28
Jan
2012
Watch this amazing compilation of fan reactions to the AFC Championship game (VIDEO)
(Image via Youtube.com)
There has been a trend sweeping YouTube in recent years of fans recording themselves watching live sporting events unfold, and then uploading their reactions for all the world to see. This has provided us with all kinds of tremendous sporting moments caught on camera from the fan’s point of view, like this remarkable compilation of fans watching Landon Donovan’s game-winning goal in the 2010 World Cup.
And as you might guess, last week’s AFC Championship game between the Patriots and the Ravens provided all kinds of fodder for superfans everywhere to freak the eff out, with their cameras rolling. Between both Lee Evans’ near-game-winning-TD that wasn’t and Billy Cundiff’s field goal shank that lost it for Baltimore, the final few minutes were an emotional roller coaster for fans of both teams.
So that’s what makes this compilation of fan reactions to the game (aptly titled “The Agony of Defeat and Thrill of Victory“) – which features both ebullient celebrations and soul-crushing collapses from Pats and Ravens fans alike – just so fantastic. You really get to feel the win/loss from both perspectives, and get a sense of just how much this game means to people everywhere. And of course it includes this guy.
VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP
28
Jan
2012
Your Saturday Morning Comic: New York Giants Playoff Graphic Novel (PICS)
This tremendous New York Giants graphic novel comes to us via the always-awesome BigBlueInteractive.com, from user Chris in Philly. And on this Saturday morning, it should serve quite nicely in our continuing theme of posts for all you Giants fans during the off-week prior to SB XLVI.
This is Part 2 of CiP’s comic book series, from the Giants NFC Championship victory over the 49ers (CLICK TO ENLARGE):
(Artwork: Chris in Philly via BigBlueInteractive.com)
PART 1 FROM THE GREEN BAY DIVISIONAL PLAYOFF GAME AFTER THE JUMP
27
Jan
2012
7-year-old fan writes heartwarming letter to Kyle Williams (PIC)
(via Huffingtonpost.com)
Following his two epic blunders in the NFC Championship game, 49ers returner Kyle Williams quickly became the scapegoat for Niners fans everywhere, even receiving death threats via Twitter by adults who have clearly lost their grip on reality. Here’s a sampling of some of the more vile messages directed at Williams:
@KyleWilliams_10 HOPE U RUN n2 A BULLET DA WAY U RAN INTO DAT BALL…
Jim Harbaugh, please give @KyleWilliams_10 the game ball. And make sure it explodes when he gets in his car.
@KyleWilliams_10. I hope you, youre wife, kids and family die, you deserve it
Well fortunately, as is often the case, our children are here to help put everything into perspective. Following the Niners’ loss, 7-year-old Owen Shure is a lifelong 49ers fan, and decided to write an old-fashioned hand-written letter as a show of support for Williams. You can see the letter itself in the banner pic (above), but in it, little Owen reminds his favorite player that he should be proud of everything he accomplished this season, and to keep his head up.
Let’s just hope some of the “adults” out there learn a thing or two from young Owen. It’s only a game, people. Let’s not forget that.
FULL TEXT FROM OWEN’S LETTER AFTER THE JUMP
23
Jan
2012
Do you know where Steve Weatherford and the Giants are going? (GIF)
(via mocksession.com)
That’s right. The mother f-ing SUPER BOWL!!!
PS – great hold by Weatherford on the game-winning field goal, with a low snap in sloppy conditions. Big play from yesterday’s NFC Championship game that nobody’s going to talk about it because of …
(via Sportsgrid.com)
and this:
(Image via sportsgrid.com)
PPS – We genuinely feel badly for Kyle Williams today. Dude must be the loneliest man in America right now.
23
Jan
2012
Watch this Ravens fan lose it after Cundiff’s missed FG (VIDEO)
(Image via Sportsgrid.com)
We feel badly for Ravens fans today. Honestly, we do. The Baltimore defense played tremendous football in yesterday’s AFC Championship, holding Tom Brady in check, only to have their Super Bowl hopes dashed by a missed chip shot FG by K Billy Cundiff.
Imagine how it must feel to have been a Ravens fan watching it all unfold yesterday. Brutal, right? Now imagine watching your favorite team lose while surrounded by “friends” who came over to your house for the big game, and decided to have some fun by cheering for the Pats all day. Well, thanks to this video, we get to experience the loss through just that perspective.
From the Youtube description: ”Our good friend has a passion for Maryland sports. Maybe an obsession.” And as you’ll see, their good friend’s passion reached its breaking point after Cundiff’s shank, and he decided that everyone needed to leave his house. Immediately.
VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP
21
Jan
2012
You Down With J.P.P.? (VIDEO)
(Photo: thefanhub.com)
This video has been around for about a month now, but it felt especially appropriate in light of tomorrow’s Giants-49ers NFC Championship showdown. Giants all-pro DE Jason Pierre-Paul – better known among Giants fans as “J.P.P” – already has his own tribute video, logically set to the tune of New Jersey natives Naughty By Nature’s “O.P.P”.
In just his second season, Pierre-Paul racked up 16-1/2 regular season sacks, and has become a defensive terror who must be accounted for on every play by opposing offenses. His freakish wingspan allows him to disrupt passes (and FG attempts), and even when he’s not sacking the QB, the double-teams he draws free up his teammates to make plays. And on Sunday, JPP will undoubtedly put Alex Smith to the test and be a huge factor in the outcome of the game.
The video comes to us from Mr. Josh Hyman, and although he might not have the best flow on the planet, compared to most of the awful fan-created songs out there, it’s a relative masterpiece:
VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP
19
Jan
2012
Giants and 49ers set to renew rich playoff rivalry (VIDEO)
"The Hit" ended Montana's day, and ultimately his career in SF (Photo: NY Daily News)
On Sunday, the 49ers and Giants will meet in the playoffs for an NFL record-tying EIGHTH time … with all of those match-ups coming since 1981. Along the way, the two NFC powerhouses have won a combined 8 Lombardi Trophies, and have given us a few of the more memorable games in playoff history.
In looking back at the rivalry, some of the more indelible playoff memories include Jim Burt blasting Joe Montana in New York’s 49-3 Divisional drubbing in 1986, Roger Craig inexplicably fumbling late in the 1990 NFC Championship game to set up Matt Bahr’s game-winner, and Trey Junkin (whose name alone has become a curse word in Giants fandom) botching the game-winning field goal snap in 2002′s Wild Card game to complete the second-biggest collapse in playoff history.
So before these proud franchises take the field to provide the latest chapter in their long-running saga, we thought it fitting to look back at two of their previous meetings to get ourselves in the proper frame of mind. Specifically, we bring you the highlights from the 2002 NFC Wild Card game and the 1990 NFC Championship.
VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP
16
Jan
2012
Giants stun Packers to advance to NFC Championship (as told through PICS & GIFS)
Manning took the belt from Rodgers on Sunday! (Photo via tinypic.com)
In Sunday’s big matchup, the New York Giants soundly defeated the defending champion Packers 37-20 in Green Bay yesterday, and will head to San Francisco on Sunday for a re-match of their week 10 loss … not to mention the fabled 2002 wild card comeback and 1990 NFC Championship game.
With the win, Eli Manning may have finally cemented himself as an “elite” quarterback (whatever that means), improving to 6-3 all-time in the post-season after throwing for 330 yards and 3 TDs and outperforming his more-heralded counterpart, Aaron Rodgers (264 yards, 2 TDs). Giants WR Hakeem Nicks was once again the best receiver on the field, pulling in 7 catches for 165 yards and two TDs. The Giants defense once again came to play, harassing Rodgers for four sacks and causing three turnovers and ending the Packers 15-1 season unceremoniously.
And now, here’s your game recap in photos and GIFs (CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE):
Win or lose, this guy's Lambeau field hat is amazing (Photo via Reddit.com/r/nfl)
Nicks struck the first big blow for NY with a 66-yard score in the 1st quarter (photo: Andrew Mills/The Star-Ledger)
In the second quarter, it looked as though the Giants got hosed by the refs, who somehow ruled Greg Jennings down on a fumble when video evidence clearly showed otherwise :
Hell, even Mike Pereira thought it was a fumble (Image via Sportsgrid.com)
Just before halftime, the Giants went for it all with a 37-yard hail mary to Hakeem Nicks
16
Jan
2012
Vernon Davis gives 49ers “The Catch III” to defeat Saints (VIDEO)
(Image via Sportsgrid.com)
We’re obviously a little late to the party on this, but the San Francisco 49ers took down the New Orleans Saints 36-32 in the game of the Divisional Playoff weekend, with Alex Smith delivering the game-winning TD to Vernon Davis on what will undoubtedly forever go down in San Francisco sports history as “The Catch III”.
Both Smith and Davis turned in career-making performances and Smith finally delivered on his #1 pick expectations by out-dueling the NFL’s all-time single season passing leader (Drew Brees) in a game that saw four lead changes in the final 5 minutes! Smith had his NFL bar mitzvah and became a man on Saturday, finishing with 299 yards and 3 TDs passing, 0 INTs and one 28-yard rushing score to pus SF ahead late in the 4th.
For his part, Vernon Davis cemented himself in Niner lore with 7 catches for 180 yards and 2 TDs, including the game winner on a 14-yard strike from Smith with nine seconds remaining. After dominating all day long and when his team needed him most, Davis delivered a huge blow to Saints safety Roman Harper in the endzone and managed to hang onto the ball for the win.
On what was very nearly the 30th anniversary of the original “The Catch” – Dwight Clark‘s infamous touchdown grab in the 1981 NFC Championship game (1/10/82) – Davis’ play more closely resembled “The Catch II” by Terrell Owens in 1999, right down to crying on the shoulder of head coach Jim Harbaugh as he ran to the sideline (pic above).
VIDEO OF ALL THREE 49ERS “CATCHES” AFTER THE JUMP
13
Jan
2012
ReadAndReact’s 2012 NFL Divisional Playoff Picks
John Elway riding a Tebow Centaur ... what? (Image via kissingsuzykolber.com)
While the entire world seems to be gripped by Tebowmania (as evidenced by ESPN’s Tebow Hour and the latest, now-ubiquitous “Tebowie” skit by Jimmy Fallon), there are a few other quarterbacks with super bowl rings who will also be competing in the NFL’s divisional playoffs. Brady, Brees, Rodgers and Manning - you may have heard of them – will each take the field this weekend to try and lead their teams to the conference championships, despite being overshadowed in the media by their Jesus-loving Denver counterpart. And all of them are much better QBs than Tebow, by the way.
After jumping out to an early 3-1 lead with his Wild Card picks, The DarkHorse will try to keep it going for the Divisional round. Here are this weekend’s picks from R&R HQ (CLICK TO EMBIGGEN):
So, it seems our “experts” are split down the middle on the 49ers-Saints and Packers-Giants, while Artie is the only brave soul to ride the Tebow Centaurs to the promised land over New England, and steverodgers is the only one who likes the Texans over Baltimore.
Surprisingly, all of our super bowl picks are still alive, but that’s going to change on Sunday, when either the Packers or Giants will be sent packing. As always, these picks are purely for entertainment purposes … we are mediocre at this on our good days, so feel free to share your picks and mock us in the comments.
