Well, it’s over. The 2007-08 NFL season wrapped up in typical frenzied, hype-induced, ad-bombarded fashion as the New York Giants were anointed unlikely Super Bowl XLII champions. They added a new chapter to the New York-Boston sports rivalry by topping the heavily favored New England Patriots 17-14 thanks to outstanding defence and a heroic fourth-quarter performance from QB Eli Manning.

Yet, before the Arizona sun sets on the 42nd edition of the football spectacular and talk turns to next season, there are plenty of questions left to be asked – namely whether the team that raised the Vince Lombardi trophy was, in fact, the NFL’s top squad over the course of this campaign.

This is by no means a knock on the New York Giants, who have now made four consecutive playoff appearances and set the record for most road wins in a row (11). Though they were post-season afterthoughts once the playoff match-ups were set and 12-point underdogs heading into the Super Bowl, the squad featuring a stifling defence, big play receivers, and a blossoming quarterback is certainly a team to watch next season in their bid for a repeat.

‘...the Giants lost six times over the campaign, including a 41-17 defeat at the hands of the 8-8 Minnesota Vikings.’


However, can one game over-compensate for the vast regular season differences between the Patriots, who arrived in Arizona undefeated and sporting the highest-scoring offense in league history, and the Giants, who lost six times over the campaign, including a 41-17 defeat at the hands of the 8-8 Minnesota Vikings?

For all the hype and excitement surrounding the biggest annual North American sporting event, the Super Bowl is not without its limitations. Sure, the one-game championship format possesses a thrilling and dramatic element that a best-of-seven series simply cannot match. However, the entire point of a post season in professional sport is to crown an independently superior champion and identify the league’s best team as a culmination of an entire season of play.

Even a multi-game series is no sure bet in achieving a single undisputed victor, but surely basing the championship upon one single game offers up plenty of problematic vulnerability. For instance, the Grey Cup, the annual title game of the Canadian Football League, was heavily impacted when Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ starting quarterback Kevin Glenn was injured and could not participate, leaving his team at a tremendous disadvantage heading into a game they would ultimately lose.

Am I suggesting that the Super Bowl should be done away with in favour of a series format? Heck, no. It is a unique event that brings together football fans and casual viewers alike to take in a fascinating, rare spectacle. Yet in order to gauge a true sense of who was the best of the NFL’s 32 squads over the course of the 2007-08 season, one must be careful not to put too much stock into one single game, however gloried that game may be.

Were the Giants worthy winners? Tell us below or in your own article for Sportingo.