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As you all know, there have been many upsets in the history of sports, and players have become legends because of them, and some haven't as a result of not being able to continue the performance they had in that single upset game. This wasn't the case at all though for either of these two football games that you see in the poll.
Now as you see, I have Super Bowl III (3) and Super Bowl XLII (42)
Super Bowl III showcased the New York Jets (11-3) taking on the Heavily Favored Baltimore Colts (13-1). After Jets quarterback Joe Namath guaranteed a Superbowl win, the Jets would go on to upset the Colts by a score of 16-7. Joe Namath, and still to this day I have no idea how, would go on to win the Superbowl MVP award.
Super Bowl XLII showcased the Wild Card New York Giants (10-6) taking on the Undefeated and also Heavily Favored New England Patriots (16-0), who were the first time ever since the Miami Dolphins to have a perfect season, the first to have a perfect season with the sixteen game regular season schedule. After having a close game with the Patriots in their final game of the regular season, some actually suggested that the Giants had a chance to stop the Patriots pursuit of perfection. The Giants would go on to shock the NFL fan base by upsetting the Patriots by a score of 17-14 in what was a thrilling game that featured a memorable drive by the New York Giants, including a catch that is regarded by many as one of the greatest plays in Super Bowl history. Eli Manning would go on to win the Super Bowl MVP award.
Both were big upsets no doubt, but imo I think the Giants beating the Patriots was the bigger upset, due to the fact that the Patriots were undefeated and had they won, this would've have been their fourth super bowl win in the last seven years (even though despite of that, they were already a dynasty), and the Giants were nothing more than a wild card team. Also, people like to use the argument that the Giants had a regular season game against the Pats and almost beat them, I'd like to point out that the Jets didn't have a regular season game against the Colts, so that's an invalid argument, because anything could have happened. Another point I'd like to add is that as I said before, the Giants were simply a wild card team, and I think had better records the past two seasons before this one (the 2007-2008 season in which they won the super bowl). The Jets however not only were a very good team with a 11-3 record, but they also had players who are considered to be legends such as Joe Namath and Hall of Famer wide receiver Don Maynard. People say that if the Jets played in the NFL league though rather than the AFL, they would've went 9-5, which is actually almost like the Giants record except with one extra win and loss added, and considering how it's two extra games added to the regular season, both records are almost the same. But once again, the Jets had some legends on their team and the number one rushing defense in the league, where as the Giants simply had talent that ranged from decent to great.
Here are some interesting notes about both Super Bowls to help give some insight on what was going on at the time.
Super Bowl III:
*Despite being the heavy underdogs playing for a less talented AFL conference, many of the Jets players claimed that the team they beat to get to the Super Bowl, The Oakland Raiders, were a better team than the Baltimore Colts were at the time, which raised some questions as to whether or not the Colts were as mighty a team as the media made them out to be.
*Even though the Jets went 11-3 in the regular season, their conference was considered very weak in comparison to the NFL conference, which the Colts played in and went 13-1, which explains how great the Colts really were at the time.
*In the previous two super bowls, the Packers, a NFL team, dominated the AFL teams they faced in those Super Bowls, and yet many considered the Colts to be a greater team than the Packers.
*Much of the Jets talent were previously part of the Colts team at one point, but were cut by them and taken by the Jets. A couple of those players ended up being key factors to their Super Bowl win.
*The Colts had one of the best offenses and defenses in the league, and after winning a title game in 1968, were deemed the "greatest team in pro football history".
*The Colts ran a Zone Defense, something that many teams in the NFL conference didn't do, which gave the Colts a big advantage over them and was a big factor to their dominance on defense. The Jets however knew how to attack against the Zone Defense, due to Zone defense being a common thing in the AFL conference.
*Despite Don Maynard being a future hall of famer and a big part of the Jets team, he did not receive one reception at all during the game due to him having a pulled hamstring. The Colts however still focused a lot on him despite him not getting the ball, being used merely as a decoy through out the entire game.
Super Bowl XLII:
*Out of all of their Super Bowl appearances in the 2000 (four super bowl appearances), this was considered to be the Patriots greatest team out of all four, as they were undefeated going into the Super Bowl. Interestingly, the Giants were not only the worst out of all of the teams that they faced those four times in the Super Bowl that decade, they were also the only team that wasn't the number one seed of their conference.
*The Giants were a wild card team going into the playoffs, and barely anyone gave the Giants a chance to go far into the plyaoffs, as many predicted that they would get knocked out in the first game. Not only would they win that game, they would go on to upset the number one seeded Cowboys, and then in the NFC championship game, they would also upset the second seeded Green Bay Packers in Overtime. So in retrospect, not only was their superbowl win a huge upset, but the fact that they even made it past the second game was an upset, along with the NFC championship game.
*Their Superbowl win gave the Giants their 11th straight road game victory, as their upset wins against the Cowboys and Packers were also road games, and add that with their first very close game with New England, it could be argued that this game wasn't a fluke or as big a upset as it is claimed to be.
*The Giants actually lost their first two games of the regular season, and ended the year with a 10-6 record and the wild card spot. They went on to be the first ever wild card team to ever win the Super Bowl.
*The Patriots, with an incredibly stacked offense on both running and passing, were surprisingly limited to just 14 points by a team who's defense didn't receive much praise at all or were pointed to as the main reason for their previous playoff wins.
*The Giants were actually a team filled with injuries going into the playoffs, as they were without their four time pro bowl line back Jeremy Shockey and their running back Derrick Ward. With a limited offense, Eli Manning's main weaopns to look to through out the playoffs were only his two wide receivers Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer. Despite this, neither of them were part of what is considered to be one of the greatest catches in Super Bowl history (David Tyree's one handed catch in the fourth quarter.)
*The Giants currently hold the record for least amount of players to play in the Pro Bowl and win the Super Bowl that year with just one player, Osi Umenyiora, who was just a defensive player on a team that wasn't noted that much for its defense.
*The MVP, Eli Manning, had a career at that point that had been heavily over shadowed by the success of his brother, Peyton Manning, who in the previous season won the Super bowl and became the Super Bowl MVP, making this not only the first time that Brothers were named Super Bowl MVP's, but also the first time that they were named Super Bowl MVP's in Successive years.
Now as you see, I have Super Bowl III (3) and Super Bowl XLII (42)
Super Bowl III showcased the New York Jets (11-3) taking on the Heavily Favored Baltimore Colts (13-1). After Jets quarterback Joe Namath guaranteed a Superbowl win, the Jets would go on to upset the Colts by a score of 16-7. Joe Namath, and still to this day I have no idea how, would go on to win the Superbowl MVP award.
Super Bowl XLII showcased the Wild Card New York Giants (10-6) taking on the Undefeated and also Heavily Favored New England Patriots (16-0), who were the first time ever since the Miami Dolphins to have a perfect season, the first to have a perfect season with the sixteen game regular season schedule. After having a close game with the Patriots in their final game of the regular season, some actually suggested that the Giants had a chance to stop the Patriots pursuit of perfection. The Giants would go on to shock the NFL fan base by upsetting the Patriots by a score of 17-14 in what was a thrilling game that featured a memorable drive by the New York Giants, including a catch that is regarded by many as one of the greatest plays in Super Bowl history. Eli Manning would go on to win the Super Bowl MVP award.
Both were big upsets no doubt, but imo I think the Giants beating the Patriots was the bigger upset, due to the fact that the Patriots were undefeated and had they won, this would've have been their fourth super bowl win in the last seven years (even though despite of that, they were already a dynasty), and the Giants were nothing more than a wild card team. Also, people like to use the argument that the Giants had a regular season game against the Pats and almost beat them, I'd like to point out that the Jets didn't have a regular season game against the Colts, so that's an invalid argument, because anything could have happened. Another point I'd like to add is that as I said before, the Giants were simply a wild card team, and I think had better records the past two seasons before this one (the 2007-2008 season in which they won the super bowl). The Jets however not only were a very good team with a 11-3 record, but they also had players who are considered to be legends such as Joe Namath and Hall of Famer wide receiver Don Maynard. People say that if the Jets played in the NFL league though rather than the AFL, they would've went 9-5, which is actually almost like the Giants record except with one extra win and loss added, and considering how it's two extra games added to the regular season, both records are almost the same. But once again, the Jets had some legends on their team and the number one rushing defense in the league, where as the Giants simply had talent that ranged from decent to great.
Here are some interesting notes about both Super Bowls to help give some insight on what was going on at the time.
Super Bowl III:
*Despite being the heavy underdogs playing for a less talented AFL conference, many of the Jets players claimed that the team they beat to get to the Super Bowl, The Oakland Raiders, were a better team than the Baltimore Colts were at the time, which raised some questions as to whether or not the Colts were as mighty a team as the media made them out to be.
*Even though the Jets went 11-3 in the regular season, their conference was considered very weak in comparison to the NFL conference, which the Colts played in and went 13-1, which explains how great the Colts really were at the time.
*In the previous two super bowls, the Packers, a NFL team, dominated the AFL teams they faced in those Super Bowls, and yet many considered the Colts to be a greater team than the Packers.
*Much of the Jets talent were previously part of the Colts team at one point, but were cut by them and taken by the Jets. A couple of those players ended up being key factors to their Super Bowl win.
*The Colts had one of the best offenses and defenses in the league, and after winning a title game in 1968, were deemed the "greatest team in pro football history".
*The Colts ran a Zone Defense, something that many teams in the NFL conference didn't do, which gave the Colts a big advantage over them and was a big factor to their dominance on defense. The Jets however knew how to attack against the Zone Defense, due to Zone defense being a common thing in the AFL conference.
*Despite Don Maynard being a future hall of famer and a big part of the Jets team, he did not receive one reception at all during the game due to him having a pulled hamstring. The Colts however still focused a lot on him despite him not getting the ball, being used merely as a decoy through out the entire game.
Super Bowl XLII:
*Out of all of their Super Bowl appearances in the 2000 (four super bowl appearances), this was considered to be the Patriots greatest team out of all four, as they were undefeated going into the Super Bowl. Interestingly, the Giants were not only the worst out of all of the teams that they faced those four times in the Super Bowl that decade, they were also the only team that wasn't the number one seed of their conference.
*The Giants were a wild card team going into the playoffs, and barely anyone gave the Giants a chance to go far into the plyaoffs, as many predicted that they would get knocked out in the first game. Not only would they win that game, they would go on to upset the number one seeded Cowboys, and then in the NFC championship game, they would also upset the second seeded Green Bay Packers in Overtime. So in retrospect, not only was their superbowl win a huge upset, but the fact that they even made it past the second game was an upset, along with the NFC championship game.
*Their Superbowl win gave the Giants their 11th straight road game victory, as their upset wins against the Cowboys and Packers were also road games, and add that with their first very close game with New England, it could be argued that this game wasn't a fluke or as big a upset as it is claimed to be.
*The Giants actually lost their first two games of the regular season, and ended the year with a 10-6 record and the wild card spot. They went on to be the first ever wild card team to ever win the Super Bowl.
*The Patriots, with an incredibly stacked offense on both running and passing, were surprisingly limited to just 14 points by a team who's defense didn't receive much praise at all or were pointed to as the main reason for their previous playoff wins.
*The Giants were actually a team filled with injuries going into the playoffs, as they were without their four time pro bowl line back Jeremy Shockey and their running back Derrick Ward. With a limited offense, Eli Manning's main weaopns to look to through out the playoffs were only his two wide receivers Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer. Despite this, neither of them were part of what is considered to be one of the greatest catches in Super Bowl history (David Tyree's one handed catch in the fourth quarter.)
*The Giants currently hold the record for least amount of players to play in the Pro Bowl and win the Super Bowl that year with just one player, Osi Umenyiora, who was just a defensive player on a team that wasn't noted that much for its defense.
*The MVP, Eli Manning, had a career at that point that had been heavily over shadowed by the success of his brother, Peyton Manning, who in the previous season won the Super bowl and became the Super Bowl MVP, making this not only the first time that Brothers were named Super Bowl MVP's, but also the first time that they were named Super Bowl MVP's in Successive years.
