Phoenix -- Don't know about you, but I can't wait to get over to the Big Spaceship and get this thing started.

I'm sure New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady would agree, if he hasn't succumbed to temptation and lit out to Cabo San Lucas with one of the TV Azteca girls.

The week of pre-game hype and Super Bowl silliness has whetted everyone's appetite for some real football, and it doesn't get any more real than what's going to happen when the Patriots and New York Giants throw down at 6:17 tonight.

Never mind the incongruity of such a potentially historic Super Bowl being played at futuristic University of Phoenix Stadium, when the University of Phoenix doesn't even have a football team and, if you talk to some of the more cynical local football fans, the Arizona Cardinals don't either.

(The University of Phoenix, by the way, bills itself as the nation's largest university, with 190 campuses around the country. Students can earn a variety of degrees studying online, so I'm guessing they play most of their sporting events on Xbox 360.)

The Giants and Patriots are playing for a big chunk of NFL history. The Pats are a strong favorite to complete the first 19-0 season and join the 1972 Miami Dolphins as the only other undefeated NFL team of the modern era. The Giants could etch their name into Super Bowl legend alongside Joe Namath and the New York Jets with what would be a monumental upset.

Don't hold your breath. The oddsmakers know a thing or two about this kind of situation, and they say the Patriots win in a walk. The only reason the point spread is down to 12 is all the delusional Giants fans betting with their hearts instead of their heads.

Still, I think it will be closer than the wiseguys think, but what do I know? I thought I'd be writing about the Indianapolis Colts and Tampa Bay Buccaneers this week.

I'll give the Giants this much: They're not lacking in confidence. Plaxico Burress made headlines last week when he said the Giants would win by a score of 23-17. I wonder what kind of proposition odds you can get on that.

Of course, that score holds special significance for Baltimore sports fans because it is the exact score of "The Greatest Game Ever Played" - the Colts' sudden-death victory over the Giants in the 1958 NFL championship game. I'm guessing Plaxico picked those numbers out of the air, since you'd think he'd pick a winning Giants score if he were loading up his prediction with historical significance.

The Patriots have largely kept a lid on the trash talk, though wide receiver Randy Moss couldn't resist when he was told the Giants were wearing black when they arrived in town Monday for the funeral they were planning to hold for the Patriots' perfect season.

"We'll see who's wearing black after the game," Moss said.

Even that little controversy was probably manufactured. The Giants officially explained that the team wore dark suits on the charter flight to reinforce the notion that it was a business trip. The whole funeral thing came out of the mist, which can happen at an event covered by - at last reported count - 4,786 members of the assorted print, Internet and broadcast media.

It really has been a quiet week on several levels. The area around the NFL headquarters in Phoenix braced for a tidal wave of humanity this week, but the downtown streets were largely empty until Friday night. Much of the Super Bowl week reverie took place in nearby Scottsdale, so the tourist influx was split among that area's famous "Old Town," the stadium in Glendale (which also was the site of the popular NFL Experience) and the Phoenix Convention Center.

In a weird way, the whole week - with the exception of that loonfest on media day - has reflected the demeanor of the two head coaches. Bill Belichick and Tom Coughlin aren't exactly going to put on a personality parade, and they aren't going to abide a lot of foolishness from their players with so much at stake.

Now, the time for talk is over.

Either somebody's going to be 19-0 or the neon lights are going to be very bright tonight on Broadway.

I can't wait.

peter.schmuck@baltsun.com

Listen to Peter Schmuck on WBAL (1090 AM) at noon most Saturdays and Sundays.