Whether you like it or not, it's going to be the most hyped rematch in Super Bowl history.

The New England Patriots will face the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLVI Feb. 5 in Indianapolis. The NFL could not have written a better script for this year's title game.

These next 12 days will be packed with recounts of the Giants' 17-14 victory over the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII, the win that ended the Patriots' pursuit of a perfect season. It will also bring up the heated tension that exists in the rivalry between Boston and New York.

While the talk now centers around the rematch that will certainly be a highly watched Super Bowl, both teams narrowly defeated their opponents in their respective conference championship games to advance to Indianapolis. The Patriots defeated the Baltimore Ravens at home 23-20, while the Giants went on the road to stun the San Francisco 49ers 20-17 in overtime.

In Sunday's first game, the Ravens nearly took the lead with less than 30 seconds left in the game. Baltimore wide receiver Lee Evans caught a pass in the end zone, but Patriots cornerback Sterling Moore knocked the ball out of Evans' hands, resulting in an incomplete pass. On the next play, Moore deflected yet another ball thrown by Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco on third-down, leading the way for kicker Billy Cundiff to attempt a game-tying 32-yard field goal that would presumably send the game into overtime.

He missed it — wide left. The Patriots took a knee, and the game was over.

"I've probably made that kick a thousand times in my career," Cundiff told reporters after the game. "I went out there and I just didn't convert. That's the way things go. There's no reason for it. It just didn't go through."

Although the Patriots sealed the game on a missed field goal, head coach Bill Belichick was pleased with his team's win.

"Well, it's awesome," Belichick said of the win. "You've just got to give all the credit to the players. These guys fought all year and, just like today, it wasn't always perfect, but they fought until the final gun, and we came out on top. So you've got to give the players all the credit; they're the ones that won it today."

Although Patriots quarterback Tom Brady tied a playoff record by throwing six touchdowns in a playoff game last week against the Denver Broncos, Brady had no touchdown throws for the first time in 36 games. The Ravens also intercepted the quarterback twice during the game.

"Well, I sucked pretty bad today, but our defense saved us," Brady said. "I'm going to try and go out and do a better job in a couple of weeks. But I'm proud of my teammates."

Ravens safety Ed Reed and football pundits criticized quarterback Flacco for his unflattering performance last week against the Houston Texans, but Flacco answered the call against the Patriots by throwing for 306 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Although the interception came midway through the fourth quarter, the Ravens intercepted the Patriots' first offensive play on the following drive, preventing the Patriots from gaining any momentum.

In the Giants' win, played in rainy and muddy San Francisco by two aggressive and intimidating defenses, New York capitalized on a fumble by 49ers wide receiver Kyle Williams in overtime. On a punt return in overtime, the Giants defensive line came through in the clutch, ramming Williams to recover the ball. With the ball on the 49ers 24-yard line, Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw rushed three times for 18 yards. After a kneel by quarterback Eli Manning to position the ball in the middle of the field, kicker Lawrence Tynes successfully kicked a 31-yard field goal to end the game.

"It's amazing," said Tynes, who also kicked the game-winning field goal in overtime in the NFC Championship game prior to their Super Bowl victory against the Patriots. "I had dreams about this last night. It was from 42 [yards], not 31 [yards], but I was so nervous today before the game just anticipating this kind of game. I'm usually pretty cool, but there was something about tonight where I knew I was going to have to make a kick."

The Giants took a 10-7 lead into halftime, but San Francisco went up 14-10 going into the fourth quarter. Manning, who was sacked six times, knocked down 12 times and hit 20 times by the San Francisco defense, hit his receivers when it counted. He converted a 17-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Mario Manningham with less than 10 minutes left. The 49ers then tied the game on their next drive with a field goal from kicker David Akers.

In this championship game, though, it was the Giants who celebrated on a successful field goal.

"It feels great," Manning said. "That was a tough game. We had to fight for every yard we got," said Manning. "They're a good team. Their defense is stout."

With the championship games now over, all the attention is on the rivalry that has brewed between the Patriots and Giants since Super Bowl XLII. This season, the Giants defeated the Patriots 24-20 in Foxborough in Week 9 on a last-minute touchdown pass by Manning. It was Brady's first regular season loss at home since 2006. It also happens to be the last time the Patriots lost a game this year.

Let the hype begin. It's going to be a heavyweight fight with a lot of bragging rights at stake.