The one where I reveal myself as a complete homer
The following is a free-flowing post containing Pro-Patriots content that may be offensive to some readers. If this is the sort of thing that makes you angry enough to anonymously leave nasty comments, please steer clear.
Patriots fans that have paid attention will look back on the 2008 team as their favorite non-Championship team of the Belichick era. They will wonder how the hell a team that lost Tom Brady, Rodney Harrison, Adalius Thomas, Rodney Harrison, Tedy Bruschi, and six young members of an already-mediocre back seven reached the cusp of eleven wins. They will try to forget what they said about Matt Cassel in August and September. They will forget the easy schedule.
This was the only possible successor to the post 18-1 season that wouldn't feel like a let down, save a championship.
Maybe it's the old Red Sox fan in me, but there was something uncomfortable about watching the total domination of the first half of 2008. Wins became routine. Part of me missed the 2001 season, when each win felt like a small miracle. Once the post-Brady shock wore off, that feeling was back. It was fun to be under the radar, underdogs occasionally. Tens win later, the Patriots have a chance to beat the rest of the division in a satisfyingly new way: with one hand tied behind their back.
Perhaps I'm out of touch living in New York, but Patriots fans haven't embraced this team like you'd expect. We're spoiled. Maybe it was coming up short against the Giants; maybe it was SpyGate. People seem to care more about losing December to the Yankees.
The anticipation of this Sunday will be reward enough for everyone who has enjoyed Cassel, Welker, Ben Jarvus-Green Ellis, Sammy Morris, Russ Hochstein at fullback, the return of Junior Seau, Brandon Meriweather's sack in Seattle, and all the rest. Six hours of football on the last regular season Sunday of the year, three teams vying for a division title, two playoff spots up for grabs, and one last chance for Brett Favre to pay Patriots fans back for the last game of 2002. It doesn't get much better than that.
Comments
you meant first half of 2007.
Posted by: Brian | December 27, 2008 07:18 PM
No anonymity here, please get off your soapbox. Nobody outside of the greater Boston area gives a ratsrear. Your coach cheated for years, the NFL swept it under the rug to avoid embarrassment, and thankfully the shallow holier-than-thou attitude of Pats fans has finally faded. Two cheers for the Ravens and Dolphins winning this weekend. :-)
Posted by: Greg | December 27, 2008 08:11 PM
Save it for Boston, nobody is buying this crap your spewing about the Patriots and their cheating coach.
Posted by: Roy | December 28, 2008 03:12 PM