Tonight is the Monday night wildcard playoff game between Tampa Bay and Dallas and this is a first for me: for the first time in my life I will be rooting for Tom Brady to win a game.
The reason for this sudden change? The Dallas Cowboys.
I've been a Giants fan since 1970, and as much as I respected Roger Staubach and Tom Landry, I loathed that team.
Worse was how many ex-Cowboys players (Micheal Irvin, Deon Sanders, etc...) landed on our TV screens as pundits and commentators, screaming in favor of their former team.
Now, I have big-time schadenfreude whenever the Cowboys lose, and it will make many heads explode if the 8-9 Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeat Dak Prescott, Jerry Jones, and the 12-5 Cowboys.
Calling them "America's team"? Yuck.
I've made it no secret on C&L that I grew up in New York and am no fan of the Red Sox, Bruins, Celtics, and Patriots, and of course, the Cowboys.
It warmed my heart when Eli Manning and the NY football Giants beat Tom Brady not once, but twice in the Super Bowl -- while in the process destroying the Patriots' almost perfect season in 2007. That doesn't diminish Brady's greatness, (he is this generation's greatest quarterback) but it elevated Eli Manning's and Tom Coughlin's.
The Giants dispatched the Minnesota Vikings Sunday and proved how valuable coaching is in the NFL. Brian Daboll should be the coach of the year, as should their entire coaching staff.
If Brady's career has any more magic left, it would be a nice touch if he laid waste to Jerry Jones once again.
Fingers crossed.
