Posted by ESPN.com's Mike McAllister
HONOLULU -- As Osi Umenyiora received the congratulatory handshakes, the pats on the back, the praise and greetings that come with winning a Super Bowl, he felt something strange Tuesday as he joined his NFC teammates for the Pro Bowl.
These were not guys who were merely showing their respect for the shocking upset Umenyiora's Giants pulled off against the previously undefeated Patriots. These were guys who felt like they had grabbed a small part of the Lombardi Trophy too.
"I get the sense that a lof of them really wanted to see the Patriots lose," the defensive end said after the NFC practice. "For some, it was like they had won. They were so happy.
"I don't know what the Patriots did [to deserve that], but I'm just glad we won."
As it turns out, that us-against-the-world mentality that Bill Belichick used to help fuel the Patriots to near-historic proportions also works in reverse. Perhaps the other 31 NFL teams, seeing the Patriots dominate the regular season, felt like they were fighting together in hopes of destroying the Evil Empire.
Or maybe Umenyiora's NFC teammates were just glad to see their conference win after hearing all season about the supposed dominance of the AFC.
"It was so tough at first because I didn't want either team to win," Redskins tackle Chris Samuels said. "I hate the Giants. They're in our division. They're a cocky group.
"I kind of thought New England should win because of what they had done this season. But after awhile, I just got sick of hearing their story. So you know what: I'm rolling with the Giants."
As the lone Giants representative to the Pro Bowl, Umenyiora missed Tuesday's ticker-tape parade in Manhanttan to honor the city's latest sports heroes. Instead, he watched it on television in his hotel room before practice.
"I cried a little bit," he said.
He could've been there, riding in a car up Broadway. The NFL would've let him miss a day a practice if he wanted to jet back to New York instead of hopping a plane from Arizona to Hawaii. He then would've flown from New York to Honolulu.
One problem.
"I hate to fly," Umenyiora said. "It would've been too much. If I had gone to New York, there's no way I would've left there."
