I finally was able to NFL Films’ America’s Game on the 2007 Football Giants last night. It was originally broadcast on NFL Network last September before opening day, but I missed it while on vacation and foolishly didn’t DVR because they tend to play this stuff over and over. Surprisingly, I hadn’t seen it aired since then but was finally was able to catch it. I was not disappointed. As always, NFL Films tells a story, and this one hour documentary follows a familiar script. Establish the main characters in dire straits, then show them overcoming obstacles to achieve their ultimate goal.
The concept behind America’s Game is not the typical highlight film, but rather to chronicle the season of the Super Bowl champion as seen through the eyes of three key persons. In the Giants’ case, these three individuals were a no-brainer: Michael Strahan, Tom Coughlin, and Eli Manning. Strahan was his usual entertaining self. The funniest moment was his imitation of Tom Brady, who spoke in disbelief about Plaxico Burress’ prediction of the Pats scoring only 17 points. Manning had a smile on his face the entire time, and showed his more comical and lighthearted side. One particular snip had Manning describing half time of the Packers playoff game, in which he didn’t hear a word his coach said because he was focusing on whether Coughlin’s cherry red face had frost bite. Coughlin also presented a side that, until that 2007 season, many Giants’ fans didn’t know he had. All three beamed of victory throughout the show.
The thing I probably liked best about it was some non-NFL Films clips, which I am sure were rarely seen. The first which really hit me was Coughlin’s first speech to his team in 2004, and if his tone and directness didn’t get your attention, you didn’t have a pulse. Wow! During the 2007 training camp, they show a changed Coughlin taking the Giants out for bowling night rather than having meetings. During Super Bowl week in Arizona, there is a shot of the Giants’ team bus stopping at In-N-Out Burger to grab a team meal. They also give a 30 second shot of Coughlin’s Saturday night pregame speech to the team before the epic game. And seeing David Tyree dropping ball after ball during the last practice before the game added an interesting twist of things to come.
I’ve seen all three America’s Games on the Giants, and the 1986 version remains my favorite, and the only one I’ve watched multiple times. The 2007 team is probably 1A and the 1990 team 1B. I think a lot of the allure with the ’86 story is the three participants (Parcells, Taylor, and Simms) were talking about their season some 20 years later. While watching the 2007 version, we find ourselves only a year removed from the moment which I won’t say takes away from it, but it would be more nostalgic to see these three talk about it in about 10 years. Alas, there is an roundabout solution to this: wait 10 years and view it on DVD (or whatever medium we have then) and enjoy it all over again.
