It’s the same game that comes each year, the football game that millions tune in to watch, and the game that decides who will be champions and who will go home as second-best. Playing in the Super Bowl is the most exciting experience of a football player’s life, but the next best thing to playing in it is having your team win it. My mom’s side of the family was fromNew Jerseyand my dad’s side was fromNew York, so I was born a Giants fan. Some of my earliest memories are of wearing Giants cheerleading uniforms and screaming in front of the TV rooting for “the BIG Blue.”

Following the Giants through this year’s Super Bowl run had to be one of the most exciting things ever. My whole family was unbelievably nervous during the days leading up to kickoff. One of the reasons why this was such a big deal was because you always think your team is going to make it far, but it rarely happens that they actually do.

Besides making it to the Super Bowl, what really added in the extra excitement is that the majority of the people watching didn’t believe the Giants would win. Having the chance to prove those doubters wrong raised the importance of the game. Being a long time Giants fan, it’s natural to hear the statements that your quarterback Eli Manning “isn’t good or experienced enough” and “there is no way he is an elite quarterback.” These comments raised my spirit and belief for the Giants. Having to back the Giants up and defend them made the game even more nerve-racking.

When my team did win, and I screamed at the top of my lungs and jumped off the coach holding up a number one, I knew that the Giants had just proved a lot of people wrong. By winning that game, they proved to all their doubters that they are in fact champions and that they do have an elite quarterback.