Here in Boston, It's been *four whole months* since we won a championship

[WilliamPitt]

I'd say we're due. That's a loooooong time to wait, man. I almost didn't live long enough to see the chance. We're so totally due.

:P

And on that note, does anyone have any last-minute smack-talking to do before gametime? Speak now, or forever hold your peas.

[ohkay]

1. I agree.

I haven't ran in the streets giggling and slapping hands w/ strangers all winter !

[WilliamPitt]

3. It's been tough, I know

That's a long time to wait.

[paineinthearse]

8. DU superbowl meet-up at Will's house.

[NMDemDist2]

2. Will, i like you man and as a native of Waltham MA I have roots

there, but the Pats suck. I have never forgiven their 2002 SB win against the Rams. It seemed so obvious the fix was in for a post 9/11 Patriots feel good.

but hey, I don't really have a dog in this fight so best luck tonight

:D

[WilliamPitt]

5. Well, I don't know about that

But I do know this, from Mr. Bill Simmons:

While we're here, one more story from my dad's visit last weekend, since he's a diehard Pats fan and all: When we were discussing New England's chances on Sunday, I mentioned how I was worried that the Patriots were turning into the Yankees of football, how the rest of the country was starting to root against them. This was new ground for me. Even when the Celtics were winning in the '80s, more people were rooting for them than normal because of Bird, and because of the way they played. Even though the Patriots are pretty likable as far as winning teams go -- hard-working, unassuming, tight-lipped, resilient, all that stuff -- there's always a natural backlash against a team that keeps winning.

Still, for a franchise that doubled as the unequivocal black sheep of the Boston sports scene for most of my life, watching them evolve into the 21st-century Yankees has been practically mind-blowing. For all of us. Your average Patriots fan feels like one of those husbands on "Extreme Makeover," the guy with the bad skin and the cheesy goatee who watches his homely wife coming out of the back with new teeth, a new nose and 36Ds. There's just no way to properly react to this. I keep waiting for someone to take it away, like the league finding out that Belichick and Pioli have cheated or something, or that Brady was really a fugitive from the law using an assumed name. Since dad can remember everything back to the Plunkett Era, he was even more dumbfounded than me:

"I mean, this is the PATRIOTS," he kept saying. "I can't get over it. It's like the Bird Era all over again, but with the Patriots!"

That's how every Pats fan feels. And everyone is handling it differently. As you can probably tell, I have trouble enjoying something good when it's happening; part of me always waits for something to go wrong. After the Sox-Yankees series ended last October, I kept expecting them to announce that there was going to be a Game 8. With the Patriots, I'm getting sidetracked by a strange sense of guilt over this whole thing, that there's almost been TOO much winning, that it can't keep continuing, that it's almost unfair to the other fans.

Thankfully, there are readers like Dan from D.C. to keep everything in perspective:

BSG,

You should be ashamed of yourself for feeling bad about the Pats being a great team. We (longtime Pats fans) deserve this for all of the years of misery and frustration we have had to live through to get to this point. Please remember the following:

The Pats trading Plunkett to the Raiders only to see him win the SB.

The horribly mismanaged teams of the '70s and '80s by the Sullivan family which make the Red Sox of that time look competent.

Eason running around in the first SB against the Bears looking like he was being chased by murderers with knives.

The cocaine scandal that happened two seconds after the SB.

Those awful teams coached by Fredo who now suddenly "gets it."

Feel free to fill in the rest.

So if that makes us Cobra Kai I say, "Sweep the leg" and take out McNabb and the rest of the Eagles. No Mercy!

Right on.

(And yes, "Fredo" was a reference to Pete Carroll, who's now the new Bear Bryant of college football. To paraphase the great Roddy Piper, just when you think you know all the answers, somebody changes the questions.)

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/superblog/2

[ohkay]

6. I've said it before, and

I'll say it again: I love Bill Simmons.

[GalleryGod]

17. Well..well...well

This borders on Teen aged ANGST:puke:

[NMDemDist2]

7. LOL by that standard, it's the Seahawks ALL THE WAY !! nt

[MaineDem]

4. Will, you are sooo bad!

;)

[HuckleB]

9. So you haven't mortgaged the house to get to the game, then?

On the other hand, there are a few Philly fans who've helped contribute to the falling dollar:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3064482

Me? I love Boston. It's just that I've met so many people there who ask in earnest, "Yellowstone's just a couple hours from Portland, no?"

Oh, I know your all smarter than us provincial folk, but when we get a chance to poke back, you better believe we gonna.

:hi:

I'm off to Hood for a day on the slopes. It's windy, but I don' care.

[joeybee12]

10. Lordy, lord! If this isn't a post designed to jinx the Patriots!

I'm not getting vibes either way about today's game.

[Arkana]

11. I know!

Geez, can't we just WIN one already? :7

[frylock]

12. calling my shot..

I was born and bred in LoCal, so I really don't have a dog in this fight. I have been a longtime admirer of MzcNabb, so for that I will be pulling for the Eagles.

I can't help but notice though that just about everyone assumes that the game is a lock. The same experts who predicted that the Packers were going to walk away with a victory against the Broncos and also thought the Los Angeles Rams of St. Louis would destroy these very same New England Patriots can't jock this team enough.

I predict a closely fought match with the Eagles edging out a victory. I also expect Freddie Mitchell to back up his smack with a touchdown reception.

Mi dos centavos.

[MikeG]

13. You New England fans need to stop living in the past.

Hell, the last time you won a championship, we still thought Kerry would be president.

That is SO 2004.

I'm questioning whether I should hang around with you losers anymore.

GET A LIFE!!!

That is all.

[autorank]

14. It will be forever for another World Series. 10-15 years for the Pats.

Hate to tall you, but every body laid down in major league baseball just let the Sox win. Why? To stop all that existential whining and fatalism. The rest of the country was so fed up, we all got together and decided to let you have one, just one, World Series win.

Now I like the Pats but it's the Eagles turn this year. Their victory will be all the better because it's against a great team.

PS. Don't tell anyone up there about the Sox win. We don't want another 100 years of whining about that!!!

PSS. Get the Bunny outfit ready.

[OneBlueSky]

15. the World Series win fills Boston's quota for the year . . .

or for the decade . . . hell, for the century! . . .

having lived in Mass for 15 years, I do have a soft spot for the Pats . . . but I'm also tired of my friends in New England gloating about being the "sports capitol of the world" . . . they need a lesson in humility, which is why I'll be rooting for the Eagles today . . . not that I have any ties to Philly, mind you . . . I'd just like to see the underdog shut these guys up . . . my dream is that that contractor they pulled off the job a couple of weeks ago catches the winning TD . . . :)

[maveric]

16. Now when the Celts win it all this year......

We all know that if there was an NHL season The Broons would have won it too.
We're just that fucken great!

[shawmut]

18. I love a parade!

4 in 3 years! wooooooooooo!

[aldian159]

19. Damn you

Watching the Red Sox win the World Series was like watching your brother get a new bike just for getting his tonsils removed.

[lazarus]

20. It's going to be a while, now, though

Are the Celts even going to make the playoffs?

[Emboldened Chimp]

21. Boston: now the most hated sports city in America

[Mojambo]

22. Boston. Giving us winners in everything BUT presidential elections. n/t

[UrbScotty]

23. Detroit has waited eight months.

We can handle it. :D