Enough to Make Your Head Explode

As you all know, the Giants are in the NFC title game this Sunday against the Packers in Green Bay. And I also feared it meant that we'd have a week of a lot of stupidity coming from the worthless hype in the newspapers.

We weren't let down.

With everything going on in the world, the New York Daily News actually had the headline on their front page (featured here), wishing (and almost pleading) the so-called Sports Illustrated "curse" on Brett Favre, as he appears on the cover of the magazine that was released yesterday. (There is allegedly a "curse" that befalls anyone who appears on the cover of the magazine. Funny, Jonathan Papelbon was on the cover in the 2007 postseason, and didn't the Red Sox win the World Series?)

I will never forget or forgive the Daily News for their cover of the day after the Yankees won the 2003 AL pennant over the Red Sox, the one they won on Aaron Boone's home run. They splashed not "YANKEES WIN PENNANT" or something like that, but "THE CURSE LIVES." They must have some kind of "curse fetish" over there or something.

I won't go into how much I think things like curses or jinxes are completely stupid and inane. But you may have heard how much stupidity this matchup is dragging to the surface. When Eli Manning mentioned that "Seinfeld" was his favorite show, the station in Green Bay that shows the Seinfeld repeats cancelled the episode they were showing on Saturday evening, to try to "rattle" him. (Somehow I think Manning will be doing other things the night before the big game. I would bet seeing "Seinfeld" was not on his list of priorities.) So in response to that, Jerry Seinfeld has sent the complete DVD set to Manning to get back at that mean, evil TV station in Green Bay. (And of course, THAT story is the cover of today's New York Post: "YADA, YADA, YADA.")

Oh brother. This coming from the same outfit who sent some blonde who allegedly looked like Jessica Simpson to Dallas last weekend to "jinx" Tony Romo. (She really didn't look much like her, and the Post spent two days congratulating themselves on how they "helped" the Giants win. I bet they really appreciated it.)

The hype also includes the usual big-headed arrogance that both papers have to bring out: showing how we as New Yorkers as so far superior to the other team's city, in the "Tale of the Tape" crap, matching up both cities in a whole bunch of areas. Every time a New York team is playing for a title we go through this annoying bullshit. Listen, I love the city I was born in, but I don't feel the need to beat people over the head with the fact that I'm a New Yorker.

I certainly want the Giants to win on Sunday, but all of this godawful tripe in the papers almost makes me want to see the Packers win. And can you imagine if the Giants play the Patriots in the Super Bowl? We will then have TWO WEEKS of endless nonsense that will make your head explode. (We'll have it even if the Giants don't make it, but it will get even more imbecilic with the Boston-New York rivalry crap.)

So how many days is it until pitchers and catchers report again?