Soup or sundae? Actually, we had chowder: Patriots (New England clam), Giants (Manhattan clam) and Undecided (chicken/corn for those who didn’t like the swimmers). ...

Marie Callender's said they stopped making Boston Cream pie, so we settled for Banana Cream and a Chocolate Mousse cake (from Trader Joe’s) that was simply to die for. ...

With that as the foundation of the spread you’d think I would have come away with a better taste in my mouth after the Big Game. And if you like defense and hate the Patriots and love a dramatic finish and think it’s OK if the best officials in the game – supposedly – miss a few calls that 97.5 million of the rest of us saw than you are clearly among the majority who walked away gushing about it being one of best NFL championship games ever.

Not me. Sorry. Yes, even 11 days later, there remains a sour taste in my mouth for about one. ...

Let’s see, it began with a flaggrant 15-yard facemask penalty on the opening kickoff that was IGNORED by the zebras and ended, essentially, with a – supposed -- miracle escape by New York quarterback Eli Manning to complete an unthinkable pass to keep the Giants improbable winning drive alive.

While the Monday morning conversation was all about how in the world could Manning have escaped the Patriots rush and how in the world did David Tyree trap the ball against his helmet while absorbing a midair blow by Rodney Harrison and still manage to keep the ball off the ground, the logical answer to the first should have, unfortunately, negated the latter.

Manning escaped the Patriots rush because his linemen were allowed to HOLD – illegally – on the play. There’s a beautifully clear photo in Sports Illustrated of Giants center Sean O’Hara (No. 60) holding Patriots defensive end Richard Seymour (No. 93) on the defining play of the game. It should have been a 10-yard penalty. Instead of a 32-yard gain it should have been third-and-15 from the New England 46.

Yes, and take away a sequence that will be remembered for the rest of our lives. But that’s the point? Is this reality TV or scripted? When do you choose to call the game by the rules and when do you choose to ignore the rules for fear of getting in the way of the outcome, which of course is a contridiction those charged with officiating sporting events should NEVER EVER CONSIDER. For once they do, even for a second, everyone loses. ...

OK, so I’ve already pointed out two missed calls by the zebras that may have helped decide the outcome of Super Bowl XLII and change history forever. Want more?

Everyone knows about the third-down pass to Giants receiver Amani Toomer, who conveniently freed himself to catch the pass by SHOVING the Patriots cover corner for a 38-yard gain and a first down at the 19. My eight-year-old was calling for offensive PI on that play. It was so obvious. What an embarrassment for the NFL.

Want more?

The Giants attempted a hail mary pass into the end zone at the end of the first half. Receiver Steve Smith almost caught it. He probably would have had Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel not HELD Smith’s right arm as the ball was in the air. At worst, that’s first-and-goal from the 1 or one extra untimed play for the Giants. (Is there an unwritten rule somewhere that officials aren’t allowed to enforce the rules on hail mary passes?)

Want more?

There was a play where the Fox telecast replay clearly showed a Rodney Harrison forearm to the helmet of a Giants player. That’s a 15-yard PERSONAL FOUL penalty and probably a fine during the regular season. But in the Super Bowl? It’s allowed as -- what was that number again? -- 97.5 million watched?

Want more?

The Giants beat up Patriots quarterback Tom Brady pretty good and most of it, actually, was legal. But the NY rush was allowed to give Brady shots in this game that wouldn’t be allowed during the regular season when officials are “protecting” quarterbacks, many of whom are the league’s marquee players and need to be on the field in following weeks for ticket sales and TV ratings and all those unspoken bottomline agendas. But with no tickets to sell post-Super Bowl and no TV ratings to worry about beyond this game, Brady was a hunted man without the safety net of the precious yellow hankie. While there was plenty of pushing and shoving after the play, there was one particular play where Giants linebacker Kawika Mithell gave Brady a SHOT TO THE FACE after releasing a pass. That’s 15-yards during the regular season. It was IGNORED on Super Sunday.

Want more?

The Patriots successfully challenged a 12-men-on-the-field penalty in the second half. The extra Giants player trying to get off the field stepped off after the play started right in front of a blind zebra. Another embarrassment for the league.

There was another play where the Giants fumbled and the Patriot defender clearly landed on the ball. A Giants player – Ahmad Bradshaw – rolled the New England player over and took the ball from him. The officials gave the Giants possession but by rule a player on the ground in possession of the ball is awarded possession. The play should have been down the instant Bradshaw touched him. Why New England coach Bill Belichick didn’t challenge possession on that play is beyond me. Of course, he didn’t kick a field goal when he should have and either decision could have helped him win the game.

I watch enough football to know the only thing consistent about the NFL officiating is its universal inconsistency. Holding is subjective. Pass interference is subjective. Personal fouls are subjective. Hands to the face, illegal contact, offensive PI (pick plays) and on and on are all at the whim of the official throwing the flag. And while everyone understands and generally accepts that there is holding on every play, the league needs to establish universal perameters by which all these fouls are called and when they should be ignored. Consistency would solve a lot of problems as well as ease a lot of frustrations for fans, coaches, players, et cet.

One of the biggest missed calls in the history of the league – in my view based on the historical impact – occurred in last year’s AFC Championship game between the Patriots and the Colts and the inconsistent interpretation of pass interference by the NFL official was sadly at the forfront.

With 7:50 left in the fourth quarter and the game tied 28-28, Brady lofted a third down pass into the corner of the end zone for receiver Reche Caldwell. With the ball in the air, Colts nickelback Kelvin Hayden first hit Caldwell in the facemask and then pulled at his left arm. Caldwell wasn’t able to free his arm in time to catch the ball and only got a belated right hand on what was a catchable ball had he not been inteferred with. Instead of a touchdown or at least first-and-goal from the 1, New England kicked a field goal. The Colts went on to win 38-34 beat the Bears in the Super Bowl and Tony Dungy became the first African American coach to be Super Bowl champion. But had the Patriots scored a touchdown on that drive, the outcome could have been dramatically, and historically different.

I could go on more about oddities duing the 2006 AFC Championship game but let’s get back to SB XLII.

I opened this by noting the missed facemask call on the opening kickoff. The Giants took the ball at the 23 and marched the length of the field for a touchdown. They should have started with the ball at the 38. That extra 15 yards may have taken two minutes off that long touchdown drive that began a brilliant and methodical game-long wearing down of the old Patriots defenders. Would having spent less time on the field in the opening drive saved the NE defense just enough to thwart that late winning NY drive? Do you think a little more rest would have helped anyone of the three New England defenders who dropped potential game-clinching interceptions in the game’s twilight? ...

My final thought on Super Sunday: If you are New England would you rather go into 2008 with Randy Moss or Chad Johnson? When the game was on the line, Moss had two chances at greatness and he failed to sell out on either play. When that third-down pass floated toward him in the final seconds, did he go get it and set his team up for a potential tying field goal or better or did he wait for it to settle into his fingers. The Moss we all saw in the Super Bowl was the same Moss who played like he didn’t care during the previous two seasons in Oakland. It was the Moss that if you didn’t hit him perfectly in his hands he wasn’t going to catch it. It was the Moss that refused to play in the air as he did once a long time ago so gracefully in his early years in Minnesota. Chad Johson gets sideways on meaningless passes in games already decided and Randy Moss can’t sell out with a World Championship spiraling toward him? A pass that would be knocked away before it could hit Randy’s hands in stride, firmly on the ground.

Something tells me David Tyree would have found a way to come down with that pass. Come to think of it, he did. And we’ll never forget it.