The Supernatural Bowl

David Tyree

David Tyree was a hero in Super Bowl XLII. His team, the New York Giants, was down 14-10 to the undefeated New England Patriots with less than a minute to go. Quarterback Eli Manning was swamped by defenders and barely got off a throw. Tyree was closely covered but leaped, pinned the ball to his helmet with one hand and fell to the ground – still in control. The catch set up the winning score seconds later.

It’s been called the best play in Super Bowl history and it put him in the spotlight.

Number 85 had a checkered past. He attended Syracuse University on a football scholarship and was a wild man: trysts, parties, drinking himself into blackouts. In his junior year he impregnated his girlfriend and showed up drunk for his son's birth.  He continued to be promiscuous, contracted an STD and transmitted it to his son's mother.

He was drafted by the Giants and named to an All-Rookie Team despite drinking, traffic accidents and fines levied by the coach for missing meetings and serial tardiness. To replace the money paid in fines he sold drugs and was thrown into jail. His out of control behavior got him temporarily committed to a hospital psychiatric ward.

Some hero.

The old David Tyree hasn’t been seen in years. He came to Christian faith, gave up his vices, married the mother of his child – with whom he’s had three more children - became a solid family man and continues to serve as a good example on and off the field. The new Tyree is the guy who made the catch.

I love this story partly because I’m a die-hard Giants fan. I grew up watching them in the early ‘60’s and still regard the former Boston Patriots as interlopers. Lots of people here in Western Massachusetts feel this way: the Giants are telecast from Connecticut and we watch them instead of  New England.

Picture the scenario: the Giants barely made the playoffs and had to play every game away. They beat Tampa Bay, barely hung on to beat the Cowboys and then won the NFC Championship in Green Bay - at night, with a -23 degree wind-chill, in overtime. The reward was a trip to the Super Bowl where they were supposed to be crushed by the invincible Patriots.

The New York press called it the Blue Miracle and Tyree thinks the name is apt. He believes the improbable events leading to his fame were designed to help him witness to others. He finds himself in venues and conversations that couldn’t have happened otherwise, and he uses them to share his Christian faith.

Try this: put on a helmet, have someone throw you a forty-yard pass, leap as high as you can, pin the round ball to your round hat with one hand and fall to the ground with a 220# defender hanging on your arm. If you maintain possession it’ll be a miracle.

Just ask David Tyree: it’s why he calls it the “Supernatural Bowl.”

To see the play go to
www.youtube.com/watch?v=27XeNefwABw


Photo Credit:  www.giants.com

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