At 10 p.m. Sunday, my 7-year old son burst into tears. We watched as red, white and blue confetti swirled around the television screen, but this time, they were very un-Patriotic colors. The Giants had stunned the Patriots and the rest of us with a 17-14 win in Super Bowl XLII.

That's when it hit me: Although we grew up expecting Boston teams to choke in the big game, our kids have grown up expecting their teams to win it all. Why not? From 2001 to 2007, our four major professional teams had a lock in championship games, going 5-0 in Super Bowls and World Series.

That's what made Sunday night's win by the Giants so jarring. New York ruled over Boston in sports, as it had for so many years.The clocks were turned back to the previous millennium.

That domination had ended in October 2004 when the Red Sox won it all and did it at the expense of the Yankees dynasty.

The Red Sox championship rings are inscribed with "Greatest Comeback in History," a reminder Boston was down to its last at-bat, trailing by a run and facing history's greatest playoff closer in the ALCS.

The story of that comeback will be passed down for generations: the stolen base, the walk-off heroics, the start of eight straight wins.

After years of being nailed by New York teams, Boston was suddenly the hammer. Sunday was supposed to be another pounding, with the Giants lucky to be in the Super Bowl after three improbable playoff wins on the road.

Eli Manning and company put up a valiant battle, but as Tom Brady finally shook off the relentless pressure of the Giants' defensive line and drove his team down the field, we knew order was about to be restored.

Brady was magnificent in that drive, completing 8 of 11 passes and finding Randy Moss alone in the end zone for the go-ahead score with 2:42 left.

Then Manning became Brady, scrambling out of the grasp of Patriots defenders and throwing a blind 32-yarder David Tyree somehow pulled down while hit by Rodney Harrison.

Tyree began the game with 39 yards receiving and no touchdowns, including one catch in the playoffs. Against the Pats, he made three catches for 43 yards and a touchdown.

Later, Plaxico Burress made just his second catch of the game, a dagger to the hearts of Patriots fans everywhere.

The Greatest Comeback Ever? Maybe not. The Greatest Upset in Super Bowl history? Maybe. You Joe Namath fans can discuss that among yourselves.

Tyree now becomes New York's version of Dave Roberts, Boston's base-stealing specialist in 2004. Roberts never had an at-bat in Game 4 against the Yankees, but his stolen base will live in our minds forever.

"I didn't realize how close the play actually was," Roberts said when I last saw him. "It seems like the more I watch it, the closer and closer it gets."

You can bet that circus catch by Tyree, who clutched the ball between his hand and helmet as he fell surrounded by three defenders, will look more and more improbable as time passes.

While Tyree took the catch away from the Patriots' defense, in the end the Giants took this championship away from a team with history in its grasp.

And by doing so, New York had its own comeback for the ages in this bitter sports rivalry.

Kids weren't the only ones crying in New England Sunday night, but they're the only ones who didn't know this is how it used to be, how long it has been since a Boston team came so close to winning it all, only to have victory snatched away in the final moments.

Tom Caron is the studio host for Red Sox broadcasts on the New England Sports Network. His column appears in the Press Herald on Tuesdays.