For almost a week following Super Bowl XLII the acim, fans and football curators wondered what this improbable play that brought the New York Giants a Super Bowl victory over the undefeated New England Patriots would be dubbed. From sports television to sports radio everyone racked their brains to label what this monumental play would be known for until the end of time. After a full week and thousands of witty yet sometimes silly names, the famous play was officially dubbed “Miracle in the Desert.”
The phrase and name has been legally trademarked and is now set in stone for eternity. Giants fans can now rest. What name sums it up better than “Miracle in the Desert?” This phrase is no less catchy than “Miracle in the Meadowlands” which is still today a shameful reminder to Giants fans from that crushing Sunday afternoon in 1978. Only this phrase has a ring to it that will be a permanent fixture in the minds of Giants fans with a positive notation tied to it.
What better a name than “Miracle in the Desert’ to remember the play which ended the New England Patriots perfect season. Eli Manning dashing out of a scrum of Patriots linemen in which one had a full hand of jersey that Eli broke from and heaved a ball down field where the unlikely hero would be David Tyree pinning the football against the side of his helmet and holding onto it all while a defensive back known as Rodney Harrison pulled, fought and used every last shred of his might to tear the ball out of the hands of Tyree only to come up empty.
This moment has been captured in some incredible photos which show Tyree in a freeze frame that can’t even be described in words. David Tyree solidified this “Miracle in the Desert” and what better of a name to describe a play, a catch, a victory all in the settings of the deserts in Glendale, Arizona. The play that will forever be remembered as the single greatest moment in New York Giants football history, Super Bowl history and New York sports history, forever known as “Miracle in the Desert.”
