Week 11: Miyagi Do Karate (Bye Week)

If you read my blog last week, you would have seen that I referenced the Karate Kid. I also included a doctored picture of Eli Manning wearing the Daniel LaRusso headband. This got me thinking, since there was no game this past week, and there wasn't any news to speak of, why don't I just explain my theory on why the Giants are the Karate Kid of the NFL.

First off, they both have New Jersey ties. I know they are the New York Giants, but Met Life Stadium is in Jersey and, like, everyone on the team lives in Jersey.

People thought that Coach Coughlin was an out-of-touch coach that couldn't relate to the players. Mr. Miyagi was viewed by both Daniel and the Cobra Kai guys as an out-of-touch old man, at first.

So I have to show up 5 minutes early just to paint a stupid fence?

Coughlin has stupid rules that many of the players, including Michael Strahan, had a problem with. The big one was the "if you show up on time, you're late" rule. Miyagi's training for Daniel wasn't thought of as real training. It was painting the fences, waxing the cars, and sanding the floors. These rules, or chores, were seen as unnecessary or as a  waste of time but both were instrumental in training and instilling a disciplined attitude.

Now let's look at the two playoff appearances that lead to a Super Bowl in the Manning/Coughlin/Karate Kid era. They were both kind of reminiscent of the the All Valley Tournament. The Giant first snuck into the playoffs in the 2007 season, kinda like how Miyagi lied to the sign-up official at the tournament and stole a black belt. In the 2011 season, the Giants had the worst record in the league. Some people thought that the Giants had no business being in the playoffs. Just like Daniel was counted out before the tournament even started.

Johnny Lawrence and John Kreese

The Giants' Super Bowl XLII win was an incredible victory against the powerhouse Patriots, not unlike Daniel LaRusso's victory. He was against the baddest dojo in southern California, Cobra Kai. They were disciplined, smart, and ruthless. They lived by the mantra, "Strike first, strike hard, no mercy". The Patriots were the top team in the league. They were undefeated and rolling teams the entire season.

The sensei of Cobra Kai was John Kreese, a viscous tactician who took pride in completely destroying his opponents. The coach of the Patriots, Bill Belichik, was a cold tactician who also took pride in completely destroying his opponents. How many teams did he completely bury with a blow out that season? Can't you see him telling Tom Brady "I don't want them beat!"? And, seriously, can you see Kreese video taping Daniel and Mr. Miyagi training to get an advantage?

Tom Brady and Bill Belichik

Tom Brady is the Johnny Lawrence of the New England Patriots. Both are handsome rich kids from California. But when Brady was tossing around the pigskin, Johnny Lawrence was kicking wooden planks. They both blindly followed their superiors, and were willing to do anything to win.

Both Super Bowl XLII and the All Valley Tournament were David vs. Goliath stories. Both had magical moments, the crane kick, the helmet catch, Daniel's leg being healed, and Plaxico's game winning catch. In both the game and the tournament, an unlikely hero rose to the occasion. Daniel defeated Johnny Lawrence and the Cobra Kai Dojo, and, for the Giants, it was Eli Manning who showed the country how gutsy he was. Not bad for a couple kids from Jersey.

Super Bowl XLVI was about vengeance and restoring honor for the Patriots. Much like in Karate Kid Part II when the villain, Chozen, wanted to kill Daniel for besting him and making him look foolish throughout the movie. The Patriots wanted to prove that they still could be Super Bowl champions, and Chozen wanted to prove how tough and uncowardly he was. There wasn't even a tournament, Chozen crashed a party and wanted to fight Daniel to the death. This time Daniel wasn't a severe underdog, it was just that Chozen had nothing to lose. The Giants were actually considered favorites by many analysts.

*HONK*

This Super Bowl win wasn't as magical, but neither was the Daniel/Chozen fight. It was a gritty, tough, hard-fought battle with ultimately the Giants, and LaRusso, coming out on top.

After the Giants won Supber Bowl XLVI, they were not thought to be favorites to win again. Hell, they weren't even picked to win the NFC East by many analysts. The same thing happened to LaRusso in Karate Kid Part III, when he signed up for the All Valley Tournament the year after he defeated Johnny Lawrence, people didn't expect him to beat Karate bad boy Mike Barnes.

Right now there is no Mike Barnes or Terry Silver equivalent in the NFL, which is probably a good thing. I mean Barnes and his lackeys, Snake and Dennis, tried to kill Daniel. It would be pretty inexcusable if someone tried to drop Eli Manning down a cliff while he was trying to retrieve a Bonsai tree.

The main reason why the Giants are the Karate Kid of the NFL is that even though it doesn't look pretty, they get the job done. They are scrappy. They're always under the radar, always well coached, always tough, and should never be counted out.

"Hey Manning, you're alright man!"

I'd like to thank Greg Osborn for pushing me to do this, as well as helping me cultivate ideas for this blog.