Keidel: Big Blue Plays True
By Jason Keidel
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Aside from Fireman Ed, who had to be excused, dinner tables in the Tri-State area were festive places for sports fans yesterday, a slice of heaven on an autumn afternoon. The Patriots lost, the Red Sox lost, and the Giants put a Big Blue exclamation point on the day by beating the anointed Eagles, on their turf.
There were two times in my life I really rooted for the Giants – I mean hopping up and down on the couch, shrieking at my television rooting – and the first was the Super Bowl against the unbeatable (18-1) Patriots. And the other was yesterday. Your beloved Big Blue are 2-0 in my book.
My myriad social networks flashed with football fatwas, bold claims about Michael Vick, how he would gut the Giants, put on a clinic, and make the Giants wish they never materialized in Philadelphia yesterday. Right.
I've never pretended to be either a Giants or Eagles fan, so I was confused by the missives. Perhaps they know I dislike Mike Vick. That's putting it mildly. So suffice it to say I wish I'd hear back from the bombastic crusaders for all things Vick. I can't find them.
The Dream Team isn't so dreamy these days, a whopping 1-2 after gagging a game to a depleted Giants team who won simply because they wanted it more. Vick played three or so quarters and produced 16 points, before vanishing behind a phalanx of trainers. Again.
Then there's Eli Manning, who, despite winning a Super Bowl (and the game's MVP) has questions close around him like a collapsing pocket. It doesn't help that his brother is one of the five greatest ever to play the position. More than anything, we look for a fingerprint, a public persona or characteristic we can cling to. Perhaps he is what he is and we need to stop searching.
There's a certain, perhaps Southern, charm to Eli, whose "aw, shucks" refrain and quiet cadence lead you to think there's a pair of suspenders under his shoulder pads, which he thumbs with every remark. He should not have compared himself favorably to Tom Brady. But what else should he say? He's not a great quarterback? Manning did more than enough to win yesterday (16-23, 254 YD, 4 TD, 0 INT), and if you do that enough times people will stop doubting you. So will I.
Then there was the delicious irony of Vick whining before a bouquet of recorders, wondering aloud why he doesn't get flags for blows to his head. I heard it twice, to be sure, that a man who has signed two $100 million contracts – bookends around a conviction and prison bid for being the brain trust and banker of a dog fighting ring – asked for justice.
It's neither Eli Manning's nor Tom Couglin's job to talk about our friendly neighborhood felon. It's my job. And that's why I love sports. Beyond the athletic artistry and provincial bond of rooting for the local laundry, we can use sports as a pretext for social commentary, and highlight those morality plays you'll find next to an X or O. And while history has taught us that there are bad guys on every team, few are made worse than Michael Vick.
He came up lame again yesterday, and his devotees, apologists, and unpaid PR agents (there are millions of you) proclaim that the Eagles would have won had Vick stayed in the game. Maybe. But he didn't, and they didn't. So, when does he go from unlucky to unworthy? Karma is a dish best served, well, you know…
I don't know exactly what to make of Eli Manning. But I know what to make of Mike Vick. And I'm happy the good guy won.
Feel free to email me: Jakster1@mac.com
