Good morning.
You were not dreaming.
The Giants are in the Super Bowl.
And they can thank the quarterback who has grown up before our very eyes in the span of the last four weeks.
From uncertain and unproven passer to Super Bowl quarterback, Manning has made a spectacular run through the playoffs and now to the big show. I wrote about him for my newspaper column today, based on yet another mistake-free performance against the favored Packers.
This is really what sports is all about. To see the moment the light goes on for a player, and then to watch him blossom when his team needs him most. For all the abuse Manning has taken over the years, he finally gets to savor his moment of glory.
(Memo to Charlie Chilkoot: We are aware of the pain you must be in while flying home to San Diego today. You freeze your tush off to watch Philip Rivers and your beloved Chargers go down to the Patriots, and then suffer in silence as the quarterback who told your city to buzz off four years ago goes to the Big Show. So we offer this picture to remind you of what might have been. Hey, at least you had a couple hours to enjoy Manning as a Charger.)
Comments (1)
I could not be happier that Jughead isn't a Charger and that Philip Rivers is. This particular photo is especially sweet, knowing that he is standing there having to hold that jersey and wonder what his daddy was going to do now. Archie's kids obviously know how to play quarterback, but the one running the Giants offense has the personality of a slug and a dad that has taken vicarious living to new heights. His manipulations must be inspired by all the losses he tallied during his NFL career. But all the Lombardi trophies his kids might play for won't change the fact that Archie is a loser. And I wonder, did the father of any other Giants attend the game last night? They must've been sitting out in the cold. Must Fox show so many shots of Old Man Manning?
I'm pulling for San Diego native Junior Seau to ring Jughead's bell and get one for his finger.