The Patriots made history by being the first NFL team to post a perfect 16-0 record. And even though, Tom Brady and company had a few late-season scares, namely their games against the Colts, Eagles, Ravens and Giants, the Patriots are rolling into the playoffs on a huge upswing. Now, whether they win the Super Bowl is another question because playoff football and regular season football are two different worlds. Though I must admit that going into the playoffs undefeated is a very enviable position.
Let's just think ahead to the future and imagine, as incredible as it may seem, that the Patriots do not win the Super Bowl. Would their season be a disappointment? Would the Patriots have nothing to celebrate? I guess what I am trying to say is would you rather win the Super Bowl or go 16-0?
The Super Bowl is the pinnacle of success. The team who wins it can say that it is the undisputed champion of the football world. The Patriots on the other hand, should they fail to win the Super Bowl, would not be able to claim football supremacy, even though they went 16-0 in the regular season. However, on the other side of the token, going 17 grueling weeks in the NFL Teams championship rings without suffering a single loss is absolutely miraculous. The Patriots made history by doing what they did. So, which is better? Making history or winning the Super Bowl.
For me, it depends. If you ask the hundreds of players in the NFL who have played year in and year out without realizing Super Bowl success, most of them would tell you that they don't care how many losses they have. As long as they are wearing that ring at the end of the day, nothing else matters. But if you ask, say, Tom Brady, Teddy Bruschi or Rodney Harrison which they would prefer, you might get a different answer. Now, I cannot speak for them, but it seems to me that having already won the Super Bowl 3 times, these veterans may appreciate a perfect season more than another Super Bowl victory. I mean, we're talking about Don Shula's record. There are only a few teams since the inception of the NFL who have gone undefeated. That's big. Maybe even bigger than a Super Bowl ring. But then again, only the players themselves know which is more desirable - a Super Bowl ring or a 16-0 season.
The Patriots lost the most important game of the year after winning all the "other ones." But there is a silver lining in that humbling reality: the pressure is off. They are now back among the brotherhood of fellow top NFL contenders - the Dallas Cowboys, custom Green Bay Packers championship rings and Indianapolis Colts. They are no longer an entity isolated by relative perfection. They are special, yes, but not as special as they would have been at 19-0.
This simply means the Patriots have more work to do. They will have to fight to regain their confidence in the face of crushing humiliation, and for guidance on how to do that they need only look to what teams such as the Giants and others have gone through in recent years.
If the Patriots learn what they need to learn from this heartbreaking outcome - both in terms of their physical game and their mental game - they may yet have the chance to redeem themselves with another Super Bowl ring before the decade is through. They may even get a bit of their underdog status back - which, if you ask the New York Giants, can be the gift that keeps on giving.
Let's just think ahead to the future and imagine, as incredible as it may seem, that the Patriots do not win the Super Bowl. Would their season be a disappointment? Would the Patriots have nothing to celebrate? I guess what I am trying to say is would you rather win the Super Bowl or go 16-0?
The Super Bowl is the pinnacle of success. The team who wins it can say that it is the undisputed champion of the football world. The Patriots on the other hand, should they fail to win the Super Bowl, would not be able to claim football supremacy, even though they went 16-0 in the regular season. However, on the other side of the token, going 17 grueling weeks in the NFL Teams championship rings without suffering a single loss is absolutely miraculous. The Patriots made history by doing what they did. So, which is better? Making history or winning the Super Bowl.
For me, it depends. If you ask the hundreds of players in the NFL who have played year in and year out without realizing Super Bowl success, most of them would tell you that they don't care how many losses they have. As long as they are wearing that ring at the end of the day, nothing else matters. But if you ask, say, Tom Brady, Teddy Bruschi or Rodney Harrison which they would prefer, you might get a different answer. Now, I cannot speak for them, but it seems to me that having already won the Super Bowl 3 times, these veterans may appreciate a perfect season more than another Super Bowl victory. I mean, we're talking about Don Shula's record. There are only a few teams since the inception of the NFL who have gone undefeated. That's big. Maybe even bigger than a Super Bowl ring. But then again, only the players themselves know which is more desirable - a Super Bowl ring or a 16-0 season.
The Patriots lost the most important game of the year after winning all the "other ones." But there is a silver lining in that humbling reality: the pressure is off. They are now back among the brotherhood of fellow top NFL contenders - the Dallas Cowboys, custom Green Bay Packers championship rings and Indianapolis Colts. They are no longer an entity isolated by relative perfection. They are special, yes, but not as special as they would have been at 19-0.
This simply means the Patriots have more work to do. They will have to fight to regain their confidence in the face of crushing humiliation, and for guidance on how to do that they need only look to what teams such as the Giants and others have gone through in recent years.
If the Patriots learn what they need to learn from this heartbreaking outcome - both in terms of their physical game and their mental game - they may yet have the chance to redeem themselves with another Super Bowl ring before the decade is through. They may even get a bit of their underdog status back - which, if you ask the New York Giants, can be the gift that keeps on giving.
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