New England Patriots - "Man, It Feels Good to be a Pats Fan!"

Those were the words I wrote right after Super Bowl XXXVI, the game which is, and forever will be the single greatest moment in my sports life.  I thought it couldn't get any better than that, and it won't.  But in a strange little way, it has.  You see, ever since that famed February evening in New Orleans, 99% of all football fans had the same line of thought - "Well, that was a nice Cinderella story, but it's done with, and the Patriots will be lucky to even make the playoffs next season."  And in a small way, I can't blame them.  It seemed so improbable that they should win it once, you'd have to be crazy to think it could ever happen again.  But what they didn't realize, is something I didn't realize until about Week 15 last season - this team is not a lucky team, it's a good team.  This is a team that has realized that by working together and following your genius of a coach, the whole can be greater than the sum of its parts.  Call the Snow Game a fluke, fine.  I'll admit, it's a shaky subject.  But to take down the Steelers at Heinz field (Well Kordell Steward was QBing, so that's actually not surprising), and to beat the Rams ON TURF, there had to be a little more to it than just catching lightning in a bottle.  This was no ordinary Super Bowl victory.  We were 14 point underdogs, the biggest upset in Super Bowl history by far.  We had to have been good to do it, not lucky.  But almost everybody just couldn't see that.

So now it's pre-season.  Only one sportswriter picks them to repeat.  The rest are generous if they give them the AFC East.  Most gave the wild card bid, and some excluded them completely.  And it was just common thought that the latter writers were onto something.  The Patriots get zero respect.  A few Power Rankings give them the token 1 seed, pointing out it's only cause they're the defending champs, and the rest place them lower.  It seems the team America embraced now had the country turn its back on them.  And you know what...it was the most perfect thing possible.  Cause now there's no swagger, because everyone thinks they stink.  There's no point in showboating if there's no support behind it.  So America turned what could have been (and I still don't think they would have been regardless) a bunch of egotistical jocks, into an even stronger team, a team that would band together even closer in a quest to earn the nation's respect.  And on September 9th they got their chance.

The Patriots came out hungry for respect.  They forced Kordell Stewart into four turnovers.  Now I know that's like forcing Drew Carey to down a pack of Ho-Ho's but it's still an accomplishment.  By the way, someone should ask Kordell if it's possible to say "Interception" with both hands wrapped around your throat.  The Steelers were like deer caught in a set of headlights.  They just stood and watched as the Patriots ran them over like a Mack Truck would.  So needless to say, I was pumped, thinking that now the world would finally realize that we were for real.  But everyone just called it fluke #4.  #4?! Come on, who ever, EVER gets four flukes in a row.  But the public believed the lies, and still gave the Patriots no respect.  So little respect that they were actually 1 and 1/2 point underdogs to the JETS!  What?!  I couldn't believe it.  There was talk of how Curtis Martin would have a huge game against his former team.  If 5 yards on 4 carries is a huge game, then I guess they were right.  The Jets punter was their leading rusher with 14 yards on a fake.  44-7 points later, it was like an earthquake, it got everone's attention.  "Whoops!  We were wrong.  We know we've been bashing you for the past eight weeks, but now we'll support you!" The biggest kiss up job goes to Chris Mortensen.  Here's what he had to say...

"Here's what I have concluded about the Patriots: They are the best team in football. Not the Rams. Not the Steelers. Not the Eagles. Not the Raiders. Sometime during the season they became the best team, and they proved it by beating the Steelers in Pittsburgh and the Rams on the artificial turf. ... I also have come to the conclusion that the best coach in the NFL is Bill Belichick. Does that mean the Patriots are invincible? We all know better, but for now they are the team to beat and nobody else."
— ESPN's Chris Mortensen
 

Wow Chris! DeROK could've told you that 7 months ago. But no one would listen.  Everybody wants a piece of the Pats now.  They've once again captured America's heart, but this time there won't be any loving given back. It's kinda like in the movies, where this guy's a dork and he wants a hot girl, but the hot girl disses him.  And then the dork becomes cool, and the hot girl wants him now, but he won't give her the time of day.  That's how it is with the Patriots.   You see, everyone chose their sides prior to week 1, and now there's no switching.  If you didn't believe in the Patriots before, don't bother now.  If you couldn't believe in this team and everything they stand for before opening kickoff, don't believe now.  Cause you're just cheapening it for those who were faithful.  Those who saw beyond the hype.  Those who believed that a bunch of guys could go out and work hard as a team, and in the end raise the Lombardi Trophy.  It must be tough on the outside, to know you've missed the boat on what is sure to be one amazing season whether you're a Patriot fan or not.  But for those who believed in the head of Bill Belichick, and the heart of Tom Brady...Man, it feels good to be a Pats fan!