I am sitting here yawning at the Pro Bowl, wondering how bad it would be for a star player to be injured during a game of no consequence, altered rules, and half-assery. For most of the first half, the NFC has been getting schooled by the AFC, but in the last few minutes there has been some catching up, and the NFC just got another touchdown to bring the likely halftime score to AFC 27, NFC 21. I am scanning the helmets on the field and am unimpressed with the 4 Cowboys’ stars and the assorted Paul Revere’s on Patriot’s heads. I keep noticing the number 72 and the only Giants helmet and thinking how much that means.

The 2007 NY Giants deserve much more than congratulations on the their Superbowl win. Teams like this need to be celebrated because they come around so rarely and leave such a lasting impression. This is a team with no, count them, no superstars. There is only one guy on the Pro Bowl team, Defensive End, Osi Umenyiora – with league leading 13 sacks, he certainly deserves it, but he took that field alone today – the only “superstar” on the Superbowl winning team.

Just think about that. This team is essentially a group of good, but not great, players who play together in a way that makes them great, allows them to beat the “best”, and thrives in the face of the greatest adversity. Nobody expected them to win, least of all the New England Patriots, but they did 11 times in a row on the road, and then ultimately win the Superbowl in one of the greatest games I’ve ever watched. Absolutely extraordinary.

And, as far as I am concerned, you can keep them the superstars off the team because we don’t need them. Last season’s biggest stars also had the biggest mouths. The Giants proved Tiki Barber’s mouth off the field was bigger than his contribution on the field. Jeremy Shockey sat this one out as well, yet somehow the team was able to win without him. He might need to be a little quieter in the future and learn a little from the team that made this happen.

This post is meant to celebrate the Giants and not at all to kick the Patriots when they are down, but it seems that they are the perfect contrast to this team. Anointed as undefeated Superbowl Champions before the playoffs even began, this is a team of privilege, good looks, and high expectations. In the face of disappointment and true adversity, they folded, just like their coach did with a few seconds left in the Superbowl – running off the field and letting his team take the loss and heartbreak on their own. And now even this Pro Bowl has taken a turn since I started writing, the NFC has pulled ahead 42-30 (after initially being down 21-0) and is about to win the game. I wonder how they would have done if Tom Brady opted out of his celebrity golf tournament and Randy Moss had decided to show up to support their teammates and league.

So there you have it, one of the biggest upsets in sports history, and a lesson about never giving up. (And although steroid scandals will eventually taint all that we’ve ever watched and admired about this sport, it will always be my favorite.) Congratulations Giants.