The New York Giants regular season win-out, escorted them into play-offs which they dominated and now encounter the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI this Sunday.

It all started with 32 teams and now we are down to final top two teams who will go head-to-head Feb. 5 for the NFL’s biggest title.

The Giants and Patriots have a lot of history. These two teams only play each other every four years and the last time they played one another in regular season in the ’07-’08, the Giants re-faced the Pat’s again in the Super Bowl, exactly like what has occurred this year. This season in week eight, the Giants defeated the Patriots in New England 24-20 but the Pat’s (5-3) counteracted with a ten game win streak after their loss to New York at home, ensuring a spot in the Super Bowl.

This will be the Patriot’s (15-3) fifth Super Bowl appearance in the last decade, winning three of those four championships. The Giants (12-7) have been to the big game twice in the last decade, but both those times were in the last 4 years. Not to mention the last time the Giants were in the Super Bowl, it was in 2008 when they were victorious over the undefeated Patriots, winning the game 17-14.

For the Patriots, that was an enormous history-breaking loss; they could have been the first team in a 16 regular-game season to go undefeated but the Giants withheld that perfect title from them leaving the Pat’s with an 18-1 record in their Super Bowl loss. The only other undefeated team is the 1972 Miami Dolphins who went 17-0 but that was in the times when regular season only consisted of 14 games.

Back in the early 2000’s is when the Patriots were truly unstoppable and were always foreseen as play-off and Super Bowl contenders, where the bulk of their S.B. appearances were from 2002-2008. The Patriots have not been to the big game in four years where they lost to the same team they face this year. The Giants may not have been to the Super Bowl as many times as the Pat’s in the last decade, but the Giants have won the Super Bowl most recently.

Although, this season, the Patriots have dominated on the scoreboard ending every game except for four with 30+ points, where the Giants have only had four 30+ games in regular season.

A large part of how the Giants pulled out the win in the 2008 Super Bowl was by putting enormous pressure on Tom Brady, never allowing him to find his grove. Brady was sacked five times in that Super Bowl while Justin Tuck dominated on defense with a forced fumble, six tackles, and two sacks.

According to Jeff Amtoft, a local NYG statistic-dropping fan, “In 2007 the Giants lost twice to Cowboys, to Green Bay, and to New England during the regular season, but then got their revenge beating the Cowboys, GB, and NE in the playoffs during there road warrior year… this year GB and SF beat Giants during the regular season only to have the Giants get their revenge in the playoffs… Giants beat NE in the regular season, will NE get their revenge?”

Both quarterbacks have won the Super Bowl’s MVP, Manning once (in 2008 in his triumph over NE) and Brady twice (2002, 2004), both capable of earning the title again this year.

Every 49er fan should NOT want Tom Brady and the Patriots to win because if he does, he will tie the greatest quarterback of all-time, Joe Montana, with four Super Bowl wins. Tom Brady has already lost a Super Bowl and will never be able do out-do Montana’s impeccable 4-0 Super Bowl record, not to mention Montana has never thrown an interception in an S.B. unlike Brady.

Could Sunday’s game be a repeat of 2008? You’ll have to watch and see! Don’t miss Super Bowl Sunday on NBC at 3:30p.m. P.S.T.