Mere hours from now, a new champion will be crowned in the NFL.
Really, the new champ will be an old champ of the National Football League, as the New York Giants and New England Patriots have each taken home three Vince Lombardi Trophies over the course of their storied histories.
Established in 1925, the Giants are the fourth oldest team in the NFL. Besides their three modern era Super Bowl wins, New York also won three NFL Championships—in 1927, 1934, 1938 and 1956—and they have appeared in the title game 18 total times, going 7-11 all-time. In fact, the Giants were one of the top two teams in football 6-8 years, from 1956-1963.
And while the Giants are one of the original NFL teams, the Patriots—originally of Boston—were one of eight teams to play in the inaugural American Football League. Since their inception in 1960, the Patriots have gone 3-2 in their Super Bowl appearances and they've arguably been the top team in the NFL over the last dozen years. New England's played in the postseason 9-12 seasons, winning three Lombardis in four years from 2001-2004.
It can't be forgotten that the two teams faced off in 2007, with New York winning 17-14, although only 22 Giants and nine Patriots remain on their respective teams today. So calling Super Bowl XLVI a rematch of XLII would be an incorrect assumption, while opening up new storylines for today's game.
NFL Commissioner from 1960-1989 Pete Rozelle, the man credited with not only bringing together the two feuding football leagues by playing in the NFL-AFL Championship game (later named the Super Bowl), but also bringing about the 1970 merger that ensured the future success of the NFL as a sporting entity, would be proud to see these two model franchises represent their respective conferences today.
There's no Lawrence Taylor, Frank Gifford or Michael Strahan lining up for New York, nor will Richard Seymour, Ty Law or Tedy Bruschi suit up for New England—but the stars of today will surely shine brightly on the sports world's biggest stage.
Tom Brady, Wes Welker and Rob Gronkowski for the Patriots and Eli Manning, Victor Cruz and Jason Pierre-Paul for the Giants will be the key players this afternoon as each try to leave their mark on the on the history of football.
Of course, not even Rozelle—hailed by many of his contemporaries as a visionary—could have imagined the preposterous amount of pomp and circumstance that surrounds the Super Bowl today; with eight-hour pregame shows, million-dollar commercials and 100 million people worldwide tuning into the game.
It's certainly a super stage for the game of football to be shown off to sports-lovers and those indifferent to the action on the gridiron.
And what makes the Super Bowl the best of all championships in American professional sports is while league champions in the MLB, NBA and NHL are all decided by seven-game series, the NFL's title winner is decided by one single game.
It forces players on both sides of the ball to play their hearts out, leaving it all—blood, sweat and tears—on the field.
Superb seasons by both teams all come down to this, 60 minutes of football that will determine legacies and build legends.
For New Englands' Bill Belichick, it would mean his fourth Super Bowl win as a head coach, tying him with Chuck Noll as the only coaches to win four.
A win for the Patriots would also give Tom Brady four Super Bowl victories, tying him with Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana, and with 157 yards passing and five touchdowns today, the “Golden Boy” can take those records as well.
If the Giants win, it would give head coach Tom Coughlin and quarterback Eli Manning two Super Bowl wins each, forcing analysts to respect them each as two of the best to ever do what they do.
And besides the men with the most focus put on them, there are many more whose careers can be proven successful with a win today.
In the end, all fans can hope for is a good game—one that's competitive throughout, with some exciting plays sprinkled in—and as the buildup leads into the crescendo that is the kickoff, no one can be sure which team has the advantage, meaning football fanatics should get just that.
History will be made today by both teams, but only one will take home their fourth Vince Lombardi Trophy.
Rich Kurtzman is a freelance journalist actively seeking a career in journalism. Along with being your Denver Broncos Examiner, Rich is your CSU Rams Examiner and Kurtzman also writes for Blake Street Bulletin, Stadium Journey, Bleacher Report, and Mile High Hoops.
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