Nearly 15 years later, Super Bowl XLII is still talked about as one of the best football games played and one of the biggest upsets in football history. One illustration of this is a publication of a new book on that game by the coach of the winning team. Here is my review of "A Giant Win."
Title/Author:
“A Giant Win: Inside the New York Giants’ Historic Upset Over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII” by Tom Coughlin with Greg Hanlon
Rating:
4 of 5 stars (very good)
Review:
Super Bowl XLII has been considered by many to be not only the best Super Bowl in the history of the game but also one of the biggest upsets in professional football. The New England Patriots had won their previous 18 games that season and looked to become the first NFL team to win 19 games in a perfect season. However, the New York Giants, a team that New England defeated during the regular season, ended those dreams with a stunning 17-14 victory. The coach of that team, Tom Coughlin, writes about that game and the many players who contributed to the victory in this book.
If a recap of the game is what a reader wants, they will certainly get that. Nearly every play is covered by Coughlin, and especially each series and how it was important to determining the outcome is discussed. Of course, there are extra pages devoted to some of the more famous plays such as the “helmet catch” by David Tyree and the winning touchdown pass from Eli Manning to Plaxico Burris.
Speaking of Manning, he writes the forward for the book. His football career and a little of his life is covered by Coughlin in the early portion of the book. Coughlin does this throughout the book for nearly every player on that Giants team. After discussing a few plays in which certain players made key blocks, gains or tackles, Coughlin will talk about that player and how he contributed to the Giants’ success – not only in that game but for the season or their time with the team.
Coughlin also discusses his own career from bouncing around various assistant coaching jobs to becoming the head coach at Boston College as well as his time as the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Giants. He also includes pages about his family (which included a Giants offensive lineman, Chris Snee, who is his son-in-law) which gives a little bit of a memoir feel, but this book is certainly not one of those. It instead is a very good look at the coaches, players and events of one of the most memorable games played in NFL history.
I wish to thank Grand Central Publishing for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I think I’ll pass on this book. The game itself was too painful and I don’t want to relive it. Giant win, how about lucky catch.
ReplyDelete