GIANTS RECEIVER AMANI TOOMER CELEBRATES SUPERBOWL XXLII WIN - nfl.comIt was that annual Sunday when grocery stores sold out of guacamole and tortilla chips and advertising companies spent billions for seconds of airtime.
When Trinity International University (TIU) students gathered around televisions on campus, at local houses, and church buildings, senior athletic trainer and women’s soccer player Loryssa Simas sat four rows up from the New England Patriots’ end zone in Phoenix, Ariz.
_____________________________________
Manning threw a 13-yard touch-down pass to Burress with just 35 seconds remaining.
_____________________________________
“I lost ten years of my life watching the last two and a half minutes,” said Simas. It was about the time when the New York Giants began their miraculous 83-yard march down the field.
Eli Manning threw a 13-yard lob pass to Plaxico Burress for the winning touchdown with just 35 seconds remaining. Giants won Super Bowl XLII and beat the undefeated, two-touchdown favorite Patriots 14-10.
“It was terrible,” said Simas.
The New England resident has been a life-long Patriots fan, a product of her parents Dave and Lorry Simas, who live in Rhode Island.
Sunday was Simas’s third Super Bowl experience. She watched live the Indiana Colts beat the Chicago Bears last year in Miami and the Patriots win their third championship over the Philadelphia Eagles in Jacksonville, Florida in 2005.
In the late 90s things were looking up for the Patriots, and so was business for Mr. Simas, who bought season tickets to Gillete stadium. He upgraded from club seats to box seats a handful of years ago.
The Simases attended the Athletes in Action (AIA) Super Bowl breakfast, an official sanctioned event and award ceremony to honor an National Football League (NFL) player who “exemplifies outstanding character and leadership in the home, on the field and in the community,” said an AIA spokesperson.
San Diego Chargers LaDainian Tomlinson won the 2008 Bart Starr Award. Simas met Super Bowl XLI Championship Coach of the Indiana Colts Tony Dungee and retired NFL player Bart Starr at the breakfast.
“Even though the Pats lost, it was an NFL record-breaking year, and it’s always a blessing to spend time with family,” said Simas.
