It was like what one non-football-playing New York athlete, Yogi Berra, once described as "deja vu all over again."
For the second time in five years, the favored Patriots lost to Eli Manning and the Giants, following a heartbreaking (for New Englanders) New York drive in the waning minutes of Super Bowl XLVI.
In February 2008, the setting was the Arizona desert. This time it was downtown Indianapolis. But the result was the same — somehow Tom Brady and his mates let victory slip from their grasp.
Sunday, it was over after Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw stopped, then let himself fall backward into the end zone to score the go-ahead touchdown with less than a minute left to play. Yes, the Patriot coaching staff had decided it would be better to let the Giants score than wind down the clock, but there was still so little time left that no one — not Belichick, not Brady, not Welker, not Gronkowski — could save them.
It's a bitter pill to swallow, reminiscent of how repeated losses to the Yankees caused Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez to famously label that New York team "my daddy."
While our guess is that it's the Patriots who will have the better record next season and will be first to return to the Super Bowl, these losses to the Giants will continue to gnaw at the fragile New England psyche for years to come.
Daisy Sizzles in Sexy Swimwear
Officers Use Deadly Force on Mountain Lion in Santa Monica
Lea Michele Shows Major Skin
8 Hurt in Oklahoma Shooting After NBA Playoff
Why Cee Lo Thinks 'The Voice' is So Popular
Burlesque New Orleans
Mike Posner Talks Sneakers: Bamboozle 2012
Howard Stern Makes Kid Cry on AGT
Neighbor Feud Results in Dog Poop in Mailbox
Tiger's Ex-Wife Bares Her Bod
VIDEO | Zoo Chimp Charges Children
Child locked in washing machine after father put him there
Incubus On Working With Odd Future: Bamboozle 2012
'PLL' First Look Clip!
Fired for being 'too hot'
Ashley Olsen is a Bikini Babe
'Part of Me' Details 'Bumpy' Marriage, Says Katy
Music downloader owes nearly $700K in fines
Kardashian Sisters Pose in Lingerie
Raw Video: Man Saved After Niagara Falls Plunge
