Super Bowl Thoughts
"Is it wrong to gamble, or only to lose?" - Sky Masterson, Guys and DollsFor the past several years I've spend Super Bowl Sunday at my friend Tim's house where the schedule has been start playing poker around 1:00, watch first half, play poker at half and then play poker after the Super Bowl until the poker game breaks up or the sun rises. When the teams in the Super Bowl have no rooting interest for us - we often play poker during the game too.
This past Sunday we had a rooting interest - a big one. To say we were disappointed in the outcome would be an understatement.
When the Boston Red Sox lose a game I've always avoided reading about the loss in the newspaper and when I got older - I also avoided sports radio as well. I don't need "the sky is falling" negativity in my life. Needless to say - I still haven't watched ESPN or listened to sports radio never mind reading about the game in the paper. I haven't even watched the local news on TV because I knew it would be all about the game. I've gotten my sports fix since Sunday night by watching the MLB Network where the Super Bowl hasn't been mentioned at all.
Having said the above - here are my thoughts (and some from my friends):
- On the ride home we mused that the loss sucked but anyone from New England who complains hasn't been paying attention these past several years. Boston fans have been blessed like no other fan group in the history of pro sports. All my friends were in agreement on this.
- Under Brady and Belichick - the Patriots have won 2 Super Bowls in the last minute and lost 2 Super Bowls in the last minute. All you will hear on sports radio are the yahoos complaining about the 2 that were lost.
- On the ride home I predicted that some idiots would even go so far as to say Tom Brady (who just passed for over 5,000 yards) is past his prime and that maybe one of the other QB's should be given a shot. My friends laughed at this as ridiculous but I'm sure some jackass has waited an hour on hold to make this point on WEEI. I also predicted that Wes Welker's dropped pass may actually help with his contract negotiations. My friend cynically agreed to that.
- When it comes to Welker's dropped pass - we all agreed that if he catches that pass then the game would have been over and the tune everyone was singing would have been different. But we also agreed that blame should not be placed on Welker. Rob Ninkovitch jumping off-sides on 3rd down was just as big a play. And if Brady hadn't had an intentional grounding in the end zone then the Patriots probably would have been down by just 2 points and a fieldgoal would have won it.
- When the Giants were called for 12 men on the field - everyone in the room thought the Giants did it on purpose and since it ran the clock down it was more like a penalty on the Patriots. Everyone figured this was a rule that would be changed in the offseason (and it seems like we were not alone in thinking this as Large Bill was thinking the same thing in Ohio).
- On the ride home, the three of us in the car all agreed that losing sucks but we were all happy for Tom Coughlin. He's a class guy and the job he did at Boston College has not been forgotten.
Still not ready for ESPN or sports radio but I did want to get these thoughts off my chest so that you wouldn't think I was locked in some bunker somewhere.
Labels: New England Patriots, New York Giants, Super Bowl, Tom Brady, Tom Coughlin, Wes Welker
by George V. Higgins. Even though I am a life-long resident of Massachusetts, I was unfamiliar with the work of Higgins. He was just before my time I guess.
was the basis for the best movie on crime ever made. The I saw that Brad Pitt is planning on taking the title role and making Cogan's Trade into a movie. Cool. I figured I had to get into Higgins' work.
