The sun came up this morning and the T was running late, so I’m guessing that the New England Patriots losing a football game was an isolated incident of failed certainty.
I apologize if my mood seems too cheery or upbeat throughout this column. Maybe I am still on a high from the World Series, or maybe I am just a glass-half-full type of guy.
I admit that I was shocked and devastated when my team finished 18-1 last night, but for some reason I was able to find perspective pretty quickly. I credit a great article by Chuck Klosterman that had been chilling in my head for the last week, as well as the fact that I stopped drinking at halftime.
I’ll let you read his piece for yourself, but here was his conclusion:
“If the Patriots win, they will just become this thing that scorched the earth for five months before capturing a trophy that was never in doubt. Future historians will describe this New England team as if it were a machine. Everyone will concede the Pats’ superlative greatness, but the 19 wins will be just a collection of numbers. But if they lose — especially if they lose late — the New England Patriots will be the most memorable collection of individuals in the history of pro football. They will prove that nothing in this world is guaranteed, that past returns do not guarantee future results, that failure is what ultimately defines us and that Gisele will probably date a bunch of other dudes in her life, because man is eternally fallible.
Losing isn’t everything. It’s the only thing.
I love these Patriots. As such, go Giants?”
For the record, the words “go Giants” never escaped my mouth last night. I was as shocked as everyone on the 3rd and 5 (which will soon have a nickname, like “the play” or “the catch”) when Eli Freaking Manning was able to escape the grasps Adaleus Thomas, Jarvis Green and Richard Seymour and somehow get off a pass that somehow found David Tyree (who was somehow not cut by the Giants during the regular season) who somehow held on to the ball as it was pinned against his head and being ripped at by Rodney Harrison. Seriously, it was one of the craziest, greatest plays I can remember. I’m putting it right up there with the Jeter cut-off and flip against the A’s as the best play of my lifetime by a guy that I hate playing for New York.
That turned out to be the play that changed 19-0 to 18-1. I, for one, am glad that it was a play like that, and not a penalty or a mistake by the Pats. Even though they were heavily favored and did not come through, this was not a choke-job. They played a hard-fought, defensive game, and when they found themselves down by 4 late, they looked to the league’s Most Valuable Player to do what he does. And he did. The only problem was that he did it too quickly.
There are too many people paid to write and talk about sports, so there will no doubt be plenty of different perspectives on the game and the season. They will talk about spygate, ankle casts, trash talk and Gisele Bundchen. But none of that matters. The NFL is set up to be as balanced as possible, so that every team has an equal chance to succeed, and this Patriots team just won 95% of their games. Once the sting of defeat wears off everyone will realize how incredible this season was, despite the unfortunate conclusion.
Now that this seemingly perfect team has suffered a blemish, the national media will most likely take back the crown of “greatest NFL team of all-time” that they prematurely awarded to Belichick’s boys. It should probably go back to the ‘78 Steelers, ‘85 Bears, of one of the Montana 49ers teams, but it should not go to the ‘72 Dolphins. That squad went 17-0 while not facing a team with a winning record until the playoffs. The Pats went 18-0 and beat some pretty damn good teams, so no matter what ‘72-’Phin alum Mercury Morris says, the 2007 Patriots had the better season. In general you shouldn’t listen to Mercury, he’s on crack.
(Note: That was not a glib remark. Mercury Morris is in fact addicted to crack cocaine).
If Burress dropped that final touchdown pass it would not have made the Pats any better of a team, just like him catching it didn’t make them any worse. They would have been given the accolades associated with perfection, but lets face it, this team was not perfect, if for no other reason that it is impossible. They found a way to win 18 times in a row (19 times, actually, but last night’s way left too much time on the clock), and they should be celebrated.
ESPN.com’s Gene Wojciechowski compared a 18-1 season with “wearing a tux but forgetting the pants.” I disagree. This Pats team wore the whole tux, and they looked pretty damn good. They were the life of the party for 18 games and the center of attention for over 5 months. The night didn’t end the way they wanted it to, but thats what happens sometimes for us mortals.
Life goes on…
