Tom Brady: You owe me one. Seriously.

It's late in the day, Feb. 3rd, 2008. 

There I sit, in University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, AZ, watching my husband's heart break and his stomach go queasy.

See, my husband is a native of Boston. He is a Patriots fan....big time. And in 2008 he worked for the Arizona Cardinals. This meant the perfect storm of opportunity: 

• Since he worked for an NFL team, we could get tickets for face value = expensive but NOTHING close to free-market
• The game would be at the Cardinal's 'nest' = 40 minutes from our home, no travel, no room and board, no time off from work
• His (now second) favorite team would be there, playing for the perfect season = once in a lifetime experience.

Given ALL of this, I just had to 'break the bank' and get those tickets - the ones WAY up above, with a birds-eye view of the grid-iron.With just barely a minute left in the game, and Mike looking more anxious by the second, it occurred to me that these seats were WAY too high-up. I wondered if I could keep him from jumping over the rail if I had to....

And then, it happened.

On third-and-5 from the Giants' 44-yard line, Manning took the snap in the shotgun formation and immediately faced pressure... he was able to stay on his feet and duck under the arms of the Patriot defenders, before scrambling backwards into space at around the 34 yard line, and throwing the ball down field to David Tyree at the 24 yard line of the Patriots. Fox announcer Troy Aikman said after the play "I don't know how he got out of there."

Due to the Patriots' pressure, Tyree was unable to run his intended route and instead came back towards the line to give Manning an option down the field.... As the ball arrived Tyree fell on the ground, along with Patriots defender Rodney Harrison who was attempting to knock it down. Tyree was able to secure possession of the ball by pressing it against the top of his helmet with his right hand.

The play gained 32 yards for the Giants and gave them a first down with 58 seconds left. Four plays later, Plaxico Burress scored the touchdown that won the game for the Giants 17–14.^{From Wikipedia}

Well, Mike didn't jump. He just sat there in silence, stunned and sickly pale, staring at the field.
I, for once, was speechless. In my mind, it sounded like a cash register, calculating the cost of his shattered dream.

So, listen up, Tom. You guys owe me. There's no way I'm going to bet on your defense to pull this off. I don't think you should either. So, whatever had you "suck" (your words, not mine) last week in the AFC Championship Game, shake it off.

Thanks, Heather

Mike, pre-devastation, picture not available post-devastation