The Helmet Catch finally gets a deep rewind

I love an underdog story. Who doesn’t? It’s not fun to root for winners, there’s no suspense, there’s no drama, there’s no quiet feeling in the back of your mind that “hey, if these guys can win, then maybe someday I can overcome my many many obstacles! Or at least one of ‘em!”

And in Super Bowl XLII, Eli Manning and the Giants were just about the saddest underdog at the pound. After years of early playoff exits and the demoralizing start of the 2007 season, they cindarella’ed their way to the big game. Only to have to play the Tom Brady and the Patriots, who, by the way, had not lost all season. Brady was bolstered by Randy Moss and Wes Welker. Nobody else had a chance.

But an improbable, acrobatic, 4th quarter catch in the final drive of the Super Bowl was the Patriots undoing. And who made the catch? David Tyree, an underdog himself! A special teams player who forced people to respect him as a wide out.

I’d call this the ultimate David v Goliath story, but it doesn’t quite work because the team that represents David is the New York Giants. Totally ruins the metaphor. But still, all in all, this game is a historic underdog tale, worthy of a deep rewind.