Where does the Giants' victory rank among greatest upsets?

[cboy4]

Poll question: Where does the Giants' victory rank among greatest upsets?

What is the greatest modern day sports upset?

[IndianaJones]

1. top 2. nt.

[cboy4]

5. What do you pick as the top upset? n/t

[IndianaJones]

6. for me, going back to the 80's when I started watching sports...

Villanova beating Georgetown in NCAA tournament. In NFL terms, this is the greatest upset ever.

[bigwillq]

2. Top 5 no doubt.

What a win. :bounce:

[inthebrain]

3. Not exactly the miracle on ice

That Russian team was the greatest mankind probably ever knew.

Somewhere between the Namath Jets and the 69 Mets.

Have to mention the 04 Sox as well.

THen again, Bellicheat may ruin this.

[BOSSHOG]

4. Why is it even considered an upset?

Obviously billichick did not have the opportunity to film the Giants the last two weeks. And, Tom Brady is fucking awesome, WHEN HE HAS MAXIMUM PROTECTION.

The question shouldn't be about the degree of upset, but the veracity of the Patriots recent super bowl "wins." And tom brady is fucking awesome.

[Redbear]

7. Not in Top 20.

Its barely even TOP 5 this year (counting it as still 2007) given:

App St over Michigan

Stanford over USC

Pitt over West Virgina

ULM over Bama

Arkansas over LSU

Chargers over Colts

Warriors over Mavs

Rockies over Diamondbacks

[cboy4]

10. Those are obviously upsets. But do you seriously

think the Rockies beating the D-Backs compares to the Giants beating a Patriots team that was considered (entering the super bowl) arguably the best NFL team in history?

Same thing with the Chargers-Colts.

You're out of your mind if you don't think what happened today even makes the top 20.

Come on

[Yavin4]

8. It's THE Greatest Upset of All Time

Why? Because if the Pats had won, they would have been crowned as the greatest NFL team of all time. Using the mathematical transitive property rule, if you beat the greatest team of all time in a championship game, then it's the greatest upset of all time.

[inthebrain]

9. Islanders beating the Pens was bigger.

Probably one of the unknown upsets in sports.

Pittsburgh with Jagr and Lemeuix was just a nasty team. They were rolling on a dynasty having won two in a row. They were also breaking an all time winning streak in the regualar season.

That upset would have been THE upset if hockey has the media attention.

The miracle on ice was huge as was the 04 Sox.

This is definitly amongst those.

[Yavin4]

11. The Islanders Did Not Win The Championship

In order for it to rank as the greatest upset, there needs to be a championship involved.

[inthebrain]

12. Actually they did

The Patrick Division.

THe Penguins were the team to beat and the Islanders pulled ot off with out their best goal scorer who was taken out by a cheap hit by Dale Hunter.

Look up that 93 Pittsburgh team.

That was a WAAAAYYYY bigger upset.

The Pats were not rolling on consecutive championships. Nor could Brady be considered on the same level that Lemeuix and Jagr were to their respective sports.

And Scotty Bowman next to Al Arbour (who is a great coach. probably the Vince Lombardi of Hockey) was a HOF coach stocked with HOF talent.

[Yavin4]

13. Not The NHL Championship

In order for an upset to rank in history, there has to be a championship involved. Buster Douglass beating Mike Tyson is the second greatest upset of all time.

[inthebrain]

14. So the 04 sox Yankees doesn't count?

I could understand if you really didn't understand hockey.

You can in know way say that this is bigger than an underdog Islanders team without their best player, taking down one of the greatest teams assembled, that was rolling on consecutive championships, is trumped by this.

Many players on the championship Montreal Candadiean felt that the Islanders were the uncrowned champs that year. A lot of guys connected to sport felt that way.

This was big but I think folks who were there and really know that sport would rank that Islanders vs Pittsburgh series slightly higher than this. The pundits were much harder on the Islanders going into that series than they were on the Giants. Even the guys commenting on this game felt there was still a chance.

That 93 Islanders going into Pittsburgh were just laughed off.

[Yavin4]

16. The '04 Sox Was The Greatest Comeback, Not The Greatest Upset

The 2004 Yankees and Red Sox were pretty even, and they had played a 7 game series the year before. The Islanders did not win the championship.

[inthebrain]

15. I should also mention

That the miracle on ice was NOT a championship game.

It is considered the pinacle of upsets in all of sports.

[Yavin4]

17. The USA Team Won The Championship

The Islanders did not.

[inthebrain]

19. NOw Now Now

You've been had on this.

The Miracle on Ice was not the Championship game. That was THE upset.

It is considered the pinacle of upsets around the world.

Not Team USA beating Finland.

Team USA could have walked with Silver and it wouldn't be any different.

You're beat on this one my friend.

[Awsi Dooger]

18. Stanford beating USC is the greatest modern sports upset

A 40 point underdog. For reference purposes, New England was -12 today.

And it wasn't a slouch team that was favored simply due to the incompetence of the opponent. USC was consensus #1 before the season started and had a stacked roster. Even with Booty not at his best there's no way Stanford should have been mildly competitive, especially on the road.

A major betting outfit listed a money line (odds to win straight up) on that game. You had to give 120/1 to bet USC. That's 20 times what New England was today. And 3 times the odds of Buster Douglas defeating Tyson in 1990.

The media never fully emphasized, or understood, the magnitude of Stanford's upset. It was many times more unlikely than Appalachian St, a champion team from a lower classification, defeating Michigan.

Plus, it ultimately cost USC a berth in the BCS title game.

[Yavin4]

20. Nope. Today's Upset Was Bigger

It was a bigger stage and bigger stakes. The entire 2007 college football season was filled with upsets. Stanford's win was no more suprising than App. State's win or Pitt's win in the final game against W.Va.

[chelsea0011]

21. #4, Villanova/Georgetown, Jets/Colts and Rams/Pats are 1,2,3, in my mind

[hughee99]

22. New Jersey Reds, 1/5/1971 in Martin, TN

defeated the Harlem Globetrotters 100-99 ending a 2,495 game winning streak...

Anyway, I think the "Miracle on Ice", Villanova over G'Town and Douglas beating Tyson have to rank above the Giants win. I think one thing that hurts their case is that they played the Pats very well only a month earlier and the Pats squeaked out a late 3 point win. If the Pats had blown out the Giants in week 17, it would have made the argument stronger.

[BOSSHOG]

23. Why is it even considered an upset?

We've gone through six months of hype of one team, while the Giants just plodded along, lonely road warriors kicking ass from Tampa Bay to Green Bay. Its an upset because talking heads say so? There is no doubt the best team won the game on Sunday and it wasn't as close as the score indicated. Penalties (12th Man) one silly interception kept the Pats in the game and when Eli needed to win he did. It wasn't an upset.

[cboy4]

24. LOL. I think you're just trying to torture Mr. Pitt and other

New England fans (some of whom were admittedly very cocky).

But BOSS....come on. This was definitely an upset.

:)

[BOSSHOG]

25. Not true

Greatest upset ever??? No way. The Giants almost beat the Pats in the regular season. The Ravens almost beat the Pats in the regular season. The freaking Ravens. The Giants started the year 0-2. I think the myth of the Pats immortality was fed on a weekly basis by the sports papparazzi for their own purposes. And what happens to Brady after he plays anything but a mediocre defense? He looks "injured" after the game.

[cboy4]

26. Bud, I don't even think it's the greatest upset ever. However,

if you look at the poll, there are other choices, including top 20.

This is at the very least one of the top 20 upsets......to beat what many experts were calling the best NFL team of all time entering the Super Bowl?!?!

And they barely beat them...it took a Joe Montana-like drive in the final seconds.

You can't allow your fixation on the cheating to cloud what I know is very good sports knowledge and judgment on your part. :)

[BOSSHOG]

27. Cheatings got nothing to do with my opinion

that the Giants beating the Patriots should not be considered an upset. Was there defense not awesome at Tampa, at Dallas and at Green Bay? And in all three of those games they were the underdog. Patriots overrated, Giants underrated. It doesn't compute in my head to be called an upset.

[paulk]

28. top five, easy

If the Pats had won they would have been called the greatest football team of all time.

Giants were a number 5 seed.

[Lasher]

29. The final scene in The Karate Kid.

You know, where Daniel can hardly stand, and he puts a Krane Kick on Johnny. Greatest upset of all time.

[KamaAina]

30. Right up there with...

(drum roll, please...)

the then-lightly regarded Pats over the Rams' "Greatest Show on Turf."

This marked the arrival of the former "Patsies" as an NFL powerhouse.

[Forkboy]

31. If we're talking strictly NFL then it's a top five upset, no doubt.

Possibly a top three, and I'd have to wrack my brain for some bigger ones (Jets over the Colts was a biggie back in the day).

If we're talking all sports then probably a top 10.

I know me and a friend weren't surprised by the Giant's victory. They seemed hungrier leading up to the game, and played like it. The Pats seemed too comfortable with the whole thing for the two weeks leading up to it. Add to that the fact that the Giants played the Pats great in the last week of the season, and had been playing great through the playoffs, and I really don't know how big of an upset it truly is, but it's still a hell of a win for the G-men, and I think it's great for the sport. Underdogs pulling off things some thought were impossible is always great drama.