Super Bowl prognostication

It’s the best of times, it’s the worst of times.
It’s Super Bowl Sunday, which means two things: It’s the most important and last meaningful game until Labor Day. And no, the Pro Bowl doesn’t count.
We had a Southern Vance student, Cameron Driver, in-house the other day for job shadowing, and I’m proud to report that he at least learned who would be playing in today’s game in his brief stay here on Chestnut Street.
Apparently, playing five sports while maintaining good grades eliminates the time necessary to closely monitor the National Football League.
That’s where I come in. That’s right, after watching two weeks worth of talking heads, reporters in wedding dresses, Giant guarantees, Brady’s boot and Hall of Fame hopefuls it’s finally time for some football.
Here’s hoping for a game that’s still in the balance after Tom Petty hobbles out on stage for the halftime show.
These two teams matched up a few weeks ago in the regular-season finale, and with the perfection-seeking Patriots installed as a 14-point favorite, the Giants actually led by 12 in the second half before finally falling, 38-35.
So, is there hope for this game to be close? New England, hoping to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history, is a 12-point favorite out in Glendale today. In 12 other Super Bowl games that featured a double-digit spread, the favorite is 6-5-1 against the number.
Not that we condone gambling or anything.
I’ve been all over the place on this one. I woke up Monday morning convinced that Tom Brady and the Pats will roll through Big Blue like Lindsay Lohan through rehab stints. On Tuesday, I told my dad I was leaning that way. On Wednesday, I read an old story about Joe Namath and his famous guarantee before Super Bowl III when the Jets were 17-point underdogs, and it got me thinking. Miracles can happen.
Then, on Thursday, Brandon Lang — the real handicapper on which the movie “Two for the Money” was based — picked the G-men to cover the number. He’s a genius — a staggering 15-0-2 in picking the Super Bowl in the last 17 years. I’d ask Petty, but he says he’s “for everybody.”
Thanks, Tom.
So, as I sit here now, I’m tempted to play it safe.
Brady’s one of the best big-game quarterbacks in the NFL’s history, Randy Moss had a monster season, Wes Welker catches bullets with his teeth and the defense always makes enough plays in the clutch.
And while the Giants have been smoking hot, I wonder if it can keep up. Eli Manning has been channeling his big brother, Plaxico Burress has been unreal and the defense has been even better than we all thought.
It’s hard to deny the magnitude of New York’s wins over Tampa Bay, Dallas and Green Bay — all on the road — in the run-up to today’s game. I thought they’d lose in Dallas. I was sure they were going to freeze up on the tundra.
Today, who knows.
But while I’m a long way from a Miami pool side in 1967, I’m feeling a little like Joe Willie.
I say the fairy tale rolls on in the desert. Maybe Brady’s ankle gets a little tweak in the first quarter — or he elopes with that cute reporter that asked for his hand in marriage earlier this week. Maybe Randy Moss runs over a crossing guard on the way to the stadium. Maybe Bill Belichick can’t find a warm-weather hoodie and stays sequestered in his hotel room.
Perhaps Junior Seau and Rodney Harrison skip the game for the early-bird seniors’ discount at Denny’s. You just never know.
So, I’m thinking Brandon Jacobs — the bruising running back for the Giants — has the game of his life and becomes the next in a long line of unlikely Super Bowl MVPs.
I’m taking the Giants in a tight one.
Happy viewing, everyone. Now, pass the chili-cheese dip.

Contact the writer at rcapps@hendersondispatch.com.