The comments of NHPR's Sports Commentator on the good fortunes of the New England Patriots.
PATSIES NO MORE!
The hierarchy of pro sports around here is simple, there's the Red Sox-- and then there's everybody else. Only in New England would the never-ending story of the sale of a baseball team -- featuring scintillating stuff like State Attorney General oversight of a charitable trust -- upstage virtually the whole season of the local National Football League franchise.
And this has not been just any old football season for the Foxboro Patriots, it's been a certifiably stunning, worst-to-first, run to the playoffs. After finishing in last place last season, the Patriots are now one win away from, believe it or not, the Super Bowl.
I know. Pro football is way too violent -- it's the only major sport that's too dangerous to practice. And it's insufferably self-important. This week the NFL proudly released its season schedules for the next eight years! Apparently, it's never too early to plan that 2009 football weekend getaway!
But hey, the Sox sale is a done deal and spring training is still 3 weeks away. So what the heck, why not catch up a little on your 2001-2002 New England Patriots?
For starters, meet Pats quarterback Tom Brady -- the twenty-four year old, former fourth-stringer, who's now headed to the NFL's Pro Bowl as one of the top three quarterbacks in the AFC. Brady, the 199th player chosen in the 2000 NFL Draft, filled in for an injured Drew Bledsoe and has led the Pats to a 12 and 3 record in his 15 starts.
The guy is smart, handsome, articulate -- and doesn't even have a criminal record! About the only bad thing you can say about Brady is that, for reasons known only to him and his haberdasher, he insists on wearing goofy-looking, oversized caps to postgame press conferences -- The type of hat that should be worn only by men over the age of 70 and solely within the borders of the Republic of Ireland.
And then there's the Patriots' coach, the personality-challenged Bill Belichick. Close your eyes during Belichick's pre-game TV show and you'll swear your listening to comatose, failed talk show host Charles Grodin -- on tranquilizers. Close your eyes during Belichick's post-game show and you may not wake up until after the Super Bowl. Fortunately for the Pats, defensive geniuses do not have to be A-list cocktail party guests.
Oh and there's one other thing going in the Patriots favor. They happen to be the NFL's official 2001-2002 Team of Destiny. After a 1-3 start, the Pats have closed with seven wins in a row, won 4 games with last minute field goals, and had a wide receiver save a victory by recovering his own fumble after being knocked out --cold -- by an opponent. Talk about an unconscious reaction!
Proving once again that it's better to be lucky than good, in last Saturday night's soon-to-be-legendary Snow Bowl, the Patriots even saw an instant replay official magically turn a late-game, season-ending fumble by Brady into a harmless incomplete pass. The Pats promptly rallied to beat the Raiders 16-13, their third, come-from-behind overtime win of the season.
When the Patriots play the Steelers Sunday at Pittsburgh's Heinz Field, Pats fans, of course, will be hoping that their team simply gets the lead early and keeps it. After all, as any TV talking football head will tell ya -- that Steelers defense is so tough, you don't want to have to play "catch-up" at Heinz!
But win or lose this weekend, New Englanders can rest easy knowing that, to paraphrase former Red Sox philosopher-GM Lou Gorman, the sun will rise, the sun will set and pitchers and catchers will report in 19 days.
(Fade to Carly Simon's "Anticipation")
NHPR Sports Commentator Pete Foley teaches Sports Law at the Franklin Pierce Law Center in Concord.
