Super Bowl will prove dramatic

Anyone who is a fan of sports films is familiar with the typical plot lines. There are always the underdogs, rising above adversity during trials that don't seem surmountable and reaching the championship game against a team with a superstar quarterback, a genius coach and the wind seemingly at their back.

Who would have guessed that this NFL season would result in this exact same situation?

On the Giants side, we have protagonist Eli Manning at the helm. The soft-spoken kid brother of Peyton, who's been a second-mention since he was born, now is in a position to surpass his superstar brother in Super Bowl wins, something no one would have guessed when the Chargers drafted him. The sidekick to Eli is Victor Cruz, who has developed from being a one-star recruit in high school and an undrafted free agent to becoming an elite NFL wide receiver. 

On the Patriots side, they seem to fit the antagonist role well. We have the glamorous Tom Brady, the golden-boy quarterback of the Patriots who, when not picking apart defenses, enjoys spending time with his supermodel wife and gracing the cover of GQ Magazine. With a high-powered offense at his disposal, the only thing holding the team back from their fourth Super Bowl in 12 years is their complete lack of defense. Standing next to Brady is Bill Belichick, a guy who certainly will go down as one of the best coaches in NFL history despite his shady past involving video cameras and opponents' closed practices.

The Patriots are a team you love to hate, because there is no way they should be in this game. Throughout the NFL season, the Pats managed to beat only one team with a winning record, and that was the Ravens. Despite their 13-3 record, the Patriots ranked 31st in total defense, and are only in the Super Bowl because of a missed kick that any high school kicker could've made.

As for the Giants — well, they seem to have a knack for showing up in the postseason. After their 9-7 record barely squeaked them into the wildcard game against the Falcons, they have outscored their playoff opponents 81-39. Similar to their road to the 2007 Super Bowl win against the Pats, no one expected them to even come close to Indianapolis. 

It's a timeless matchup, an instant classic waiting to happen, and it's very indicative of this NFL season. Both teams have won their games with offense and offense alone. It seems as if Dave Thorson's "defense wins championships" mantra did not hold true, and for good reason.

We are a few years into the quarterback era, which has led to a huge increase in offensive numbers and a decline in what some would have once called "championship teams." Hard-nosed, bone-breaking players no longer win championships. Championships are now won with elaborate offensive schemes designed to pick apart even the best defenses and a quarterback to run them effectively. The game has become less of a test of will, and more of a test of wit. 

That brings us back to the main players of this wonderful plot: Eli Manning and Tom Brady. The Giants' rough variation of the Run ‘n' Gun offense led by Manning, Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks will match up against the Patriots' spread, which was basically brought to the NFL by Belichick himself. This ensures a shootout, a promising game even for the people who would rather skip through the big game for the commercials.

The offense-driven, high-octane game that will be played a week from Sunday will be a theatrical one. It will be a game filled with high-flying passes and acrobatic catches, but the more important dynamic will be between the quarterbacks.

Eli Manning and Tom Brady will go head-to-head in this chess match, battling each other's wits and poor defenses to see who will be the 2012 NFL Champion. Brady's pedigree certainly points to him being the favorite, but Eli has beat the odds before against the Patriots, and the circumstances are more in his favor than last time.

In the end, it doesn't matter which team wins the Super Bowl because this game promises to be a good one. However, if the study of sports films is any indication, we all know how it's going to end.