Rooting in the Playoffs as a Giants Fan

This is not an easy NFL playoffs to be a Giants fan. After Big Blue started out 5-0, many expected the Giants would be playing this weekend. Some expected this would be the first time they would play in the 2010 playoffs after receiving a first-round bye. So it's tough not seeing The G-men in the playoffs. What makes it even worse are that Giants fans have a lot of trouble rooting for the teams that are left. Let's take a look at those teams in the order that Giants fans should be rooting against them:

1. Dallas Cowboys

Simply put, it would be a long year if Dallas won the Super Bowl. Although Giants fans dislike Washington and Philly, I think for many (maybe not all) the hatred runs deeper for the Cowboys. From their 1990s domination to Troy Aikman's announcing, to Tony Romo's hats, to Jerry Jones and his new stadium (and the fact he had to one-up the Yankees by getting video screens that were just a bit bigger), to the fact the Giants did everything they could to continue the misery of Dallas fans (2-0 vs. Dallas in 2009) to no avail. Hopefully this run ends this week.

2. San Diego Chargers

There is an enormous drop from #1 to #2 on this list, but we needed a #2. This is less about San Diego and more about the Eli Manning trade. Giants fans can continue to justify Manning for Rivers et al because Manning leads Rivers in Super Bowls 1-0. But if Rivers wins a Super Bowl this year, the trade looks a lot worse to a lot of people. The Chargers win against the Giants in Giants Stadium this year was also probably the most heartbreaking of the season and one which the fans will remember as they watch Philip Rivers carve up defenses. Hopefully, the Jets defense can contain him this weekend.

3. Arizona Cardinals

I don't think that Giants fans have anything good to say for the about the Cardinals who used to be their divisional foe. Kurt Warner is still their MVP which has got to confuse Giants fans who thought he was finished in 2004 when the team jettisoned him. Boy were they wrong (and looking at his season, he wasn't so bad when he was replaced). Warner continues to carve up the NFC and could seal up a Hall of Fame induction with a Super Bowl appearance. Giants fans have to hope that doesn't happen. I didn't think I disliked Arizona this much but as they made their Super Bowl run last year, I felt myself unable to root for them. I am also unable to root for them in this playoffs.

4. New York Jets

As a Rangers fan, I hate the Islanders and Devils. As a Yankees fan, I dislike the Mets. But I'm pretty agnostic in my rooting interests as a Giants fan vs. the Jets. But this is one exception. Imagine the Jets winning against San Diego and Baltimore winning against the Colts setting up Baltimore/Jets in GIANTS Stadium next weekend. Imagine if the Jets won the Super Bowl. Imagine how much that would marginalize the Giants and maybe replace the Giants as most unlikely Super Bowl winners. I still think how the Giants went through the playoffs will never happen again, but the Jets as Super Bowl winners this year would be even more unlikely.

5. Baltimore Ravens

Talk about not letting grudges go. Exactly 10 years ago the Giants completed a magical run to the Super Bowl through the Eagles and the Vikings, only to get trounced in the Super Bowl by the Ravens. It wasn't even close. The Ravens completely demoralized and crushed them. My dad still swears that Kerry Collins owed someone money with how he threw the game. The problem now is that the Ravens are the Giants clone. The Ravens run the ball well, play hard-nosed defense and have a confident QB who can lead them to victory. The fact that the Ravens are more successful at the same strategy is painful.

6. Minnesota Vikings

The Giants and the Vikings seem to play every single season. They're going to play next season. It's better off for the Giants if they don't win the Super Bowl beforehand. Giants fans aren't big fans of Brett Favre, though we have great memories of beating his ass in frozen Green Bay on our way to our Super Bowl victory. We wish he would have retired then. And to make matters worse this year, the Vikings embarrassed the Giants on the last week of the season. Made the game unwatchable. And even when they got up big and knew they had the game wrapped up, they never stopped pounding (prompting this Onion spoof). Let's hope they get pounded.

7. New Orleans Saints

Jeremy Shockey and the beating they gave the Giants this season are the two biggest reasons. I still have my Shockey jersey but I haven't worn it since he left. Maybe I'm hoping for a Javy Vazquez-like reunion with the Giants. I just hope he doesn't win a Super Bowl. And the beating the Saints gave the Giants this year was the turning point in the season. The Giants went from a dominant team into a complete tailspin. I blame them for not making the playoffs. Also, an NFC foe winning the Super Bowl is never a good thing. The Giants are still the last NFC team to win the Super Bowl and I would like to keep it that way for a few seasons...

8. Indianapolis Colts

Just because we're fans doesn't mean that we can't get in on a sibling rivalry. Despite the fact that no one would argue that Eli is better than Peyton, each Manning brother has one. If Peyton wins one here, it could be a hard act to follow up for Eli. The Colts are also not an easy team to root for because they are the Colts. Besides people in Indiana, I doubt you'll find many Colts fans throughout the country. I doubt you'll be able to count many Giants fans among them.

Indy-New Orleans Super Bowl? I guess I would have to root for that at this point. As painful as that still would be...
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One last football note. There was a lot of outrage from Jets fans yesterday when Charles Woodson was named as the Defensive Player of the Year. Not taking away anything from "Revis Island", but I think Woodson was a deserving winner. Yahoo! Sports had a good argument for why Revis should win, but Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com makes the great point that this award is "Defensive Player of the Year" and not "Corner of the Year". Woodson just did more overall defensively than did Revis. Although Revis may have been one of the best ever at what he did, it was still one-dimensional.

Hopefully, some point soon we should have our Legal Expert, Jay Hyne, filling us in on the American Needle case vs. the NFL in the Supreme Court. Stay tuned for that.