42 days. That’s how long it’s been since the undefeated New England Patriots lost Super Bowl XLII to the New York Giants. I’ve been in a dispirited depression ever since.
It hasn’t been as deep and dark a depression as the ball rolling through Buckner’s legs and the collapse of the ’86 Red Sox. But it has definitely left a taste in my mouth worse than the post-2003 Red Sox did.
I’ve been angry more than anything else. Angry at the way they played. Angry at the way they were coached. Angry that they took us on that incredible ride that would only remain memorable if they finished they job. Now instead of an historic season, Patriots fans are left with what ifs and sad reminders of one lonely loss.
It’s not often that you look back on your team’s season and think, “Man I wish they had lost a game.” But that’s how Patriot fans feel. Undefeated is now a four-letter word. If they had lost that rabbit-out-of-a-hat game to the Ravens, they probably finish 14-2 and maybe the weight of the undefeated season is no longer on their backs. Instead they played their hearts out in Week 17 against the Giants, more than likely gave the Giants the confidence they needed to make their run, and are now a footnote to history.
The fact that it was the Giants is almost implausible to think about. Eli Manning is viewed as a hero. The Giants are the ones that rode the wave to victory, even though they won their four playoff games by a combined 20 points and easily could have given the Super Bowl away several times during their final drive.
But there’s Eli and his fellow Giants in that Nike commercial, in slow motion replaying what was one of the greatest plays in NFL history. My friends and I keep calling it the Super Bowl that never happened. But it did happen. There’s no denying it.
Patriots fans are left with nothing but questions after their team’s pathetic performance. Why didn’t they change their gameplan to suit what the Giants were doing, as they had done for 18 straight games? Why on earth did Belichick go for it on 4th-and-forever—something he’s never done as Patriots coach? Why couldn’t Richard Seymour hold onto Eli Manning on that fateful play? How could Rodney Harrison not jar the ball lose from David Tyree? Why didn’t Asante Samuel catch the damn ball? Why did Ellis Hobbs fall down? Why couldn’t Randy Moss stretch just a little more for Brady’s long bomb? And why did Joe Buck and Troy Aikman sound as if they were broadcasting from the 15th green at the Masters instead of doing one of the most exciting Super Bowl games ever?
Last year the Patriots lost a game they could have won against the Colts in the AFC Championship Game. They could have come away with a Super Bowl win in a year they probably didn’t deserve it. This year they put together a team for the ages and blew their chance in the biggest game of all. That’s two straight years of disappointment. These chances only come along so often, even when your quarterback’s name is Tom Brady and your coach’s name is Bill Belichick.
The draft is coming up in early April, and March Madness and the beginning of the baseball season will keep us occupied in the meantime. But Patriots fans will have to deal with more Spygate talk and the fact that their team couldn’t complete an historic season for a long, long time.
Keep talking out loud till you work it through.
It may take two years.
Now you know how I felt as a Husker fan in the 80's. Never won the big one.
With the help of video, the Pats did win three. Look at that positive and you will someday lose the 800 pound #### weighing on your heart. It's like your girlfriend dumped you for a poetry reading spaz who couldn't throw a football. You couldn't see it coming and still can't believe it.
You are heavy into the 7 stages of death(of others).
Someone jacked your bio and made it third person. Track the low-life down.
After essentially losing the Super Bowl 2 years in a row it's so demoralising.
Just look at it this way, the Pats haven't had a losing season sice 2000 and they have appeared in 5 Superbowls in that span. (I count the game 2 years ago against the Colts as the Superbowl. They have Brady, Welker, Moss and the good Linemen together for 3 more years. There should be at least one more championship out of that group.
Early 2008 predictions show the Pats as the favorites to win it all again.
Last edited by patsrock07 on March 16th at 3:18 PM.
Hey there Can man, I feel your pain. Not to make it even worse, but the loss in Denver in the playoffs the year before was really a missed opportunity, too, in what was a VERY winnable game....if only, if only....
There should be at least one more championship out of that group. thanks for sharing! i will paste this at my forum on "LargeMingle.com". and i am happy to be called BBW=big beautiful woman by my friends on hot big people meeting club LargeMingle.com
The Patriots proved that even perfect teams need a little luck to win it all.
Were the Giants lucky? After an 0 and 2 start they were losing to the Redskins in Washington. The Skins had first and goal on the one and couldn't score to all but ice the game. The Giants came back and won. The next meeting with the playoffs on the line, the Giants lost. That left them trying to win in Buffalo where Eli threw 2 picks and fumbled 5 times. After 5 turnovers the Giants managed to win. A loss meant that they would have to beat the Pats to get in. Against Tampa Bay the Giants had 9 consecutive plays for a loss in the first quarter. Minus yardage on every play. I couldn't tell which way they were moving. I turned my TV around. Meanwhile Tampa drove for a score. The next three quarters were all Giants, go figure. Dallas had beaten New York twice by 10 points and only needed to three peat to knock them off. With 60 seconds to go in the half, Dallas scores and would receive the kickoff after the half. Eli goes 80 yards to score and keep it close. The Giants win by 3.
Against the packers in -6 degree weather. Eli throws well and the kicker misses two kicks for the win before hitting the longest one to win it.
Finally the Giants play well against the Pats, but Brady does the winning drive 2 minutes early. Eli runs the clock out, scoring on "a wing and a prayer" and the Giants win the Super Bowl. Who'd a thunk it? Not me. Every game I picked the opponent and rooted for the Giants.
No the Giants weren't lucky. They had God on their side. That's why you can buy their tickets at the Gate.
It will get better for you. I watched the Giants lose 3 in 61,62, and 63. It was 86 before I ever saw a championship won. At 61 I have seen 3, but there will never be a better one than this one. The Giants were beat up, inconsistent, full of substitutions and players playing hurt, and each player covered for the players who couldn't or didn't perform. Every one came through when they had to, to make the catch, or pick, or recover a fumble, without missing a beat. This year they really did obtain the "impossible dream."
ya it tough. i can relate i remember the feeling i felt when Dennis Dixon's tore his acl. I was getting ready to go the the National Championship and was excited about his heisman chances. Its a tough pill to ####, but you will get over it.
Eighteen years after losing 3 consecutive championships, the Giants finally were taking a knee away from going to the playoffs. Instead the offensive coordinator called a hand off. The hand off was fumbled, and the Eagles returned it for the winning TD and the quarterback, running back and offensive coordinator were all fired. It was about 5 years later till LT and a Superbowl Win.
Darren Kelly got tired of waiting for his ship to come in. A lifelong sports fan, he wants nothing more than for his full-time job to involve watching and writing about sports. To this end, he launched Sports in a Can. There's no money in it...yet. More of his fine writing is available on the Patriots Insider website: http://patrio ts.scout.com.
