The Hidden Benefit of the Giants Superbowl Win

There are all kinds of positives coming out this years Superbowl. Between Eli's emergence as a quarterback and leader, Michael Strahan finally getting a ring, Coughlin becoming the "beloved" coach in less than a year. There is a lot of good to be found all through this story. Nothing though should make us as happy as the copycat factor.

The NFL is a copy cat league. It always has been. In the 60's the Packers physical grit won so many championships that every team in the league was built on that model. The 70's became a contest of which teams would copy them better. Turned out most years it would be the Steelers, though the Raiders gave 'em a run for their money. Then when I was younger it was the west coast offense. Bill Walsh and his Niners dominated the 80's with it and every team in league was talking up the pass first, west coast offense. Then the Cowboys tweaked that style for the 90's adding a little more focus for the run. The latest hot trend is the two running back system which showed up slightly in a few places in 2006 but became the system du jour in 2007.

If there is a team of this decade, it is probably the Patriots, and definitely would have been had they defeated the Giants. So every one take some time and be thankful to the Giants. What copy cat moves could we have expected had the Patriots managed to seal their legacy. Well let's start with the press conferences. Every coach will start giving answers in under 7 words no matter the question. Onto the sidelines, all the coaches will start looking like a Goodwill threw up on them. When the interviews go to the locker room. Every time a reporter asks a player a question they will hear about the Patriot, Niner, Viking, etc. way. Though I would just love to hear one of the Bengals police blotter regulars talking about the Bengal way.

So thank the Giants NFL fans. I do like the Patriots as a part of the NFL picture. I can find a use for them as piece to the puzzle. But I don't think I could bear an NFL full of copycats of the information free zone, that is New England.