Why?

The current mystery in my life is why it was so important to me that the Giants win the Super Bowl this year.  I'm no more or less attached to them than I've always been--a huge fan, yes, and since my childhood, yes, and also rooting for the Jets, which I know many New Yorkers find odd, yes, yes.  But having been born in New York City but lived elsewhere much of my life, one of the few ways I had to remain attached to The City, regardless of my whereabouts, was to be a Jets AND Giants fan.  Since being a tot, although I like the Mets and hate the Yankees, I have been a fan of both of the football teams that call New York (and New Jersey) their own.  I've also grown to have a secondary affection for the Steelers, the Redskins, and in times when the scene in New York was especially grim, I have been known to root for the Patriots and the 49ers too.  But my primary loyalties--the Jets and the Giants.

And also there's something about Eli Manning that I adore.  He's like a puppy . . . a little awkward, and a little shy, and a little sensitive.  I still can see his face a few years back when he would fail to make a pass or a play would misfire--not even an important play, just any play--and he would fall apart emotionally and it would be all over his face.  He's grown up now in that he no longer falls apart emotionally, as far as I can see.  Quite the opposite.  He seems as radically in command, especially behind in the fourth quarter, regardless of the size of the stage, as he used to seem miserable.

But still, I don't live or die by the success or failure of my teams.  I support them.  I follow them.  But I don't freak out either way.  This year somehow is different.  Maybe it's that failure seems inevitable and omnipresent in my life.  Since I can't succeed, I desperately need someone else to do so.  So I put the pressure I can't live with, on Eli Manning's broad shoulders.  Good call, as it turned out.

I usually will joke that my favorite kind of football game is a very close game that turns out at the last minute to have the good guys win.  My second favorite is a blowout where the good guys win.  Third, I'm okay, ultimately, with a game where the bad guys lose (have I mentioned my lifetime distaste for Oakland, Miami, and Dallas?).  And finally, I don't even mind a very close game regardless of the outcome.  The Super Bowl is rarely the first kind of game.  It's rarely close.  It's rarely my favorite teams.  But this time, it was both.  I really appreciate that.  Thanks Eli.