Monday Morning Meltdown: Super Bowl edition

Hard to believe that I'd have anything to rant about after scoring with a big Giants-under parlay (thanks, Smooth Jimmy!), but of course there are a few things to get off my chest regarding the action that transpired in Glendale, Ariz., last night.

First off, there was the postgame actions of Patriots coach Bill Belichick, which actually weren't postgame so much as they were prepostgame because he couldn't wait until Eli Manning had taken a final knee before he ran across the field to congratulate Tom Coughlin, then ran off the field.

Belichick is a noted jackass -- no point in recounting the spying allegations, the marital infidelity allegations, the smug press conferences, the irrational retaliation against his former assistant coaches, the tattered hoodies -- so nothing he does should surprise me. But I still was taken aback by the utter chutzpah he displayed when he refused to give the Giants their moment.

Like all megalomaniacs, Belichick has to do everything on HIS terms, and HIS terms alone. The script he wrote for this game didn't include him standing on the sidelines, watching the Giants celebrate as the clock ticked down to 0:00. So, he had to insert himself into the ultimate moment of the game, when it should have been about Coughlin, Manning, that phenomenal defensive line, and all the rest of the G-Men. Instead of talking about them, Belichick ensured that people also had to talk about his actions, whether he thought the game was over or knew there was one second left, and why he did what he did.

Memo to Belichick: IT'S NOT ALWAYS ALL ABOUT YOU!!! Thankfully, his players showed much more class and dignity as the game ended. Even Randy Moss, who knows a thing or two about leaving the field early when his team is about to lose, stuck around. Too bad the teacher never learns from the pupils in New England.

Another craw-sticker: I've heard numerous commentators breathlessly call the Giants' win last night "the biggest upset in Super Bowl history!" Ummmm ... usually, that kind of thing is subjective, so you'd have to qualify that by mentioning that it's your opinion, not a statement of fact.

But thanks to my adopted hometown, we have documented proof that this wasn't the biggest upset in Super Bowl history. The 2001 Patriots were 14-point underdogs when they beat the Rams. And in Super Bowl III, the Colts were anywhere from 17- to 22-point favorites, depending on who you're talking to, when they lost to Broadway Joe and the Jets.

Maybe it's the biggest loss in Super Bowl history, because it prevented the Pats from becoming the first 19-0 team in league history. But nothing will ever top the Jets' win over the Colts, because they were representing the upstart AFL, which most of the NFL establishment considered a minor league at the time. It's the football equivalent of USA 4, USSR 3; of Hickory High knocking off Indianapolis Central; of the Miracle Mets of 1969. You can't call it the biggest upset of all time when a number of prognosticators -- from SI's Dr. Z to Fox's Frank Caliendo (in a brilliant John Madden cameo) and even KFAN's Paul Allen -- were predicting a Giants win.

Finally, on the other side of the equation, anybody who suggests that Eli Manning's critics now owe him an apology is smoking some high-grade crack. I know I've said in the past that the Giants fans mistreated Eli when they booed him after his first incompletion, and that his superb road record at least makes a case for the argument that he feels less pressure when he's not faced with their unrealistic expectations.

But that's not the same thing as saying he's above criticism. Anybody who watched his debacle against the Vikings this year, when three of his interceptions were returned for touchdowns, had plenty of reason to cast aspersions on the youngest Manning. It's not hypocritical to now state that he had a great playoff run and deserves all the kudos he's getting.