Giants win wouldn't haunt one Pats fan

By Max J. Dickstein, amNewYork Sports Editor | mdickstein@am-ny.com

February 1, 2008

The undefeated Patriots have lost countless games this season -- in my uncle's nightmares.

"It's disturbing," said David Berman, a doctor who lives 25 miles north of Boston, in Andover, Mass. "You don't like them to come into your nights as much as they do."

The latest foe challenging his Patriots, the Giants, is a reflection of the original, upstart Patriots who upset 16-2 St. Louis in the 2002 Super Bowl and won over a region that favors the Red Sox and Celtics.

Like the Giants, that Patriots team was marked by grit and cooperation, with a charmed young quarterback and a stout defense that gutted out a series of improbable wins.

"I respect the Giants," said Berman, 56. "If the Giants beat the Patriots -- control the line, outplay them -- hey, that's O.K."

It may take the kind of effort that New England put forward in 2002: a game-ending drive to with the score tied, led by an intensely competitive leader, Tom Brady.

"It strikes me that everyone's played above their potential with him," Berman said. "There's not that many people like that in contemporary life who you have to respect."

This year has seen the parallel rise of the Giants' Eli Manning.

"I keep thinking, when is he going to start making Eli mistakes? Dropping the ball, being intercepted," Berman said. "And he doesn't do any of that."

Not in dreams, and not on the field, dear uncle.

May the best team win.