must be made so rapidly that this thought process is limited to several seconds. Fortunately, for the Giants, Bradshaw’s fall contributed to their triumph.
Lesson 3: Never underestimate a second-chance.
A few months ago, linebacker Chase Blackburn was substitute teaching. During the Super Bowl, he was intercepting a ball thrown by Tom Brady to tight end Rob Gronkowski. It just goes to show you, even when you think people have forgotten about you, your dedication to something and your motivation to prove yourself worthy of a chance, can pay off. After Week 12, the Giants called up Blackburn and gave him a chance to rejoin the team. He seized that opportunity and proved himself to be the valuable player that the Giants organization and his teammates knew he could be.
Lesson 4: Actions speak louder than words.
Everyone knows that talk is cheap. Unless you can back-up your words with physical evidence, people are destined to doubt you and not take you seriously. This is a lesson Eli Manning surely understands. In August 2011, he likened himself with some of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. He proclaimed himself to be a top quarterback, in the same class as three-time Super Bowl Champion Tom Brady, the very man he squared off against in his second Super Bowl appearance. Living in his older brother Peyton Manning’s shadow, it is easy to see how people took Eli’s comments with a grain of salt. Critics, spectators, and players alike scoffed at Eli’s bold comment…that is, until this past weekend. Eli now has two Super Bowl rings, one more than his mighty older brother, who was out all season due to injury. Eli proved his meticulousness in the clutch, not only throughout the regular season by leading his team to six comeback victories, but with his 38-yard sideline pass to Mario Manningham under duress late in the game. He was able to stand by his words, with the help of his teammates, hard work, and key decision making, which is something that is extremely difficult to do.
The lessons of Super Bowl XLVI have the ability to stand the test of time. By taking every opportunity given to you to prove that you are the best, dealing with adversity, and sticking by your word, you can achieve anything you want in life. Congratulations, New York Giants on your Super Bowl win! You guys truly deserved it!
Lauren Nevidomsky
