The 2012 Super Bowl is not expected to be a blowout. But there was a time when football fans like myself were praying for the Super Bowl to be in doubt by halftime, thanks to a series of blowouts in the early to mid 1990s. But this last decade has brought a steady stream of thrillers and downright classics - a few of which involved the New York Giants and New England Patriots themselves.
On Feb. 5, most expect another Patriots-Giants Super Sunday thriller in the vein of their 2008 grand finale. Even if it doesn't match the heights of 2008, few expect the 2012 rematch to be a disappointment, as we have been getting spoiled from Super Bowls lately.
The Patriots have had a role in that, given how their 2002, 2004 and 2005 championships were all only won by three points. In fact, their victory over my own Philadelphia Eagles in 2005 was the only time they didn't need a last-second kick to win it all. But of course, the Patriots were on the other side of last-second Super Bowl magic in 2008 thanks to the Giants.
With this track record for the Patriots and for the Patriots-Giants rivalry, things look good for another close game. It would continue an unparalleled hot streak for the Super Bowl, which hadn't been close for several years in a row before now.
The first Patriots-Giants classic was followed up by a more unlikely nail-biter between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals in 2009. The next year, the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts might have gone down to the final seconds if not for that late Tracy Porter interception return. And last year, the Pittsburgh Steelers nearly made a furious 18-point comeback before the Green Bay Packers held on for a fourth Lombardi Trophy.
Having four straight Super Bowls stay so close in the final minutes was pretty much unprecedented until now. By now, we are usually due to see some kind of dud or 20-30 point blowout in which the commercials are better than the game. In fact, after the Giants' own legendary win over the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXV, viewers were in the wilderness for six years until John Elway and the Denver Broncos finally won it all by upsetting the Packers in 1998.
There hasn't been such a string of duds since then, with the hope being that the Patriots and Giants don't start another one on Feb. 5. Given how Super Sunday has actually been more Super than usual in the last 10 years, it seems unlikely. This has turned out to be the golden age of the Super Bowl, so another helmet catch or last second touchdown - or even an overtime decision - might just be on tap this time around.
Robert Dougherty is a life-long Philadelphia resident who has followed the Eagles since he was eight years old.
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