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The Super Bowl is where boys become men, normal players become champions, and the defeated are forgotten. It is where the gridiron's greatest clash to determine who will be the champion of the world. It is where the good and the great become the best. For an individual, it also can be where football immortality can be gained.
Early in the third quarter of the Super Bowl, Brown University's own Zak DeOssie '07 gained that immortality when he made the most important play of the game.
"It was a good one," said Giants punter Jeff Feagles.
The play, in reality, was a great one. NFL television analysts and writers all over the country are calling it the most important play of the Giants victory and perhaps the greatest play in the history of the NFL's championship game.
"There were a lot of amazing plays made during the game. You had Eli Manning getting away from the defense. And on the back end of that you have David Tyree's catch. You even have DeOssie's tackle on the final kickoff return of the game," commented Brown alum and ESPN announcer Chris Berman. "They all fall short of that snap."
DeOssie, as usual, bent down into his snapping stance as the telecast zoomed in on his hands. As the play clock was winding down, time almost stood still in anticipation of what was to come. He then gripped the ball and on Feagles's word, snapped it.
"Yeah, everyone did their job tonight," commented Giants head coach Tom Coughlin.
The magnitude of DeOssie's play, which made up for the shoddy play of the rest of the Giants, was illustrated by the fact that the Local Providence Fox Channel interviewed him and only him.
"It's what I do. I just do my job and hope to do my best," said DeOssie in the post-game interview. "I'm proud to be a part of the Giants team and to be able to win the Super Bowl for them."
What the future brings is up to Zak DeOssie. The past, however, is written in stone. The great will always be great and the celebrated shall be celebrated. A giant play from a giant giant.
