Steve and the Tank! - Am I in Giants or Gillette Stadium? Will the Patriots Go 16-0?

Am I in Giants or Gillette Stadium? Will the Patriots Go 16-0?

The Patriots are on a historic mission to go undefeated.

This is part of the Boston Sports Apocalypse that I have long rued.

The Giants are 3-4 going into this game and 7-1 on the road. One of the Giants players remarked that they play better on the road and there are many Patriots fans here who make it feel like Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts instead of Giants Stadium in New Jersey.

The Giants were 3-5 last season at home so recent history doesn't help the Giants. Giants Stadium doesn't offer lots of advantage as the Ghost of Jimmy Hoffa (GoJH) blows at unpredictable times. Bay Ridge Bob and I saw Bruce Springsteen in the summer of 2003 and the GoJH was a nice cooling breeze on that warm summer day.

Different story on a winter's day as the GoJH made a cold night even colder.

The breakdown of fans is about

Giants Fans - 70%
Patriots Fans - 25 %
History Buffs - 4.99 %
Praying Against the Boston Sports Apocalypse - Me and God knows how many others.

Getting a ticket to this game was one of my daunting challenges ever.  I think trying to buy a ticket on Craigslist from Staten Island Tom (SIT) summed it up best. I e-mailed SIT that I live and work on the Upper West Side and could meet him near Columbus Circle and give him the money for the ticket. Sounds logical, right? No, he goes to the Bullpen on 88th and 1st and says he came in special for me.  SIT went there to drink. Listen bro, I have to go to Bay Ridge Bob's daughter's Baptism on Saturday morning in Jersey so either please go to the Upper West or sell it to someone else.

Everyone is trying to get in on the action as a player's girlfriend or wife named "Toy" tried to sell his ticket for $1,000 which included pre and post game parties. Nice but no thanks.

After Bay Ridge Bob's daughter's Baptism in Passaic, I took NJ Transit from Montclair to Newark. I saw the new Prudential Center, AKA The Rock, as I was waiting for the Greyhound to take me back to Port Authority. Gotta love public transportation. Which presidential candidate is most committed to the environment and reducing traffic? The Tank. I look forward to your vote in November 2008.

I let Brooklyn Pete and his buddy George into the bus ticket line at Port Authority. We briefly catch up and then it's off to Linda's for a brief cameo at her surprise birthday party. It's good to see Johnny Versace, Erin, Sara, Lana, Steve, Kathleen, PermaGuest Outlaw Jack, White Fedora Mike, Adam, Linda's Mom and Aunt, amongst others.

Back to Port Authority to scalp a ticket.  "I won't sell a ticket to a guy in a Canadiens jersey," some guys snidely remarked. Hey, I am a Canadiens fan and was asked to wear red to Linda's surprise birthday party. I bought a ticket but had a bad feeling that it was fake. I had a bad feeling but game time was less than an hour away. As I try to enter Giants/Gillette Stadium, the Giants score but my scalped ticket did NOT scan and it was fake. Darn it!  There were no more tickets in the booth. Double darn! I scalped a second ticket from a guy named Gus and get in. Thank God!

The Patriots Stephen Gostkowski unfortunately kick a field goal in my end to close the gap to 7-3.

Junior Seau is a great player and makes a great tackle. I loved him on the Chargers but can't root for him here. He's a great player like KG on the Celtics, a future Hall of Famer who never won a ring, trying to win one before his ends. I'm conflicted and I'm sure he is too for selling out to the Pats.

3rd and 14 and they call a ridiculous penalty on the Giants defense.  The NFL really wants the Patriots to go undefeated. This is worse than the Monday Night Game against the Ravens a few weeks back.

After the end of the first quarter, Tom Brady to Randy Moss to tie the Peyton Manning's quarterback record at 49 and 22 to tie Jerry Rice's wide receiver record. Patriots 10 - Giants 7.

Not to be undone, the Giants take the ensuing kickoff back for a touchdown to retake the lead at 14-10.

The Patriots drive down the field to kick another field goal to close the gap to 14-13. The young lady, "Diane", to my left took the Patriots for the over for the game, 14, and the half, 24 for both teams. She should be in Vegas. Her boyfriend, "Jack", comes back and graciously buys me a water as I am in full blog mode. Thanks "Jack"!

Randy Moss drops what would have been the tie breaker. Gostkowski kicks another field goal to give the Pats a 16-14 lead with 1:59 left in the first half.

There is a WPLJ radio ad for Pub 46 in Clifton, New Jersey. Hey, I passed by there Saturday afternoon as Bay Ridge Bob's uncle-in-law Oleg gave me a ride from the Church in Pasaic to the Baptism Dinner in Montclair.  Thanks Uncle Oleg!

Eli Manning leading a drive down the field? Wow, I really need laser vision surgery. Talk about history in the making.

There is a fight between Brandon Jacobs and Junior Seau. Penalty against the Patriots. Imagine that?

The Giants have a first down at the Patriot 19. But wait, the refs moved it to the Patriot 14 with 31 seconds left.

Eli takes off running to the Patriots 3. Whoa!

Eli completes a touchdown pass to Kevin Boss pictured below.

The Pats get the ball back but don't do anything with it. At halftime, Giants 21 - Patriots 16.

Robert in Tampa calls and Steve texts to say hi. Robert is afraid that the Giants will play that well against the Bucs next week. Steve is cheering Eli and the G-Men on. Is this the night that Steve becomes an NFL fan again after the Jets scarred him by moving to Giants Stadium? Steve was more emotionally scarred than The Tank and that's saying lots.

The Giants kickoff goes in the end zone and the Patriots start at the Giants 20.    Tom Brady is almost sacked on third down and the Pats are three and out.

Can Eli continue to lead the G-Men? Only time will tell.

The Giants run the ball. If there is any weakness on the Patriots, it's run defense. Jacobs continues to pound the ball. This softens the Pats defense up for touchdown pass to Burress. Giants 28 - Patriots 16.  Can Tom Brady and the Patriots come back?

Wow! What a game! I'm not happy to get ripped off on the first fake ticket but thanks to Gus for selling me a real ticket.

The Patriots take the kickoff to their 27 yard line. Talk about TV timeouts! I'm freezing. Giants stop the run. Brady has to pass. He's got the weapons to do it. Bon Jovi's "Born to Be My Baby" plays on WPLJ. Hey, I can't hear the FAN radio feed probably because I dropped my geeked out AM/FM/TV/Weather Band radio which also plays MP3s for the 50th time.

Brady converts the third down as he he always does. He goes into shot gun mode. Another quick slant pattern. Prince's "1999" is playing on WPLJ's Saturday Night 80s with Jamie Lee. Gotta love Jamie Lee. Yeah, I know she's married.

Brady throws to Moss in the end zone but there's a flag. Of course, it's against the Giants. First and goal at the one. Incomplete pass but a penalty against the Patriots. Finally! Both teams sub out run for pass situation. It doesn't matter as Mulroney runs for a touchdown.  Giants 28 - Patriots 23 with exactly four minutes left in the fourth quarter.

The Giants have the ball at their 40 after another solid kickoff return.

Can Eli put another solid drive together and take time off the clock?

Wow! Slant pattern to Burress converts a third and three. But, back to Earth, Eli is sacked for a big loss. 3rd and 22 from the Giant 45.  Jacobs catch takes him to the Patriots 46. The Giants punt goes to the Patriots 17. It's only a net of 29 yards. Ouch!

The Patriots drive starts in my end but the end of the quarter means they will switch ends. At the end of the third quarter, Giants 28 - Patriots 23.

The Patriots get the first down. The Giants dig in for 3rd and 10 at the Patriots 28. Brady calls a timeout. Good idea.

The Giants Stadium TV shows a guy dressed up with a Giants cape. The crowd goes wild.

Moss drops the pass and the Patriots have to punt. No return. Solid coverage by the Patriots special teams. Giants ball at their 30 yard line. During the TV timeout, Jamie Lee is spinning the Bangles "Walk Like An Egyptian". Hey, you expect no less than total media coverage from The Tank.

Fumble! But Eli recovers. Whew! OMG! Is the Patriot Black Magic at work? The Bible doesn't specifically mention the Patriots in Revelations but all the other plagues of the Apocalypse -- wars, famines, floods, etc are sadly coming to fruition. It's time to repent people!

Giant timeout as I ponder the parallels between the Boston Sports Apocalypse and the One referenced in the Bible. To quote The Church Lady, "How convenient?!"

3rd and 11 from the Giants 11. The Giants don't convert. Of course. The Patriots return the punt to their 35.

Moss drops an under thrown Brady pass at the Giants 16 yard line. Wow!

On the very next play, Brady throws another bomb to Moss for the record. #50 for Brady breaking Peyton's record and #23 for Moss breaking Jerry Rice's record. The Patriots convert the two point conversion to take a 31-28 lead.

There is a penalty on the kickoff. Giants ball at their 24. A good return goes by the wayside with 10:57 left in the fourth quarter.

Jacobs reverses on second down to get the first down. There is a penalty against the Giants.

Eli goes back to his old ways as he overthrows his receiver for an interception. Patriots ball at their 48 yard line. Sack for the Giants.  Yeah! Walker gets nine yards of it back to the Giants 36. 3rd and 11 from the 36 but Pierce catches the ball to the Giants 23.

Mulroney on the run. Another run. Complete pass to Walker to the Giants 9. First and goal. Slant pass to Moss to the five. Mulroney runs for the touchdown. Patriots 38 - 28 with 4:36 left in the fourth quarter.

Giants fans start to leave en masse. Not The Tank. I am too much of a history buff and want to maximize bang for my scalped bogus and real ticket. I don't leave unless it's a medical emergency or if I have to go to work.

After the kickoff to the Giants 32, the Giants inexplicably run the ball. The only saving grace is that their is a penalty against the Patriots. The Giants have a first down on the Patriots 46 yard line. Run the two minute drill Eli. Come on. An under thrown ball to Toomer inside the 10.

Get out of bounds Jacobs. Time ticks down to the two minute warning.  3rd and 1 from the Patriots 18 yard line.

Good pass to Smith who goes to the four. Eli has to call a play. Eli goes to Burress but it's thrown over his shoulder. The Patriots call their final timeout. Why are the Giants public address people playing "New York, New York"? That's only for victories at Yankee Stadium. The Giants are losing. WTF?

After a pass completion that loses a yard, the Giants lose their second timeout. Penalty with 1:07 left. 3rd and Goal. What a one handed catch by Plexico Burress! Patriots 38 - Giants 35 with 1:04 left in the fourth quarter.

Can the Giants recover the onsides kick? ACDC's "H*ll's Bells" blares over the speakers as the kick is made. Vrabel recovers the onsides kick with 1:03 left. Brady takes a knee and the Giants take their final timeout with 1:01 left. The Giants can't stop the clock again as Brady takes another knee to seal the Patriots 38-35 victory.

Congratulations to the Patriots for completing a perfect 16-0 regular season. Please join me in prayer for someone to stop them in the playoffs to prevent the Boston Sports Apocalypse.

Posted by a cold but historically fulfilled Tank reporting live from Giants Stadium in the Swamps of Jersey.

Live! | Milestones & Records | NFL

Sunday, December 30, 2007 5:19:28 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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