By request, a Patriots Suck thread. Now, clearly they don’t “suck,” but the level of hype from Day One has been stupid. The only reason to put a team like that on a pedestal is because it’s so satisfying to see them knocked off. Glad it was one of the Manning boys who did it . . . again.
First and foremost, Belichick is a classless jerk. I don’t know if it’s because his daddy was a football coach who never had time for him as a boy or what, but the guy is a sore winner and a sore loser. Randy Moss is a guy with talent but is also a self-absorbed, hot-dogging glory hound. Tom Brady is also a guy with a lot of talent. And he’s a lot more of a team player than Moss. But, the humble underdog, Cinderella story thing has warn off over the years. Also, under Belichick, Brady’s level of sportsmanship has seemed to decline over the years — at least if postgame interviews are any measure. (Though, from what I hear, he was o.k. after the loss last night.) And then you’ve got flat out dirty players like Rodney Harrison on the team. I suspect most of the bad character simply oozes down from the top.
So, anyway, I was happy that they lost the big one. Now, instead of having to hear about this team every year for the next decade or two, they might get mentioned a few times over the next couple of years and then forgotten except when someone is talking about the career of Eli Manning.
Some folks are more or less celebrating it.
I personally consider it comeuppance.
Belichick seemed to be his usual arrogant self. When interviewed at the conclusion of the game it seemed like he couldn’t get away from the reporter fast enough. Great game though, the pass Burress caught at the conclusion of the Giant drive with 35 seconds to go to put the Giants in the lead 17-14 will surely be part of Super Bowl lore for many years to come. One of the most exciting games I can remember, (the Colts beating the Patriots last year to win the AFC Championship ranks up there also).
That AFC title game last year was wall-to-wall action. This Super Bowl was 55 minutes of anticipation of what could happen, with an action-packed and satisfying conclusion. If you saw the last five minutes, you pretty much saw this game.
The Patriots players were classy in defeat. Belichick should be fined for leaving the field early. There’s always a chance he could be gone by next year if the accusations of cheating in past Super Bowl (2001) pan out. That would assume Kraft has any more integrity than Belichick does.
As annoying as the 1972 Dolphins guys can be (every time someone’s on a win streak, they come out of the woodwork like an old man yelling at the neighborhood kids to keep off his lawn), imagine if the current Patriots had assumed that role. Mercifully, that was averted.
I don’t know when the ESPY awards are, but whenever they do come up, there should be a category for most bone-headed commentary on a sports radio network. The winners would be almost the entire “cast” of the ESPN radio shows, especially Colin Cowherd and Mike and Mike. Their overhyping of the Patriots (and downplaying of the cheating of the Patriots) was nauseating. So glad that the Giants won and shut up those guys.
Did anyone hear Randy Moss say he was better than Jerry Rice in the pregame interviews?