It’s almost here, Super Bowl XLII. It’s been quite a season, even for fans of teams not in the playoffs. The Patriots go for the perfect season. The Giants are riding a win streak and tremendous run in the playoffs. This Super Bowl may actually live up to it’s hype. I know that’s probably been said for every Super Bowl, but I actually think it could be true this time.

As mentioned, the Patriots are undefeated and going for a perfect season - a feat not seen since the perfect Dolphins in 1972. The Patriots looked completely unbeatable early in the season. The last few weeks of the season, they almost stumbled. The last game of the regular season, they were lucky to limp off with a victory against the very same Giants they will face this Sunday.

On second thought, these are not the same Giants. They are an improved team from that game. Their near upset of the Patriots has given this team immense confidence. Eli Manning is playing very strong at Quarterback. Players all over are stepping up and lifting the team. Despite the thus far perfect season of the Patriots, its foolish to think the Giants don’t have a chance.

My son is a HUGE Patriots fan and roots strongly for them. His room is decked out in Patriots paraphernalia. Luckily, the Lions are his second favorite team. I am working on making them number 1. It would go a long ways towards a happy house on Super Bowl Sunday if the Patriots were to win. He will be very upset if they lose.

Personally, my wife and I are not big Patriots fans, but would like a fun, happy house during and after the game. Still, If I had to pick a team that I wanted to win, it would have to be the Giants. I have never really liked the Patriots and usually root for the NFC in the Super Bowl simply because I am more familiar with them than the NFC because of the Lions. Though, today with NFL Sunday Ticket, that familiarity is much less than it used to be in the days of broadcast TV only.

If I was a betting man, I would also take the Giants. I just don’t see the Patriots covering the spread. However, in a simple straight up, who is gonna win statement, I would pick the New England Patriots. My final score prediction is New England over New York by a score of 32 - 28.

The main thing is that I expect a very good, enjoyable Super Bowl this year.

With the Giants having earned a spot in the Super Bowl this year, there has been a lot of discussion lately on their season. I though it would be interesting to compare the season of the Giants to that of our Lions. It may surprise you to see how much the Lions had an impact in helping to determine the Super Bowl matchup.

The Giants played incredibly on the road this year. In fact, they have their last 10 games on the road this year, including three in the playoffs. Compare that to the Lions who can’t buy a win on the road. During the Matt Millen era, the Lions have only won a total of 8 road games. That’s over a span of seven years. Just goes to show you that if you can win on the road in the NFL, you will be successful. (h/t Detroit News)

The Lions were closer to making the playoffs and maybe the Super Bowl than one may think. Consider this. If the Lions don’t go stupid and win the game against the Cowboys (remember Lenon Lewis failing to fall on the fumble or Jason Hanson missing the 35 yard field goal) and had they beaten the Giants (remember Kitna missing a wide open Williams for a TD and then Roy Williams running the wrong route on another likely TD play), then the Giants would have been eliminated from the playoffs. That’s right, the Giants wouldn’t have even made the playoffs and the Lions would have been in. (h/t MLive)

Now, the Giants played (and still are) much better ball down the stretch than the Lions so its silly to assume the Lions would have had the same playoff run that the Giants did, especially considering the difference in how the two play on the road. But, its still interesting to see how the Lions could have had a hand in setting the course of NFL history this year. It also serves as a not so subtle reminder that the Lions are not likely to make a name for themselves in the NFL until they can figure out a way to win on the road.