(Reuters) ? The normally demure pressroom erupted when New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning found Plaxico Burress in the end zone for the winning Super Bowl touchdown four years ago.
It was hard to tell if the uproar was from thrilled Giants' beat writers or stunned New England Patriots scribes aghast at their team's first loss of the National Football League season.
This, however, was easy to see: the Giants' improbable 17-14 triumph in Arizona provided some of the most memorable Super Bowl moments.
"This is the greatest feeling in professional sports," Burress said following his 13-yard touchdown reception with 35 seconds left in the game.
"For us to come out here and win a world championship tonight, nobody gave us a shot. We just hung in there all game and kept executing, never got down on ourselves.
"It came down to one play and we made it."
For the second time in five seasons, the two teams will meet in the Super Bowl. It is doubtful, however, that Sunday's game in Indianapolis can equal the theater of the game that concluded the 2007 season.
Manning engineered a 12-play, 83-yard drive that ended with the game-winning strike to Burress, triggering a wild celebration on the Giants' sideline.
But the play that many consider to be the best in the Super Bowl's long tradition came when a ducking and spinning Manning escaped a severe rush and found David Tyree deep downfield with 59 seconds left in the game.
MIRACLE CATCH
Tyree, a little-used tight end covered like a sweater by Rodney Harrison, caught Manning's desperation throw by pinning the ball against his helmet as he fell to the ground following a full-extension leap.
"Until I saw it on TV with my own eyes, I didn't realize the magnitude of the catch and how great it was," said Tyree, who would never catch another pass in the NFL.
"I'm sure that will be played on highlight films for years to come," former Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi correctly predicted.
Twenty-four seconds later, Burress cradled the game-winner in the left corner of the end zone to end the Patriots' dream of becoming the league's first 19-0 team.
"When I think about that play sometimes, I think if I could have made that play, I could have been going to Disney World," former Patriots defensive lineman Jarvis Green told the Boston Herald this week about his near sack of Manning.
"I had four or five tackles and a sack already, and that would have put me over the top. That would have ended the game. I just know after that play, about three or four weeks after that, I was still really shaken."
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady will undoubtedly be looking for revenge on Sunday following the bitter defeat four years ago against the nearly two-touchdown underdog Giants.
Brady admitted after the Super Bowl loss that he was crestfallen at not be able to claim a fourth championship ring.
"I probably need some time to reflect on the game and some time to reflect on the season." Brady said after the game. "It is extremely disappointing. This isn't something any of us prepared for."
Giants running back Brandon Jacobs sees one major difference between Sunday's game and the Super Bowl four years ago.
"Last time we didn't know we could do it," he said. "This time we know we can win."
(Reporting by Steve Ginsburg in Washington; Editing by Frank Pingue)
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