The NFL team with the most bandwagon fans: The Arizona Cardinals?

When you see it...

In the lull of the NFL offseason, you may have noticed a recent study conducted by Emory University regarding fan tendencies in professional American football. The study came in several parts, with fans reacting strongest to the ranking of fan bases—no surprises there. 

Claiming that their ranking was based off of factors of fan behavior, such as attendances, price of tickets and revenue, the Emory team released results collected over the past three years to a pretty familiar tune, featuring the blue-bloods and heavyweights as the best fan bases of the NFL. Cowboy Nation can claim supremacy over NFL fandom. Deflate-gate has not deflated the Mass-holes' enthusiasm for their regional English team. The Giants won the battle of New York, but not by much. And surprisingly, the Ravens came in at fourth. It's not terribly surprising how the Emory crew rounded out the top of their list since the teams have enjoyed recent success, multiple Super Bowl championships, and relatively modern, large stadiums. The surprises in the list come later, featuring the Cheeseheads and Steeler Nation at seven and fourteen, respectively. I was personally surprised to find the 12th Man of the Seattle Seahawks at an alarmingly low number 26 spot on the list. Given the new Nike jerseys, Beats and Oberto beef jerky sponsorships for Richard Sherman, the loudest open-air stadium in the league, and not to mention successive trips to the Super Bowl including the SB XLVIII win, the Seahawks still find themselves in the 26 spot. The defense to this ranking was that on average, Seahawks fans relatively do not spend as much money on their team as other fans do.

I currently live in Seattle and I'll admit, I went from owning just a Marshawn Lynch jersey when he arrived in 2010 to a full wardrobe of Wilson, Sherman, Harvin and two Lynch jerseys since the team started winning the big games. But I'm not the only one. Wilson, Lynch, Sherman, Chancellor, Thomas III and now Jimmy Graham have all enjoyed extended periods of time on the NFL's top 25 selling jerseys, meaning that football fans in general are willing to spend at least $100 for one item of apparel for the Seahawks. The rise in jersey sales led me to two conclusions: A.) the true Seattle Seahawks fan base is relatively small and B.) there are most definitely Seahawks bandwagon fans, but they are not incorporated into the study, or else Seattle would be higher on this list. Perhaps this is a good thing since Emory is willing to scope out the true fan bases, but then again, not all fans can afford to go to games because of financial reasons and the stadium's natural capacity. Could this explain why the Cowboys that play in a stadium that seats 120,000 people have the "best fans" while the proud Raider Nation only comes in at number 30 because they play in the small O.co Coliseum?

This led me to question the credibility of the Emory study regarding the aspects of fan culture that they used. Are the fan bases in the study divided between the real and bandwagon fans? And if so, did they get it right? As a former Arizonan, I didn't think much of the list cause at least it meant that Arizona Cardinals fans are better than Seattle Seahawks fans, right?

Well not necessarily. While Emory was busy ranking all of the fan bases, they also took it upon themselves to find which team has the most bandwagon fans in the NFL. According to any sports fan you talk to, a bandwagon fan is someone who starts rooting for a team that has enjoyed recent success. According to their study, Arizona Cardinals "fans are most responsive to winning percentage in the NFL based on our [Emory's] statistical model of attendance." 

Upon reading a headline by CBSsports that a "Study says Arizona Cardinals have the most bandwagon fans in the NFL," I was honestly shocked. Recently before reading the aforementioned article, I saw a video on www.azcardinals.com titled "Arizona- Our State of Football." It is a pretty accurate crash course for anyone who is not familiar with the teams relatively short tenure in the desert which began in 1988, 90 years after the club's inception. Many people tend to forget that the Arizona/Phoenix Cardinals, previously the, St. Louis Cardinals, the Card-Pitt, and the Chicago Cardinals are the oldest professional football club in the NFL. But that is not why they have "bandwagon fans".

For many, the Red Birds have the feel of a team that showed up late to the dance. For example, they were the last NFL team to join twitter and as a result, they have the fewest followers (191.4K followers). The futility in the hot Tempe sun at Sun Devil Stadium in the 90's was forgettable. The new team in the desert performed in front of essentially thousands of Cowboys fans that saw a mediocre St. Louis team lose week in and week out. Because of 100+ degree heat, the Cardinals oftentimes had to resort to wearing their white uniforms, a slap in the face to the visiting Dallas Cowboys that couldn't wear their infamous white uniforms in front of masses of Cowboys fans at Sun Devil Stadium. 

Longtime Arizona Cardinals fans will always remember the playoff run that the team embarked on during the 1998 season which saw Jake "The Snake" Plummer, an ASU product, lead the team past the Dallas Cowboys in the old Cowboys stadium during the Wild-Card round of the playoffs. That's the furthest the team got into the postseason until the 2008 season. By 2008, the Cardinals were already settled into their new University of Phoenix Stadium which opened in 2006, abandoning a shabby horseshoe stadium owned by a mediocre state school that held 12 sellouts in 18 seasons for a spaceship-looking, air-conditioned modern architectural marvel that has holdout every American Football game it has hosted. In terms of sellouts, the University of Phoenix Stadium has sold out every Cardinals' regular season game with an impressive streak of 92 games in a row, beginning with the first Cardinals game hosted at the stadium. 

Back to the Emory University study, the group mentioned that they based their rankings off of data that was mostly concerned with fan attendance to the responsiveness of winning and full stadiums. Considering that the Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals went 100-188 during their 18 seasons at Sun Devil Stadium with only 12 sellouts, it would be easy to draw a correlation between losing and poor attendance. However, it is important to look past the losing factor because that is not what drove Arizonans out of the stadium. Let me ask you a question: imagine that your favorite team did not play in your hometown, but a new team recently moved to town. The new team is quite mediocre and play during the same time as your favorite team in 100 degree heat in a suburb that is a pretty long drive from your home. So would you rather stay at home and watch your favorite team play on TV with your family for free or would you rather spend a whole day in the baking sun while forking over several hundred dollars to see a poor excuse of a professional team?

When the Cardinals moved to their new stadium, they had been in the greater-Phoenix area for a generation. As a result, they brought a new uniform look featuring a mean cardinal mascot to the air-conditioned, indoor grass stadium for young, lifelong Cardinals fans. In typical Cardinals fashion, they christened the new stadium with a 5-11 record in the 2006 season, leading to the firing of head coach Dennis Green. The following season, new head coach Ken Whisenhunt chose to stick with the veteran quarterback Kurt Warner instead of the Matt Leinart. The decision turned out to be a winning move as Warner led the team to records of 8-8, 9-7 and 10-6 including a run to Super Bowl XLIII and one of the greatest postseason performances against the Green Bay Packers in the Wild-Card round of the 2009 season. But then again, what else would you expect from a future Hall-of-Fame quarterback?

So how did the fans react? For starters, the rebranding of an angrier bird logo was a hit in the valley. With two iconic faces of the franchise in Larry Fitzgerald and Kurt Warner, many Cardinals fans bought their jerseys. Both of the players are true class acts and the Cardinals were blessed to have had them play together. Who could root against the unbelievably coordinated wide receiver who happens to be a single-father that donates $1000 to breast cancer research for every catch he makes in the month of October? What conservative Arizonan would root against a quarterback who loves Jesus more than football? Of course, the post-2006 Cardinals were not always peaches and cream, which brings forward the strongest argument against the Emory study. Kurt Warner definitely reinvigorated a mediocre franchise into winners, but when he did not start for the team, the team was it's usual wreck. In 2006, the Cardinals embarrassed themselves on Monday Night Football because "The Bears are who we thought they were!!" In 2010, a blow-out home loss on Monday Night Football to the rival 49ers was met with an agitated and repetitive, "That's fine" response by signal-caller Derek Anderson to the media. Two 5-11 seasons sandwiched a 27-21 regular season stretch, but you would not know it from looking at the capacity attendance attendance streak that remained intact at an impressive 40 home games.

Without Warner, Whisenhunt struggled in his last three season with the Cardinals, going 5-11, 8-8, and 5-11 as he failed to find a suitable replacement. The losing ultimately cost him his job, making way for Bruce Arians, a longtime assistant coach that finally got his shot at the head coaching spot during an interim period with the Indianapolis Colts. Arians is no fluke as he has led the Cardinals to 10-6 and 11-5 records during his two years with the team. 

Today, the Cardinals are a team that has experienced a brief period of consistent winning, a sharp contrast from how the team played in years past. They no longer hold an element of surprise to opponents and fans alike; however, I do not believe that these winning ways provide evidence of bandwagon fans. Sure, the 100-188 record with 12 sellouts at Sun Devil Stadium is put to shame by the 71-73 record with 92 consecutive sellouts at the University of Phoenix Stadium; however, that does not take into account that the team has undergone some major changes in recent years. The Bidwell family made winning decisions by building the University of Phoenix Stadium, signing Kurt Warner, hiring and firing Coach Whisenhunt and hiring Bruce Arians and Steve Keim. These are important decisions for a Benjamin Button-esque franchise that has been around forever but is only now going through its formative years.

So to address Emory, it is important to use data to measure fan tendencies; however, it is also important to understand and appreciate what it takes to win in the NFL and what makes the NFL the greatest American show on television. The move into an air-conditioned stadium undoubtedly helped raise attendance rates for the Cardinals, which just so happened when the team improved their talent. Lacking a high level of play in a few seasons at their new home, the Cardinals still managed to sell out 24 games when the team went a meager 5-11 for three seasons at the University of Phoenix Stadium. With the Red Sea guaranteed to make a full appearance in support of a greatly improved NFL franchise, these next few years will be the true indicators of whether or not more fans jump on the Cardinals bandwagon and if they in fact have the most bandwagon fans in the NFL.

What's Old Is New: The Case for the 2014 New York Jets

The 2014 offseason in the NFL featured a number of changes in scenery for notable players. These offseason moves have most notably bolstered the outlook of the upcoming Broncos and Patriots upcoming seasons as well as dramatically improving the Buccaneers chances of a going over .500. Even the Browns look as though they'll have a ferocious defense, matching the prowess of their AFC North rivals. However, as much fun as all that is, this post is not about the aforementioned teams. It's about the two biggest moves of the entire postseason to the brightest lights of America. That's right, what's old is new: Michael Vick and Chris Johnson are headed to New York and the Jets are headed back to the postseason.

Now if you follow football, you may think one of two things: no, you're stupid or no, those two guys used to be good and aren't anymore. I think all of that is fair; however, one could easily make the case that even if Geno Smith was under center, the Jets have a chance at clinching a wild card berth. He's not the best of quarterbacks, but he improved quite a bit along the way in his rookie campaign, leading the Jets to an 8-8 record and second place in the AFC East. Writing this post, I'm assuming that the 2014 Jets will have an improvement at the quarterback position, whether it's with Smith or Vick at the helm.

Michael Vick, who will be 34 at the start of the season, is far past his prime. Defenses have been rattled by him during his years with the Falcons and at the start of his tenure with the Eagles. However, teams now know what to do with Vick: pressure. The former Hokie has never faired well under blitzes and pressure packages while in the pocket, but Vick's true weapon is escaping containment and gaining yards on the ground. Vick's speed and escapability brings about another concern: injuries. With a year of sitting on the bench, the dual threat quarterback should have relatively fresh legs, but I don't think he'll survive the season. By the time he's forced out, he'll already have the Jets in playoff position. When he finally is demoted and Smith is promoted to the starting job, Geno will have had the time on the bench to truly grasp and learn the game.

So why would I be writing this post if I don't think Vick, the quarterback hauled in by the Jets, won't even survive a season? The truth is, he's not what makes the Jets dangerous. The defense is stout, but the true addition will line up five yards behind Vick.

The best acquisition of the New York Jets offseason is Chris Johnson. Simply put, he is most everything you'd want in a running back. Consistency. Speed. Physicality. Elusiveness. Strength. Chris Johnson is all of that. The former Eastern Carolina University running back has rushed over 1,000 yards in each if his first six seasons in the league. I personally don't think that there's a whole lot more you can ask from any player in the backfield. Surely, he didn't carry himself well with the media and New York has the biggest media exposure in America, but if he can be productive without becoming the main feature of the team, Chris Johnson will flourish. The defense already has to worry about Vick running on them, which will place a linebacker in containment, providing plenty of room for Johnson to have cutbacks and big plays.

So is there reason for optimism in the Big Apple? Most certainly. Can the Jets make something out of a berth to the postseason? That remains to be seen. To put it into perspective, Mark Sanchez managed to get the Jets to the AFC Championship game in his dirt two seasons. The defense was much better; however, it is still a quarterback driven league is what Sanchez did was impressive. Ultimately, Vick is better that Sanchez and Geno Smith has potential. The true difference maker for the 2014 Jets will be the explosiveness of Chris Johnson. It should be an interesting season.

Have You Ever Wondered about the Wonderlic?

The Wonderlic test has become the standard "quick" logic test used by the NFL during the combine to measure the intelligence of prospect players. It is timed for 12 minutes and has 50 muliple choice questions. The highest score by an NFL player was from Ryan Fitpatrick, a Harvard graduate who got a score of 48 out of 50. John Elway, the former Broncos and Stanford QB, scored 30 on the test. More prominent players, such as Tim Tebow (pictured), have scored alarmingly low. Tebow only got a 22 and NFL RB Marshawn Lynch, who went to UC Berkeley, only scored a 14. Isn't this a little bit alarming?

The Wonderlic test was developed by E. F. Wonderlic in 1936 as a cognitive and personnel test for soldiers in the United States Army. To put into perspective as to how much importance the army places on cognition, a person cannot enlist if they have had a certain amount of concussions. Essentially, their thinking ability is of utmost importance as their decisions can effect the outcome of other people's lives. Doesn't the same apply to football?

The immediate effect of head injuries may not terribly noticeable, but the long term effects have been thoroughly researched and discussed. In this case, I'd be more than concerned if the men lined up on the field score fewer than half of the points of an average janitor (22). 

I'm only in high school and I got a perfect score (50). Marshawn Lynch went to UC Berkeley and got a 14. He's lucky he's in the NFL, because I doubt he'd be qualified to flip hamburgers. I think the NFL needs to place more emphasis on the intelligence of their players instead of putting this test on the back burner. These men are going to war on the gridiron and they can't even think straight.  

Which is better in the world of Sports: Left or Right?

Who's better: Lefties or Righties? That question has always bugged me, whether it's from watching the Rocky movies or wondering why Matt Leinart was so bad. Personally, I was born ambidextrous so I could never decide which hand was better, but I had to stick with the right hand because of an accident and Bible school teachers. Historically, the left hand was never seen as a good thing, whether for spiritual reasons or cause it was just the weaker arm. Anyways, that's besides the point because we all know that there are some dominant lefties in the world of sports, which leads to my question: are lefties better athletes? Some people believe that lefties are more artistic and maybe even smarter, given that Barack Obama, Bill Gates, Bill Clinton, and Opera Winfrey are all left-handed. Here's a look at some of the more dominant lefties in the world of sports:

• Football: All I care about here is the quarterback (although David Akers is a left-footed kicker who recently set the record for most FGs made in a single NFL season).

• Tim Tebow: His throwing motion is the  ugliest thing I have ever seen and it doesn't seem as though he's the brightest kid. Is that cause of his left-handedness? Probably not. He's been banged around too many times and he doesn't really have a thrower's body, so you must excuse him for that awful delivery; however, he has a will to win. He's also a great runner, like the next player on this list.                                                                                         

• Michel Vick: He's a great talent and he's got some great moves, but he's never really been known for his arm until recently. He's also not the most liked character in football... in fact he's the most hated according to a recent NFL poll. Is that because he's left-handed? No, of course not. His left-handedness probably helped him a lot in football because it forces defenses to reverse their defensive formations if they want to contain a scrambling QB that always runs left instead of right.

•  Kellen Moore: Another lefty that has a will to win. Just look at his 50-3 record as a starter in College Football. But he was never invited to play in the title game and he wasn't even drafted. Is that cause he's a lefty? Of course not, don't be silly. It's because he lacked arm strength as a passer... wait a sec, is he weak cause he's a lefty? Nope, again look at the two guys ahead of him on the list.

Left-handed fortune for football: Being a left-handed QB will make you a good runner, rather than a good passer. You'll get you many wins, but no one will like you.

•  Baseball: Most batters/pitchers are right handed, but if the batter is left-handed, they'll have more success against a right-handed pitcher, vice versa. Given that notion and the right-handed majority, it doesn't make sense to be a left-handed pitcher.


• Randy Johnson: Probably one of the greatest pitchers and the greatest lefty of all time. With 303 wins and 4,875 Ks in his career, he's one of the exceptions of a great left-handed pitcher since the ratio of Cy Young winners between righties and lefties is about 2:1. Another exception to Johnson is that he usually threw side arm. This allowed for his pitch to have much greater movement on a horizontal plane rather than a vertical plane (it also looked like the pitch would hit a left-handed batter.)
• Barry Bonds: Now here's where being a left-handed batter gives you an advantage. Bonds was probably one of the most gifted hitters to ever play the game and being a lefty gave him an advantage over many pitchers since there are more right-handed pitchers than lefties. But then again, he used steroids (well then again, who hits tons of homers AND didn't use steroids). Even though he hit 73 homers one year, he also batted .370 the next year.

• Babe Ruth: The Sultan of Swat, The Babe,The Bambino, whatever you want to call him, he was the first great slugger in our past time. And guess what, he was a lefty. Even though he played against weaker competition, he still hit 714 homers and .342 over his career. I'm not even sure if they had steroids back then, but the Babe was pretty fat and he wasn't a likeable guy ("pull my finger").

Left-handed fortune for baseball:  Avoid tossing lefty if you're a pitcher, but if you're a slugger, switch to the left side for contact. Again, all of these left-handed athletes weren't likeable guys.

• Basketball: Now, you probably don't know that many left-handed basketball players, but defending them is quite different. As a good basketball player, you must master dribbling in both hands; however, a righty/lefty player will have their natural tendencies as to which side of the hoop they'll attack (a lefty will go to the left, a righty to the right).

• Chris Bosh: The third wheel of the Miami Heat's tricycle currently has a flat tire, but he would probably help D-Wade and LeBron since he brings more attention to the left side of the hoop. However, ever since he came to Miami, his numbers have gone down and people don't like him that much anymore.

• Manu Ginobili: I personally can't stand this guy and I think many people are with me on this one. The guy isn't too talented and he flops all the time, yet his Spurs always win games. No matter how old they are, they keep finding ways to win. For example, in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, Ginobili led a 4th quarter comeback for the Spurs in which they beat the Oklahoma City Thunder.

• Lamar Odom: Another unlikeable guy. I'm not sure if it's cause of the Kardashian wife or the lack of effort and heart (and eyebrows), but this guy just ticks me off. He does indeed have talent, but in Los Angeles, he just seemed like Kobe's back-up. However, I can't hold a grudge against him just in case the Phoenix Suns get him.

Left-handed fortune for basketball: It's different and you'll have some success, but it doesn't make you more talented than right-handed players. Once again, none of these guys are liked.

Overall, the left-hand may present issues for your opponents in all of these sports since both football and basketball defenses must adjust to the different hand, but that advantage stops once the opponent gets used to defending the opposite arm. Baseball, on the other hand, has quite an advantage for left-handed batters. Unlike the other two sports, it is relatively easy to force yourself to bat left-handed, which is probably why there are so many left-handed or switch hitters. Whether or not your handedness affects how you behave or how people behave towards you hasn't been scientifically proven yet, so that's for another article. Baseball has a true advantage for lefties whereas football and basketball have little to no advantage for the left-handed athlete.

 

Cards fans, find it in your heart to give Kevin Kolb another chance... cause you're stuck with him

This guy will still be a Cardinal

Yep Cards fans, that's right. We're stuck with Kevin (Corn on the) Kolb. We wanted him so badly and we got him, for only half of last season. Kolb received a $7 million roster bonus on Friday at 1:00 PST, which ended the Cardinals pursuit of Peyton Manning. I do agree that a Manning signing would've been great for both parties since Manning would have a nice place to retire in a relatively weak division, throwing to the league's best receiver in Larry Fitzgerald. Unfortunately, things didn't work out since it took Manning too long to make up his mind. Anyways, Cardinals fans better suck it up and accept Kolb. At least he's better than this guy. "That's fine. That's fine. That's fine. That's fine. That's fine." ===>

Sports Illustrated jinxes the team (player) on the cover, It's true!!!

Sports Illustrated is a good magazine, don't get me wrong. But there's a problem with releasing weekly magazines for sports: sports headlines are always changing. Just look at Yahoo! Sports. Their front page changes several times each day. Why? Because sports are constantly changing. Just look at this week's cover: It's the rising sensation for the New York Knicks, Jeremy Lin. Lin is a great basketball story and he's been a reason for the Knicks recent success, but today against the Heat, Linsanity was hushed and held to only a sniffle as Miami ran them out of the building, 102-88. Lin was Linane as he went 1-11 shooting. Why? For many reasons: the Heat are a good team, he was probably sick, and because he made Sports Illustrated's cover for the second week in a row! This is what SI does. Since a magazine is obviously not the internet, there is no constant feed of information to change what's been done. Once a magazine is printed, those headlines have been set in stone (or ink). Here are a few jinxes from SI in recent memory.

No other sporting event has more coverage than the Super Bowl and no other team had more SI coverage than the New England Patriots. During the two weeks leading up to the Super Bowl, the New England Patriots made the SI cover, twice. One with Tom Brady and one with Robert Kraft. The Patriots ended up losing by a few inches when they had a great chance to win the game. Why? As Eli Manning said: "I'm not superstitious, but I am a little-stitious."

I was surprised when the 49ers beat the Saints in the Divisional round of this year's playoffs, but I wasn't surprised when the 49ers lost to the Giants for the right to go to the Super Bowl. Why? Cause San Francisco was picked to lose to the New Orleans Saints, but they did not because they pulled off one of the more memorable playoff come-backs. The problem is, the 49ers lost that surprise factor the very next week. They were picked to go to the Super Bowl over the eventual Super Bowl champs, the New York Giants, but they lost the game in devastating fashion. The 49ers were in a position to win the game, but they let that opportunity slip through their fingers. I guess I'm just a little-stitious...

The Green Bay Packers... now they're a team that could handle all the hype about being undefeated, but wait a second they went 15-1... well they were a team that could handle the playoff pressure, but wait they lost in the first round to Eli Manning's Giants... Well they certainly did live up to the hype of an explosive regular season offense after the SI preseason NFL preview magazine that featured the Packers on the cover. They carried that hype all the way to Kansas City, where they suffered their first loss. But hey, no jinx, right? Wrong! They made the cover for the NFL playoff preview issue and ended up losing to the New York Football Giants, the eventual Super Bowl champs. I guess you can see why I'm a little-stitious, right?

You're probably starting to think one of two things: this is kinda like the Madden curse, or Eli Manning is always involved in these issues. Well, it's kinda like the Madden curse and I only wrote this post because everyone in sports is a "little-stitious". Just look at Tim Tebow. That throwing motion screams "losing!", but Timothy managed to pull off a few miracles with that south-paw sling. One miracle includes the Chicago Bears win where Tebow led the Broncos to FG range twice and won 13-10 OT after being down 10-0 late in the 4th quarter. Once the Tebow train picked up speed with this winning streak, it was slammed to a sudden halt by the Brady bunch. Pray that you don't make the cover of Sports Illustrated.

The now-evident Sports Illustrated curse differs from the Madden curse for one reason: SI covers all sports. This includes a curse for the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox were a victim of one of the greatest collapses in regular season sports as they choked towards the end of their season and let the Tampa Bay Rays miraculously leap-frog them in the Wild Card standings. The collapse was so dramatic that a week before, poster and bus signs were put up for the Red Sox in the post season on TBS. They lost their slipping hold on the Wild Card berth as Jonathon Papelbon, the beloved closer of the BoSox, blew a save to the lowly Baltimore Orioles on the last day of the regular season. That blown save capped off one of the greatest collapses in all of sports.

This one is my favorite. As an Arizona Wildcats fan, I was shocked to see the Bruins on the cover instead of the Wildcats. However, as the season rolled by, I saw it as a blessing in disguise: UCLA was crushed by Loyola Marymount and Middle Tennessee State and stumbled to a 2-5 start instead of a predicted 6-1 start. Things got so bad for the Bruins that Reeves Nelson, their star player on the cover, was dismissed from the team. He always gave me the creeps cause of his tattoo sleeves (not that there's anything wrong with tattoos), but things got so bad that his mother even called him out for his bad behavior. I just hope the Cats can pull this thing out and sneak into the NCAA Tournament with as little coverage as possible...

The Rematch with the same conclusion: the New York Football Giants are once again Super Bowl champs

The New York Football Giants upset the New England Patriots in the game of the year once again, after hanging on to a 21-17 win. Super Bowl XLVI was a rematch of one of the greatest upsets in a championship game in sports history as Eli Manning willed the Giants to a last minute victory against Tom Brady and the Patriots. Four years later doesn't make much of a difference... The Patriots were once again the favorites, but not by 12 points. This time they were only favored by a 3-point margin. New England won the coin-toss and elected to differ, letting America see the Giants take the ball first in this year's Super Bowl. The Giants came out of the gates with a healthy dose of running and passing,  but their drive halted at midfield. Scott Weatherford came on to punt for the Giants and ended up pinning the Patriots deep. On the ensuing play, Tom Brady was flagged for intentional grounding as he threw the ball away just as Justin Tuck slammed him to the ground. With two-points for the Giants, they would receive the ball and capitalize on a short Victor Cruz TD catch. The first quarter came winding to a close, but in the second quarter, Tom Brady lit up Lucas Oil Stadium. The Patriots would put together two long drives in a short amount of time to go up 17-9 at the half. After Madonna's half-time performance, the two teams would return to the field. Brady tweaked his shoulder on a play and would never be the same as the Giants capitalized. Lawrence Tynes would kick two field goals to draw the margin to only two points. Needing only the ball and a field goal to win, New York was desperate to get a stop on defense. Just then, Wes Welker dropped a key first down pass that would have iced the game. The Giants got the ball back and would do what they did four years ago: score a TD after a miraculous catch. That is just what Mario Manningham did as he caught a 38 yard pass and tapped his toes in bounds to get the Giants at midfield. Bill Belichick would challenge the play, but ended up losing a key time out. Before you knew it, the Giants were already in field goal range and trying to eat up the clock. Belichick would let Ahmad Bradshaw score with about a minute to go and only one timeout. But even Tom Terrific can't make miracles happen as his Hail Mary fell to ground, incomplete in front of his biggest play-maker, Rob Gronkowski.

The NFL is allowing the use of Twitter during the Pro Bowl

The NFL has always been uptight about Tweeting during games, but let the players have some fun! The NFL is allowing the use of Twitter during the 2012 Pro Bowl for those who really can't wait to say "Totally just sacked @drewbrees" or "My dude @LarryFitzgerald has got some serious hops!", but I guess they earned it since they've had successful seasons as individuals. At least we don't have to deal with @OGOchoCinco tweeting on the sidelines cause he's in the Super Bowl... and cause he's had an awful season.

Giants top the Niners in OT for NFC Championship, 20-17

The New York football Giants are going to Super Bowl XLVI to set up a Super Bowl XLII rematch with the New England Patriots. A game that was played in such sloppy weather conditions concluded in stunning fashion. Just as the AFC Title game earlier in the day, the team heading to the Super Bowl did not win the game, but the team that lost beat themselves. The Niners scored on an early 73 yard Vernon Davis TD, but did not do much after the quick score. New York would tie and take a three point lead at the end of the first half, giving them plenty of momentum headed into the locker room. However, the second half is where the Niners showed their true colors: stout on defense, well coached, but unable to take advantage. The Niners would take back a four point lead, but the Giants would go back on top with a TD set up by a Kyle Williams' muffed punt. The Niners' David Akers would then tie up the game with about five minutes to go, setting up an almost painful slew of drives that resulted in punts and OT. New York won the toss, giving them the ball first; however, they would fail to score. San Francisco received the ball once again, but they failed to end the game. On a New York punt, Kyle Williams would receive the ball once again in good field position, but he fumbled the ball, giving the Giants a short field to work with. As you may recall, Kyle Williams is an ASU product drafted in the 6th round of the 2010 NFL Draft. Williams, a solid punt returner, cost the Sun Devils the Territorial Cup against the rival Arizona Wildcats by fumbling a punt and setting up a short field for the Wildcats. Is it a coincidence that both San Fran and ASU wear gold and red, whereas New York and Arizona wear red, white, and blue? The similarities did not end there as the Giants ended the dreams of the Niners faithful in Candlestick on a 31 yard Lawrence Tynes Field Goal that will send the Giants once again to the Super Bowl.

Patriots top the Ravens for a trip to Super Bowl XLVI, 23-20

Tom Brady will return to the Super Bowl for the 5th time in his career. He didn't necessarily will the Patriots with a stellar passing performance, in fact he didn't even have a TD toss, but the Patriots survived a well-prepared Ravens team. The Ravens were able to hit hard and keep Brady under check. Their defense did just about everything they could possibly do to limit an explosive New England pass attack, but they didn't limit the run game. The Patriots could run on the Ravens which led to some scoring drives, but only 2 TDs. Baltimore had the exact opposite situation as they passed well, but rushed poorly. The Ravens took a 20-16 lead in the fourth quarter, but Brady would lead the Patriots down the field and cap off the drive with a QB sneak. Baltimore would get the ball back late in the game and they almost won the game, but Lee Evans dropped a game-winner and Billy Cundiff would miss a 32-yard game-tying FG. Brady will go on to play at Indy against either the team that beat him in hose last trip, the Giants, or his childhood team, the 49ers.

Giants stun the Packers, 37-20

Mr. Rodgers better Discount Double Check his game plan cause the Giants out did the reigning champs in every aspect of the game. A steady dose of Eli Manning and the running back tandem of the Giants put the underdogs on top early and often. Eli took a huge step in his QB development as he took the step from good to great by outperforming Aaron Rodgers. New York has always been a road warrior team, so the Pack should've anticipated a good fight, but they were not prepared at all. The receivers dropped several balls, putting the Pack out of sync from the start. New York must have seen tape from the KC-GB game since the Chiefs defeated the Packers by pressuring Rodgers and running the ball first, then throwing the ball. This game plan will put some pressure on Alex Smith next Sunday for the NFC Championship game.

Ravens outlast the Texans, 20-13

Baltimore allowed their first 100 yard rusher in playoff franchise history as Arian Foster carried Houston on his back with his 132 yards, but it wasn't enough as the Ravens forced three costly INTs from Texans Rookie QB TJ Yates. All three picks led to Baltimore scores and all of the Ravens points came off of turnovers, so Baltimore should consider themselves lucky that they played a rookie 5th round QB. Joe Flacco was harassed all day as he threw only 176 yards, which won't get their offense anywhere as they will try to keep up with the Patriots offense next week in Foxborough.

Patriots rout the Broncos, 45-10

Tebow never had a shot against the Pats. The game was over on the first drive as Brady out on a show by doing just about everything Tebow couldn't do, like throwing the ball. Terrific Tom would lead the Brady Bunch by tossing 6 TDs (an NFL playoff record) with three of them to his pass-catching tight end, Rob Gronkowski. The Broncos defense simply never showed up as Brady ripped them for big play after big play and touchdown after touchdown. Tebow definitely didn't help Denver's cause as he went 9-26 with only 136 yards. In the end, New England was simply the better team as they will host next week's AFC Championship game.

Niners shock the Saints in a classic, 36-32

Alex Smith was once a first overall pick and now a QB that has failed expectations and lowered the expectations of a once proud San Francisco franchise. But for one day, Alex Smith was Joe Montana. All those expectations for the Niners turned around this season as they earned an impressive 13-3 record with a rookie head coach in Jim Harbaugh. The second seed in the playoffs still did not prove anything to the football fans of America as the Saints came marching into Candlestick, expected to win. The Niners would have to use every second of their BYE week to formulate a game plan to wrangle the Saints offense. The plan worked. Put pressure on Brees and take away the run, which Resulted in 3 sacks and 63 pass attempts from Breesy. The 49ers took advantage of some early turnovers and took a surprising 17-0 lead in the second quarter. New Orleans offense would fight back though as they took a 24-23 lead with four minutes left in the game on an explosive Darren Sproles screen play. Then things got interesting. With two minutes and in field goal range, Alex Smith ran a QB draw for 28 yards and a TD. The two-point attempt failed and San Fran held a five point lead. The crowd at Canldestick was rejuvenated; however, the unspeakable would occur. The explosive Saints offense scored a 66 yard TD from a pass to Jimmy Graham, which led to a 3 point lead after a successful two-point conversion. Then NFL history would occur. Alex Smith became Joe Montana as he led the Niners down the field to the 14 yard line with 9 seconds left. On the very next play, Vernon Davis became T.O. As he caught and hung on to a TD pass, which marked the return of the Niners to the NFC Championship game.

Tebow! Broncos shock the Steelers, 29-23 OT

Give Tebow some credit. Maybe he's not the flashiest QB that can throw lasers all over the field, but he was good enough to go unconventionally conventional as he went 10-21 with 316 passing yards and 2 TDs. The Broncos started hot and earned a 20-6 lead. The Steeler would tie the game with 3:48 and had a chance to set up a game-winning Fg, but Roethlisberger was sacked and pushed back out of FG range. The game would go to OT, the first ever with the new system. Tebow did the same thing he's been doing all season in OT: win. That's exactly what he did when he tossed the ball to Demaryius Thomas for an 80 yard catch and run to set up a rematch against New England and Tom Brady.

Giants shutdown the Falcons, 24-2

Marty Ice was ice cold as he and the Falcons offense was shut down all game long. The only points for the Falcons came on an intentional grounding by Eli Manning in the End Zone. Those were the first points and the only points in the game for Atlanta. The Giants were well balanced on offense as Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw steadily picked up yards and Eli was efficient enough. Green Bay better be concerned in the solid Giants defense next Sunday.

Saints top the Lions, 45-28

The Lions return to the NFL playoffs was short-lived, but they fought hard. The only problem was that they were put up against Drew Brees and the red-hot Saints. Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson hooked up a few times for TDs, but Breesy made things look easy as he racked up 466 yards against the Lions secondary. Detroit set the tone with a great opening drive and really controlled the game in the first half. It wasn't till the second half that the Saints explosive offense ignited and it wasn't till the last quarter that the Saints marched away. The 49ers will have to put up big offensive numbers if they want to win in Candlestick.

Texans beat the Bengals in their first playoff game, 31-10

Since the Texans joined the NFL in 2002, they haven't been in the playoffs. That all changed this year as the Texans started this Season with an impressive 7-3 record, but their luck seemed to change when Matt Schaub went down with a broken foot. Going into the playoffs with a 3-game losing streak and a rookie QB, things looked gloomy for Gary Kubiak's squad. On Saturday, when the Bengals came into Reliant Stadium, the atmosphere was electric. Cincinatti would quiet down the crowd a bit by drawing first blood, but Andy Dalton, the rookie out of TCU, would throw three INTs as Arian Foster had a great game to put away the Bengals and send Houston to Baltimore.

Cardinals finish the season with an OT win against the Seahawks, 23-20

Fitzgerald left his best for last and started 2012 off with a bang. The Japanese Fighting Fish snagged two of the greatest catches this NFL season in a 9 catch 149 yard performance against the Seattle Seahawks. The Cards pushed out first to a Get a comfortable 20-10 4th quarter lead, however the Seahawks were the team that forced OT with a late comeback. In OT, Fitzgerald made a great one-handed catch to set up a 28-yard Jay Feely game winning FG. The Cardinals finish the season with an 8-8 record and 2nd place in the NFC West. Arizona showed vast improvement in close games as they were 1-6 in the first 7 games, but finished 7-2 with an improved defense and some fourth quarter/OT magic from Skelton. If Skelton can improve his accuracy, he'll give Kolb a run for his money in the off-season. If Kolb can stay healthy, the offense will improve. If the Cards can keep most of their roster and coaches and get a few offensive linemen, they should really improve next year.

Packers top Lions in a shoot-out without Rodgers, 45-41

Matt Flynn had a better game than any single performance by Aaron Rodgers this year as the 4-year, former 7th round back-up from LSU filled in for the regular season finale. Flynn passed for 480 yards and 6 TDs. If Rodgers had a performance like that, he would've been only the 5th QB to ever hit 5000 yards in a season and throw 51 TDs, which would be a new record. Rodgers didn't get the chance at that record, but Matthew Stafford was able to hit 5000 yards on the season as he threw for 520 yards, but the Packers proved too much. The Pack will have the first overall seed in NFC and the Lions will have the 6th seed in the NFC.