While the NFL offseason is in its lull period between the draft and the start of training camp, there is plenty else going on with the other pro sports leagues. Fortunately for Boston sports fans, the Celtics are in the second round of the playoffs and are taking on their bitter arch rival, the New York Knicks, bringing out a lot of hostility between the two fan bases.
Because of their storied history, there have been many wild takes about the outcome of their playoff matchup, which began earlier this week.
Both teams have had successful seasons, with the Celtics sweeping their competition in four regular-season games. However, that now has some analysts comparing it to a historic game in Patriots history. Despite their best effort, it has fallen completely flat, even beyond New England fans.
Passionate New York radio host declares the Knicks beating the Celtics would be worse than a Patriots historic loss
While discussing the (at the time) future matchup between the Celtics and the Knicks, New York radio host Evan Roberts made an outrageous proclamation about the potential of the reigning NBA Champions being taken down by their rivals.
Roberts stated the Knicks eliminating the Celtics in Round 2 would be a "bigger upset" than the Giants beating the Patriots in the Super Bowl, referring to the undefeated season that ended in heartbreak.
It's hard to imagine rationalizing a team that gets to play seven games in a series to beat their opponent is more of a triumphant upset than a team that only needs to beat their rival once to win a championship, but that's what Roberts attempted to do.
While he has some grounds for an argument regarding the odds for both outcomes, he's overlooking just how massive an unprecedented moment it was for a Giants team, led by Eli Manning, to take down the best NFL offense the league had ever seen with that Patriots 2007 team. That loss still stings today, even more so since Tom Brady won his seventh Super Bowl with the Bucs at the end of the 2020 season.
The Knicks beating the Celtics in Round 2 would certainly be memorable and an upset, but not nearly as devastating as the Patriots' loss in Super Bowl XLII, especially since they'd still have to go through another round to even make the NBA Finals, making them far away from taking home the trophy.
The Giants left the University of Phoenix Stadium with the Lombardi trophy that day. They didn't have another team to beat to become the reigning Champions, and that's the difference.