On Feb. 5, the 2011 NFL season came to a close with Super Bowl XLVI.
As most everyone knows by now, this was a rematch of Super Bowl XLII. That’s right. It was five years ago that Eli Manning and the New York Giants went into the championship game and knocked off the undefeated New England Patriots, spoiling their dream season.
While watching this game, I could not help but notice the calm and poise Manning showed throughout the game. His team seems to play the spoiler role nicely. The Giants quarterback, and this year’s Super Bowl MVP, understands that.
This shows in the way he carries himself on the field. He is not afraid of a challenge, and he does not doubt himself. He does the best he can to put himself in a position to win.
The storylines coming into this game very closely resembled those of the first Brady- Manning bowl back in 2008.
Similar to that year, the Patriots came into the matchup riding the numberone seed in the AFC. Also, the Giants barely made their way into the playoffs this year, winning their division almost by default. At the end of the 2007 season, they were a Wild Card team.
Essentially, the guys who were winning game after game and riding quite a hot streak coming into the postseason were playing against the guys who some would say had no business being there at all. Rematch does not even begin to describe all of the ways that this matchup paralleled the 2008 Super Bowl. Few had faith in the Giants, but they won.
The underdog story that is Manning (coming out from his brother’s shadow, winning consecutive road games to make it to multiple championships, etc.) is not one I can go into now. However, we could all learn a lesson from Manning.
As college students, we need to strive to be like the younger Manning in that sense. GHC, for many of us, is just one stop on the journey of life, but what we do here now will matter in the future.
So, when things start to feel overwhelming, and we question ourselves and the immensity of the challenges that lie ahead, we should strive to carry ourselves like Manning. We made it this far for a reason, and if we keep looking ahead, we will eventually achieve our goals, and that is what makes champions.
