Confidence level going into Super Bowl XLII?

I was hopeful. Cannot say confident, but I thought they had a very good chance for a good day.

I wouldn't say I was overly confident, but I had a good feeling about the game. It wasn't until the defense held the Pats offense AFTER the special teams penalty (12 men on the field) that I truly believed - 100 percent - that we were going to win.

Also, the the Pats were not the same dominant force in Dec./Jan. that they had been earlier in the season. Felt like they were coming back down to earth a bit as we were ascending.

Was hoping for the best.

you're usually going to be confident. I figure that if we play great, and the Pats have a down game, we were going to have a chance.

I also felt super confident going into Super Bowl XXXV.

By like a TD, 10 points at most, but I was leaning more towards us losing something like 21-14 or 28-21. I was never on board with us getting destroyed, or us destroying them and never understood anyone who thought either team was going to destroy the other. Yes, the Pats were 18-0, but we had just played them a month previous, had a 10 point lead (or something like that) into the third quarter, and only lost by a FG. And anyone who thought we'd destroy them was also on another planet.

I'll never forget this, but I drove down to my best friend's house in East Brunswick to watch SB 42. I was listening to WFAN. Eddie Coleman was doing a show while I was driving down there. He's a Pats fan. And I'll never even forget where I was on the turnpike when he said it (I was passing by Newark Airport by Exit 14) when he actually said he was picking the Giants to win, despite being a Pats fan. I just about crashed my car. And one of the first things I thought about after the Giants won, was Eddie Coleman of all people picking the Giants to win, even despite him being a Pats fan.

Strange, random story but something that still hasn't left my memory even 12 years later. I can even picture what the sky looked like and what time of day it was when he said that as I was passing by the Airport. Strange, but true.

The whole thing had a house money vibe. It was obvious that we were experiencing a magical kind of postseason so I was just enjoying the ride. I remember feeling like we had a dangerous team. That had the roles been reversed, if the Giants were 18-0, Id have been silently nervous.

Looking back, its kind of crazy. Eli and Coughlin's vindication, Strahan's curtain call, and knocking off an undefeated juggernaut. Very few fans, regardless of the sport, get to experience something like we did.

Getting out of bed that morning. Went to bed feeling a lot better.

In comment 14937902 BNY Giants Club said:

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Getting out of bed that morning. Went to bed feeling a lot better.

You went to bed? I dont think I slept until Monday afternoon.

In comment 14937903 j_rud said:

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In comment 14937902 BNY Giants Club said: Quote: Getting out of bed that morning. Went to bed feeling a lot better. You went to bed? I dont think I slept until Monday afternoon.

LOL. I partied all night, took the next day off, & hit the pillows around noon Monday. True story.

I just felt like we were a team of destiny at that point. The stars had aligned. And you could just feel the momentum.

I sure as hell knew we were better than 12 point dogs.

so it was nice having Monday off to recover. I didn’t party too much, but I listened to every talk radio show and watched highlights all day. I remember listening to Giants fans call in to WFAN overnight - I think Marc Malusis was the host - and watching the beginning of Mike & Mike at 6am. Didn’t sleep a wink.

2 bottles of JW Blue. When it was a low scoring game after first half it was obvious I had won the bet, but now it was win the game outright.

A very good night all-around.

a 30% chance of pulling it off. I think that was about right.

and were as dedicated NFL followers as I was, thought the Giants were going to win.

You could just feel it. It was a quiet, comfortable confidence that I didn't feel again until Superbowl 46.

Especially with Gronk hobbled. If not for the ridiculous Boothe holding call, it wouldn’t have been much of a game.

I cried tears of joy after the game. Very rarely in my life has that ever happened to me, but that was one of the nights.

I also didn't go to sleep. I had taken that Monday off work, and my wife was leaving on a business trip the next morning at 7am. She came down to leave and I was still watching highlights.

The single greatest sports moment of my 44 years on earth. I doubt it will ever be topped. When people wonder why I have so much loyalty to Coughlin and Eli, that pretty much tops the list.

...is that while they were dominant early on, they had quite a few close games in the second half of the year. It was if the league in the year but really had to battle their way to the perfect regular season record down the stretch. And the other three teams in their division had only 12 wins between them. And their playoff wins were nothing to brag about. They were still scoring points, but not like they did the first ten weeks of the season.

In comment 14937916 bceagle05 said:

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Especially with Gronk hobbled. If not for the ridiculous Boothe holding call, it wouldn’t have been much of a game.

That game's a blowout if not for that absurd call, that even Wilfork thought was a joke.

In comment 14937918 Milton said:

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...is that while they were dominant early on, they had quite a few close games in the second half of the year. It was if the league in the year but really had to battle their way to the perfect regular season record down the stretch. And the other three teams in their division had only 12 wins between them. And their playoff wins were nothing to brag about. They were still scoring points, but not like they did the first ten weeks of the season.

Milton, I visited cousin up in Maine that October where the Pats beat Washington-a good team that year too- something like 56-7. They were just a machine. They weren't the same team come later that season.

In comment 14937919 SFGFNCGiantsFan said:

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In comment 14937916 bceagle05 said: Quote: Especially with Gronk hobbled. If not for the ridiculous Boothe holding call, it wouldn’t have been much of a game. That game's a blowout if not for that absurd call, that even Wilfork thought was a joke.

Wrong game

.

In comment 14937890 bceagle05 said:

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Also, the the Pats were not the same dominant force in Dec./Jan. that they had been earlier in the season. Felt like they were coming back down to earth a bit as we were ascending.

This. The Pats through the first 10 or so games were a different team than the one in the 2nd half of the season. The team in the 1st half was the most dominant football team ever, the team in the 2nd half was an extremely good team but not that far ahead of the pack.

Their win over the Chargers in the AFC Champ game was uninspiring and the Giants defense was looking extremely good during the NFC playoff run. Eli looked like a new man and the Eli to Plax connection was glorious vs. the Packers.

We were definitely the underdogs but I didn't think we had no shot. We were playing at our highest level all season while the Pats were playing about as bad as they had all year entering the game. We had just gone down to the wire in a classic regular season game with them. We also just kicked the Packers' ass in Lambeau, I know it went to OT but we should've won by 10.

I still thought the Pats would win but I thought we had a real chance at the upset if Eli didn't fold under the pressure.

In comment 14937903 j_rud said:

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In comment 14937902 BNY Giants Club said: Quote: Getting out of bed that morning. Went to bed feeling a lot better. You went to bed? I dont think I slept until Monday afternoon.

Ha! I didnt even bother calling in sick on Monday. Just didnt show up.

In comment 14937897 BlackLight said:

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you're usually going to be confident. I figure that if we play great, and the Pats have a down game, we were going to have a chance. I also felt super confident going into Super Bowl XXXV.

I was hopeful, can't say confident.

The two I was confident for are XXI and XXXV. One worked out; the other one is best forgotten.

In comment 14937897 BlackLight said:

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you're usually going to be confident. I figure that if we play great, and the Pats have a down game, we were going to have a chance. I also felt super confident going into Super Bowl XXXV.

I was hopeful, can't say confident.

The two I was confident for are XXI and XXXV. One worked out; the other one is best forgotten.

Confident, not cocky.

That entire playoff run was magical. That was my first football season as a homeowner, and I was the first of my friends to own a house. It was my only season with the Sunday Ticket, and my buddies were there every Sunday to watch.

We had an epic Super Bowl party that carried over to a local bar afterwards. I took Monday off, and consumed every ounce of content that was available. Went out and bought all of the local newspapers and framed them (they're still up in my basement). It's head and shoulders my favorite day as a sports fan.

I was supremely confident going into Super Bowl 47. If it wasn't for that BS holding call on Kevin Boothe (that Vince Wilfork admitted was BS) that game would have been a route.

Seeing how Week 17 went, I knew we could hang with New England. The problem with hanging close is that a fluke play for either team could win it. I definitely did not expect our D holding them to 14 points. What concerned me as well is that with the Pats going for the perfect season, officiating might unconsciously give the Pats the benefit of the doubt on any close call. Don’t forget we were only 2 years removed from Bill Leavy’s debacle in Super Bowl XL. When it is 18 v. 11 in favor of the favorites, it is harder for the underdogs to win.

I knew we had a chance because any team can beat any team, admittedly I was nervous as hell, losing the super bowl sucks.

I had a gas station job at the time, my coworker had a little tiny tv she brought in for me and basically did all the work so I could just watch the game. Shout out to that chick.

a playoff spot, every night I had the same dream. Eli trotting out onto the field, down 4 with around 2 minutes on the clock and staring inside our own 20. Every night he led us down the field for the TD.

I was very confident they were going to win. When the drive started I just sat there with a smile on my face. I knew what was going to happen.

Once New England started to hit the late November part of their schedule, they weren't winning games 48-7 or 52-7 anymore. They had close calls against the Colts, Eagles, Ravens and they only won 20-10 vs the Jets. I think that was the week the Giants lost to the Washington Team at home.

I thought those wins New England had over Jacksonville and (especially San Diego) vs an injured Rivers were rather unimpressive. The two weeks the Giants defense and Steve Spagnuolo had to prepare (and seeing them in week 17) helped out a ton.

Those were the slowest two weeks in my entire life leading up to that Super Bowl.

Useless non-football fans. Get away from me. You serve no purpose.

Our team as a whole was peaking and the D was playing unbelievably great. Pats had plateaued and weren’t playing as well as the beginning of the year. They didn’t see the buzz saw of our front four coming and never had a chance. I made almost $2500 in bets with friends. That’s how confident I was.

so no didn't have tons of confidence going in.

Once Tyree caught it though, I was like, this is epic shit right here.

Early on, got worried about the blown opportunities. Having the super long opening drive that only ended in a field goal. Pierce giving the Pats a chance with pass interference on the goal line. Smith dropping a pass that turned into an interception. Bradshaw's illegal bat that pushed the ball out of field goal range. Figured the team couldn't afford to leave so many points on the field. Didn't expect the defense to hold the best offense in history to only 14.

... everything else felt like gravy. I don't know if I was confident. Maybe... optimistic.

I do remember posting in the ESPN conversation for the game, saying to Patriots' fans, "See you in the Super Bowl."

In comment 14937903 j_rud said:

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In comment 14937902 BNY Giants Club said: Quote: Getting out of bed that morning. Went to bed feeling a lot better. You went to bed? I dont think I slept until Monday afternoon.

I told my wife I wasn't going to work the next day, watched ESPN repeat its post game show until maybe 5am, and bought a Giants license plate and 19-0 DENIED shirt off the NFL Shop (they pulled those shirts a few days later due to a copyright cease and desist from the Patriots, but I got mine!)

and watched it in my hotel room in Boston. Woke up to meet the good people of Boston and to ask if I could accompany them to the parade in a couple of days.

In comment 14938522 Bramton1 said:

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... everything else felt like gravy. I don't know if I was confident. Maybe... optimistic. I do remember posting in the ESPN conversation for the game, saying to Patriots' fans, "See you in the Super Bowl."

Ha. I was the total opposite. I was social distancing before it was cool. I blocked people who weren't Giant fans on my buddy list. I didn't want to hear a thing. I probably would've just killed everyone if they had attempted any goofy stuff and that wouldn't have been a good thing.

So no, no gravy here. I wanted that one badly. I remember early 91 and meh it didn't mean the same, nor did it have the lasting impact as following the 07 team as an adult. That whole year was fun. I partied for 2 weeks straight, going out to eat every night. Then, I partied a bit more that whole summer down in the lagoons of Mystic Island.

Only negative impact on the game was my annoying ex-girlfriend was present for XLII.

Funny thing, after Super Bowl 42, she probably gained about 42 pounds.

In comment 14938522 Bramton1 said:

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... everything else felt like gravy. I don't know if I was confident. Maybe... optimistic. I do remember posting in the ESPN conversation for the game, saying to Patriots' fans, "See you in the Super Bowl."

This was me exactly. I was riding the high from beating Dallas and GB. I'm not sure I was confident, but I was comfortable with either outcome. I wanted to win, but was not nervous about losing. It was a weird 2 weeks.