The stage is set: the New York Giants (12-7) will face the New England Patriots (15-3)  in Super Bowl XLVI on Sunday February, 5, in Indianapolis.

In last Sunday’s conference championship games, we saw both these teams barely carve their paths into the Super Bowl. In fact, it was the other team’s mistakes that led to their victories. Baltimore Ravens’ kicker, Billy Cundiff, missed a 32-yard field goal in the final seconds of the game, sending the Patriots to Indianapolis. Later that night, San Francisco’s Kyle Williams fumbled the ball, allowing the Giants to regain possession and score for the overtime win. It wasn’t the best showing for either the Giants or the Patriots, but they were the only two teams left standing.

Super Bowl XLVI will be a repeat of Super Bowl XLII when the Giants and Patriots faced off in Glendale. Patriot fans still feel the pain of the 4th quarter comeback by the Giants in 2008 and are seeking revenge this time around. After all, the Patriots would have had a perfect season in 2007-2008 if it wasn’t for the final loss to New York. In addition, the Giants beat the Patriots both in pre-season and regular-season this year. In fairness to the Patriots, both of those games were extremely close and could have gone either way. The Patriots are heading into the Super Bowl having won 10 games straight, with their last loss being to the Giants in November. Now, these newly rivaled teams will have a chance to battle it out one last time on football’s biggest stage.

Star quarterbacks Eli Manning of the Giants and Tom Brady of the Patriots are as talented as they come and are sure to put on an unforgettable show. Both offenses are explosive and have talented wide receivers. A few questions will also be answered during this showdown: Is Manning on the same level as Brady? Can the Patriots pull it together to finally beat the Giants when it counts? And of course, will the party be in New York or Boston after the game?

Written by Matthew Brigstock’13