What if Winds of Winter solely comes out if the Giants win the Tremendous Bowl?

George R.R. Martin loves three issues: Seeing his work made into HBO exhibits like Recreation of Thrones and Home of the Dragon, not ending The Winds of Winter, and the Nationwide Soccer League. Particularly, he’s a die-hard fan of New York’s groups, the Jets and the Giants. You might say he has a factor for misplaced causes.

Fascinated by Martin and soccer sooner or later, as I’m wont to do (and as is he; the author will often convey up soccer and A Tune of Ice and Hearth in the identical weblog submit), I began to marvel: What if they’re extra associated than we beforehand thought?

On the time that is being written, the NFL playoffs are underway, and the New York Giants have made greater than an look, successful final week’s wild card recreation in opposition to the Minnesota Vikings and shifting on to face the top-ranked Philadelphia Eagles (go birds) within the divisional spherical.

New York soccer playoff wins don’t occur that always. You recognize what else doesn’t occur that always? The publication of a brand new A Tune of Ice and Hearth e book. And my information suggests which may not be a coincidence.

[Ed. note: All stats are from Pro Football Reference, both for the Giants and the Jets.]

Per a 2014 interview with Rolling Stone, Martin started writing what would grow to be A Recreation of Thrones in 1991 — a yr that began with the Giants successful the Tremendous Bowl in opposition to the Buffalo Payments. It might be 5 extra years earlier than the e book was prepared for publication, throughout which the Giants made a quick two-game look within the January 1994 playoffs and the Jets additionally made a uncommon playoffs look within the wild card spherical in ’91, so there was lots of wind in Martin’s sails.

Picture: Digital Arts

A Conflict of Kings was printed within the U.S. in 1999, a yr that additionally noticed the Jets make the playoffs (a working theme within the NFL for many years has been the Jets being god-awful, even worse than the Giants, so this was a Huge Deal). November 2000, when A Storm of Swords was printed within the U.S., doesn’t appear that exceptional for New York soccer, however the Giants had been properly on their technique to a fairly nice playoff run that season, going all the best way to the Tremendous Bowl in opposition to the Baltimore Ravens in January 2001. (They misplaced that point, which is form of becoming for A Storm of Swords’ common themes.)

That is the purpose the place Martin begins to earn his status for by no means placing out new ASOIAF books in a well timed method. A Feast for Crows wouldn’t see the sunshine of day till fall 2005, a four-year stretch the place New York’s NFL playoff document was a bit fallow, hardly ever rising above the preliminary wild card spherical — however the Jets did scrape previous that solely to lose within the division spherical in opposition to the Pittsburgh Steelers in, you guessed it, January 2005.

Issues get slightly bizarre from right here: The Giants win the Tremendous Bowl once more in 2008 however A Dance With Dragons doesn’t arrive till 2011 — a very exceptional yr for New York soccer. The Jets, for the second yr in a row, had their greatest playoff exhibiting since 1998, and the Giants started their march to successful the Tremendous Bowl in early 2012 — a 12-month interval of ecstasy for New York soccer, and ASOIAF followers.

As gas for writing, it is smart that an unbelievable soccer yr would accompany getting an advanced e book out the door — Martin, within the foreword to A Dance With Dragons, known as the e book “a bitch and a half” to get carried out.

Graphic: Polygon

That brings us to the current, and the likelihood that the intervening 12-year hole between Dragons and the forthcoming The Winds of Winter isn’t completely Martin’s fault. Each of New York’s soccer groups have, to make use of a technical time period, sucked shit during the last decade. However there’s lastly hope once more. The Giants are within the playoffs, they usually’ve already gained one recreation.

Nevertheless it’s not just like the New York Giants have an straightforward time forward of them. There are three extra rounds left within the playoffs, together with this Saturday’s showdown in opposition to a very good Eagles crew (favored by over a landing of their matchup in opposition to the Giants). In the event that they handle that, the subsequent recreation might be in opposition to both the San Francisco 49ers or the Dallas Cowboys, each groups with higher data and better odds of constructing it to the Tremendous Bowl. Then lastly could be the Huge Recreation itself, during which the Giants could be the underdog irrespective of which of the remaining groups (the Bengals, Payments, Jaguars, or Chiefs) they confronted.

Hope springs everlasting for ASOIAF and Giants followers alike. Simply getting previous the wild card spherical final week is big, so by my reckoning Martin could also be impressed sufficient to announce a publication date for his long-overdue novel quickly. In the event that they win the Tremendous Bowl? We would even see The Winds of Winter this yr.

These considering watching alongside can watch the Giants play the Eagles on Jan. 21 at 8:15 p.m. EST on Fox, and, ought to the Giants make it that far, the Tremendous Bowl on Feb. 12, beginning at 6:30 p.m. EST on Fox.