College World Series 2012: Cinderella No Stranger To New York

Cinderella has touched down in Long Island, carrying the Stony Brook Seawolves to the College World Series in their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Baseball Tournament. This, however, is not the first time Cinderella's slipper has paid a visit to New York.

Let's take a look at some of Cinderella's most memorable visit to the Empire State.

The 2007 New York Giants were undoubtedly blessed by Cinderella in their Super Bowl XLII victory over the New England Patriots. The mighty Patriots entered the game 18-0, had already trademarked 19-0, were widely acclaimed as one of the best teams in football history, and were expected to handle the Giants without difficulty.

Yet, Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress predicted victory and then backed it up by catching the game-winning touchdown pass from Eli Manning in the closing minute.

Cinderella, one has to be relatively certain, was also spreading some form of magical pixie dust on the infamous Manning-to-David Tyree helmet catch that set up the Giants' victory.

The best play on super bowl XLII (via webheadbr)

If you really think about it, the Giants 2012 Super Bowl victory against New England -- again -- is also a Cinderella story. After all, teams that finish the regular season 9-7 (and are 7-7 with two games left) don't win the Super Bowl. But, the Giants did. Still, the 2008 victory over the Patriots is even more of a Cinderella story.

The 1969 New York Mets became the first expansion team to win the World Series. That 1969 team won 100 games after never having finished above .500 in a season and defeated the powerhouse Baltimore Orioles, who won 109 regular-season games, four games to one in the World Series.

1969 World Series - Baltimore Orioles versus New York Mets (via BenRossington)

The New York Jets won Super Bowl III on Jan. 12. 1969, shocking the world and backing up quarterback Joe Namath's boasts by defeating the Baltimore Colts, 16-7.

Teams from the upstart AFL were not supposed to be able to compete with NFL teams. Yet, Namath guaranteed victory, then went out and completed 17-of-28 passes for 206 yards as the Jets backed up the brash quarterback's boasts and pushed the two leagues toward an inevitable merger.

If you weren't old enough to have seen it, or have some time to kill and want to see it, the video below is the ENTIRE game.

super bowl 3 (via 2028211)

The 1973 Mets did not win the World Series. The fact that they got there, though, is a Cinderella story of its own. The Mets were a mediocre lot in 1973, managing to win the National League East despite winning just 82 games. That season became known for the famous Tug McGraw "You Gotta Believe" catchphrase.

The Mets were 12 games under .500 on August 16 of that season, but still managed to win the division by 1.5 games over the St. Louis Cardinals.The Mets defeated the Cincinnati Reds in the NL Championship Series before losing to the Oakland Athletics in seven games in the World Series.

Cinderella actually already made one appearance in New York this year that you may not be aware of. The 2012 Union College hockey team, from Schenectady, N.Y. fell one victory short of playing for the 2012 NCAA Hockey Championship this season, falling to Ferris State in the semifinals. Union is a 2,100-student school that does not offer athletic scholarships, making their Frozen Four appearance possibly more shocking than Stony Brook reaching the College World Series.

There are others, of course. What Cinderella stories have we failed to mention? Visit SB Nation New York on Facebook and let us know.