NFL

Football is the most difficult sport to repeat as champions because of roster changes, players signing with other teams for more money, injuries, players get hurt the next year and can’t play as well as their previous season, momentum, teams usually ride a wave of momentum to the Super Bowl and it is very difficult to repeat that again during the playoffs. Also, football is the most unpredictable of all the major sports, each year teams rise and teams fall. Teams that everyone thought would be a Super Bowl contender don’t live up to their potential for whatever reason, locker room disputes, contract hold outs and bad chemistry that leads to failure. Injuries are a major factor, case in point quarterback Tom Brady of the New England Patriots. Brady had the greatest statistical season for a quarterback in 2007 and who would of predicted he would be out the rest of the 2008 season with a knee injury suffered in the very first game in the first quarter that would require surgery. Many people had the Patriots making the Super Bowl again. With Tom Brady out the Patriots season is a wash because the AFC is a very competitive conference and it will take a team at full strength to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl.The Giants 2007 season was a season full of high and lows, starting out 1-2 and really not on anyone’s Super Bowl contender list. The Giants had to win every game on the road in the playoffs beating the Tamp Bay Buccaneers, Dallas Cowboys, and the Green Bay Packers. The Giants pulled off one of the biggest Super Bowl upsets ever in beating the overwhelming favorite New England Patriots team. What makes the Giants chances repeating very slim is the key losses including Michael Strahan who retired and defensive end Osi Umenyiora who suffered a season ending knee injury during the preseason. These players were had a major impact on the Giants late season success especially during the Super Bowl.

The only team this decade to make it to the Super Bowl in consecutive years was the New England Patriots in the 2004 & 2005 season. Before them the last team to make it back-to-back years was the Denver Broncos in 1998 & 1999. Only the true great teams usually make it back to the Super Bowl, and while the Giants were a great team at the end of 2007 season it is highly unlikely they can reproduce that magic again. The Giants played the underdog role, us against the world mentality, and now that they are the defending champions they are the hunted. Also the lack of motivation for some players plays a part in not making the Super Bowl in consecutive years. Players work their whole life to win the Super Bowl and once that has been accomplish it takes their edge and motivation away the following year. Once the ultimate prize is obtained it is difficult to regain the fire and desire to be a champion again.

Another reason why the Giants won’t reach the Super Bowl, probably is their NFC East division. The NFC East is the best football division the league has scene in years and every team has improved from last season. Playing in a tough division can have two effects on a team, either the team will get beat up by their division opponents and won’t have anything left to give in the playoffs or it will make the team more prepared for the playoffs, as it did with the Giants last season.

The Giants do have a chance to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, if all the players can stay healthy as of now, most importantly quarterback Eli Manning. This season will show if the Giants Super Bowl win was a fluke or are they one of the truly great teams at this time, only time will tell.