It was like what one non-football-playing New York athlete, Yogi Berra, once described as "dé©jà vu all over again."
For the second time in the last five Super Bowls, the favored Patriots lost to Eli Manning and the Giants following a heartbreaking (for New Englanders) New York drive in the waning minutes of the game.
In February 2008 the setting was the Arizona desert. This time it was downtown Indianapolis. But the result was the same — somehow Tom Brady and his mates let victory slip from their grasp.
Sunday it was over after Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw stopped, then let himself fall backward into the end zone to score the go-ahead touchdown with less than a minute left to play. Yes, the Patriot coaching staff had decided it would be better to let the Giants score than wind down the clock, but there was still so little time left no one — not Belichick, not Brady, not Welker, not Gronkowski — could save them.
It's a bitter pill to swallow, reminiscent of how repeated losses to the Yankees caused Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez to famously label that New York team "my daddy."
While our guess is that it's the Patriots who will have the better record next season and will be first to return to the Super Bowl, these losses to the Giants will continue to gnaw at the fragile New England psyche for years to come.
FAMU Bandmates: Victim Volunteered to Be Hazed
Raw Video: Bride Who Faked Cancer Released
Raw Video: Tornado Appears During Wedding
HP to Cut 27,000 Jobs, Save Up to $3.5B
Inquiry Hears Wider Secret Service Misbehavior
Md. 911 Dispatcher Caught Sleeping on Job
Raw Video: Toddler Trapped in Washing Machine
Iowa Man With Zebra, Parrot in Truck Gets DUI
Egyptians Pick New President in Free Election
Giant Bull Head Draws Drivers to South Dakota
Astrodome Fades As Houston Decides Fate
Franciscan Files Tell Stories of Priest Abuse
Wildfire Destroys 2 Homes
Flight Diverted After Suspicious Note
Joplin Remembers Deadly Tornado, 1 Year Later
Panel Recommends Against Routine Prostate Test
Fired Lingerie Employee Claims Discrimination
Facebook Shares Continue Negative Slide
Cuba Waiting for Cyber Age to Come
8 Hurt in Oklahoma Shooting After NBA Playoff
