18 - 1

Manning mania

Trivia: 18 sets of brothers have played in the Super Bowl, but this is the first time for a pair of quarterbacks. Obviously, I'm hoping Eli will repeat Peyton's outcome from last year.

Needless to say, I can't wait for tomorrow's game. The family is coming over. My brother and I have watched all the playoff games together, so we can't break the karma. I'll continue to wear 11 and Brendan will wear 10. We're a little superstitious.

I didn't write about it before because I've been busy at work - not a lot of free time for hobby writing - but the NFC Championship Game was a total blast. My family was in Montauk for the holiday weekend, and we watched the game from The Montauket. I don't know if any of you know that place - it's a local bar on the South Fork. It's very hard to find and it's patrons are locals. Not exactly the usual Hamptons scene - no investment bankers, or trophy wives - just fishermen, firemen and off the wall local characters. The place has been there forever and I just love the completely unpretentious atmosphere. Perfect place to watch a Giants game.

Living up to its reputation, the place was filled with some colorful characters. My two favorites were 1. a guy who had tied a bar of soap on a string around his neck. His friends made him lick it everytime he cursed and 2. a guy whom we had seen the night before at another local bar - he was drunk then and was still drunk now. He was spewing language like you could not believe. At one point my mother told him to watch his mouth. Mistake. He apologized and then glommed onto her and decided the two of them were going to Phoenix together. He also asked her if the Giants won, would she streak across the bar naked with him. Unphased, she replied that she had given that up years ago.

Live entertainment aside, the game was not to be believed. I have never come so close to having multiple heart attacks. This was more than luck - the Giants were amazing, and Eli has finally shown all the doubters he really is a Manning. It was so exciting and I just can't even believe we're here. Here are some pictures from The Montauket.

Clearly, this is one classy joint.

Ready for some serious cheering.

Number 72 is the crazy guy with the foul language who wants to take my mom to Phoenix. In this picture he's talking to her while she patiently endures his rants. She taught emotionally distrubed children for 30 years in the New York City Public School system. She handled this guy just fine.

My two sister in laws and my mom are obviously only there because my brother and I dragged them. They try to pretend they know what's going on with the game...


...but by the end even they are caught up in Giants mania.

Here Brendan and I are - praying during the last regular time field goal attempt by Tynes. This one ended in tears.


Guardedly happy when the Giants pull off an interception during overtime. (I look a little manic - don't I?)

Slightly in shock after Tynes is finally successful. On to Phoenix...

I've never been so happy to see a grown man cry...

I admit now that I didn't have enough faith. I never thought we'd be here. I did not expect to see the Giants become one half of the NFC Championship match up. But here we are - on our way to Green Bay.

Not only did we beat Dallas tonight in an amazing nail biter of a game that literally could have gone either way until the final nine seconds, but we actually made Terrell Owens cry. I kid you not - in case you missed it, he actually cried at the press conference following the game. There, there. It's ok, TO. You're on vacation. Go enjoy your millions in the off season.

My brother, Brendan, and I watched the game at his place, and neither one of us could believe what happened. After the game was over, we rewound the DVR and re-watched the final four minutes just to be sure. Here's a picture of us after the win.

If anyone wants to watch the Championship game with us, we'll be at The Montauket next week. Join us there. Unless you're a cheese head. In which case - better bring some tissues.

(Side note: This is a switch. Peyton's done before Eli?)

A love hate relationship

Sometimes I love him so much I can hardly stand it. Sometimes he disappoints me to the degree that I wish he'd just get out of my life forever. I'm speaking of Eli Manning, of course. And today I love him.

Let's see how I feel next Sunday at about 7:00 pm. But for now, I'm thrilled that there even is a next Sunday.

In case you haven't heard by now, the Giants beat the Bucs yesterday and won their first playoff game since 2000. It was Eli's very first playoff win since being drafted, in fact, hopefully laying some demons to rest. Next week we play the Cowboys - and here's something that may surprise you: it will be the very first time the Giants play Dallas in the post season. Ever. Weird - huh?

This past week I was discussing the upcoming game with a colleague who asked about my weekend plans. I explained that I had all but written my team off due to an abysmal showing in the second part of the season, but now I had some hope after seeing how they performed against the Pats. I started to continue, but my colleague stopped me mid-sentence and said, "Joan, let me just interrupt you right there. Gay men just don't care about football. Many before you have tried to engage me in this conversation. I can't go there." I countered that I was a little puzzled by that stance since there were so many exceptionally good looking men in the NFL. "It's a bunch of 300 pound men. Not my thing." Still not accepting this, I said, "Well, they're not all that way. The quarterbacks and receivers, for example are very svelte. Look at Tom Brady." I was stopped dead in my tracks with a wave of the hand and a simple statement that I could find no fault with, and indeed, have myself invoked in many situations: "Yes. Well, I just don't have time to sift through all that riff-raff." Say no more...

A picture of my brother and I watching yesterday's game at my mom's house (I went old school with Simms - I felt we could use a little 1986):