Keith Grieve is 28 years old and lives in Princeton, New Jersey. His sports journalism background includes two years as Sports Director for Cortland State Television at SUNY Cortland, where he did play-by-play commentary for football, basketball, and hockey. He's been a senior writer for eSports for about three years now. His day job is in retail management, but he still finds time to play hardball -- that?s right, not softball -- in an attempt to recapture his youth. Super Bowl XXXIX brings us the match up we all knew we wanted deep down.
For all the heroics of Pittsburgh Steelers' rookie Ben Roethlisberger or the electricity supplied by Atlanta Falcons' Quarterback Michael Vick, this is the match up we wanted.
The Philadelphia Eagles, pretenders to the throne the last three years, facing the new elite of the NFL, the New England Patriots.
The Patriots, winners of two of the last three Super Bowls, have been fighting the term "dynasty" since Adam Vinatieri's kick gave them that second ring last February.
With free agency making continuity almost impossible in professional sports, here come the Patriots with new personnel almost every year yet achieving the same results.
However don't overlook the changes the Eagles have gone through while maintaining their own success.
Of course, there was the addition of Wide Receiver Terrell Owens, but the loss of Cornerbacks Troy Vincent and Bobby Taylor would have probably hindered a lesser-coached team.
The one thing Eagles' Head Coach Andy Reid and Bill Belichick of the Patriots have proved to everyone over the years is that they can win with just about anyone on the field.
No one expected the Patriots to get past the Colts without injured cornerback Ty Law. How did they respond? With a 20-3 drubbing of the league's MVP, Peyton Manning.
Then they went on to
The Eagles likewise weren't expected to go far after Owens' regular-season ending ankle/ leg injury. Facing the Minnesota Vikings and their stellar combination of QB Daunte Culpepper and WR Randy Moss, this would surely be a test.
Not so much.
Next came the Atlanta Falcons who were supposed to test the Eagles' defense with their sensational QB, Vick. All the Eagles D did was hold him to 160 total yards and grab an interception for good measure.
The 27-10 Eagle win put them in their first Super Bowl after losing the previous three NFC Championship games.
As for this match up, let's take a moment and count up all the sub-plots we have to the most popular championship game in all of sports:
1. The defending Champion New England Patriots trying to win their third title in four years.
2. The Eagles, finally getting to the Super Bowl after losing three straight NFC Championships.
3. The city of
4. Donovan McNabb, originally booed after being drafted, possibly bringing the ultimate championship home to
5. Tom Brady, trying to improve his 8-0 record in the playoffs (thanks in part to two big Vinatieri kicks)
6. Corey Dillon, imported this year after many years of complaining about losing in
7. Eagles WR Freddie Mitchell vs. Patriots S Rodney Harrison. Harrison took exception to Mitchell saying to the press that the Patriots' secondary wasn't 'that good' without Law.
Oh yeah, and Owens might come back earlier than expected to play, too.
This match up is what the Super Bowl is supposed to be about- the best against the best. The Eagles and Patriots both proved they belong here by handling formidable adversaries comfortably.
Now they face off against each other and this game might just resemble a schoolyard brawl.
Both teams play excellent defense, the difference comes at quarterback. McNabb and Brady are both playmakers. What separates them is that McNabb is a difference maker.
If it weren't for Vinatieri's kicks in their two Super Bowl wins, we are not talking about Tom Brady as the two-time Super Bowl MVP who is undefeated in his last eight games in the postseason. Instead he becomes a 6-2 quarterback who couldn't win the big game.
Funny how fortunes can change, isn't it?
The Eagle defense will keep the pressure on Brady, and probably come away with one or two turnovers.
The Patriot defense will come at McNabb with different looks and keep him in the pocket, Owens will be an afterthought.
In the end, the difference maker will have his way and the Eagles win this one- 17-13.