by Ray Sanchez©
I don’t usually ask my crystal ball about Super Bowls. It’s so impatient and obnoxious I limit my questions to college sports. However, this season’s Super Bowl is such an intriguing matchup I had to. I mean, who would have expected the New York Giants to be playing for all the marbles next Sunday?
I gently opened the drawer where I keep my crystal ball and said, “Excuse me.”
As expected, it came out growling. “What do you want now? Didn’t you ask me about UTEP recently?”
“Uh, yessir,” I said. “But this is about the Super Bowl XLVI. I expected New England to make it to the title game, but the Giants?”
I SHOULDN’T have put the question that way. It gave it a chance to start bragging.
“Well,” it began in its usual insulting voice, “it’s a surprising to people like you but not to me. I knew from the moment Giants coach Tom Coughlin came into the National Football League that he would be a winner. He’s a tough, no-nonsense disciplinarian who believes in physical conditioning. That’s my kind of coach.
“I know he didn’t win a Super Bowl in his first assignment as head NFL coach at Jacksonville but hey, that was an expansion team and he did better than any coach ever did with an expansion team, twice taking the Jaguars to the AFC championship game. Before that he was a successful coach at Boston College and helped the Giants win a Super Bowl as an assistant coach under Bill Parcells.”
I INTERRUPTED. “So you’re picking the Giants to win?” I asked with surprise in my voice.
“Don’t put words in my mouth,” it snapped. “I’m explaining why the Giants got to where they are. It’s because of Coughlin’s discipline and conditioning. His teams get better both during the season and in games. And on top of that, he gets help from above.”
“What?” I said.
“Yeah, you didn’t know that, did you?” the crystal ball smirked. “At one point in his young days he planned to become a Catholic priest. I’m sure he prays a lot.
“But I’m kidding. I just wanted to point that out. I’m not really suggesting there’s divine intervention in sports. It’s his conditioning that makes the Giants so good.”
I SHOOK MY head. “Okay, but will you please tell us who’s going to win next Sunday?” I asked.
“You’re so impatient,” it growled. “Frankly, I’m rooting for the Giants. They’re in the same division as my favorite team, the Dallas Cowboys, and beating New England will make the Cowboys look better. Remember, the Cowboys had the Giants beaten by two touchdowns in the fourth quarter and lost only because of the Giants’ better conditioning. The Cowboys could, should be playing the Patriots next Sunday.”
I laughed. C’mon,” I said. “You’ve got to be kidding. The Cowboys couldn’t beat a high school team the way they played the last few games.”
The crystal ball laughed right back. “I knew that would get your dander up. You’re right but wait until coach Jason Garrett gets a little experience.”
THEN THE crystal ball got serious. It said, “The Giants will be hard to beat but remember, the New England Patriots have a no-nonsense coach, too, in Bill Belichick. And as great as Giants quarterback Eli Manning is, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is just as good or better.
“The Giants finish games strongly, but start out slowly. I’m afraid the Patriots will get so far ahead early that the Giants, as well-conditioned as they are, won’t be able to quite catch up. I’m saying the Patriots will win by a touchdown, but don’t be surprised if Coughlin and the Giants win.”
“Thank you,” I said as I put it back in its drawer. Whew. It’s always a head-shaking experience talking to the orb.