Believing in the football mantra: New York Giants v. New England Patriots

Wow. Several thoughts.

First, thank god for the DVR or I would have missed the end of that game.

Second, I said to my sister at the end of the first half that, with a score of 0-0, this game was too boring to watch. Someone in football heaven must have heard my complaint because the second half really stepped it up.

Third, the reason I needed my DVR to watch the end of this nailbiter was because I failed to heed my own Football Mantra that I give to all my girlfriends - there's still plenty of time on the clock. Last time I said that in a high pressure situation, it was actually also a Giants-Pats game, Super Bowl XLII to be exact. The Patriots took the lead with a little over 2 minutes left in the game and one of my girlfriends lamented, "Well, that's it. The game is over." I think most people know how that story actually ended.

Anyway, on an almost weekly basis, I still have to repeat my mantra to my best friend when her team, the Jets, are down. If there's two minutes left, there's still plenty of time on the clock. Even if there's less than a minute on the clock, there's still plenty of time to get something done.

And yet, for some reason, tonight, with 1:44 to go, with the Giants down and 10 yards to go on the third down, I got up, turned the tv off, and said, "Well, that's it. The game is over." But since I was the one saying it, there was no one around to tell me there was still plenty of time on the clock. Football games can literally come down to the last second. If there is 1 second on the clock and you get a play off, you can still win the game. That's the way the NFL rolls. A team has literally not won or lost a game until that game play clock reads 0:00.

That's the only time I'll let you say "Well, that's it. The game is over." And now I can add myself to the list of women I have to remind.