New England fans: It's all downhill from here, so enjoy it

[WilliamPitt]

The Patriots will not repeat again, unless some miracles happen.

The Red Sox will not win the World Series again.

The Celtics will not be champions again.

The Bruins will be lucky to even take the ice again.

This is it. This is the high-water mark.

Enjoy it. The tide rolls back from here.

Tell your kids about how you were here for the last four years.

[mdhunter]

1. I'm just happy the Eagles came to play

Donvan wasn't his best, but... the team as a whole looked ok.

We all know how inconsistent the birds are, they manage to loose games they should blow out, and to make games they should loose close. If Donovan settles down, in the future, they might take it - he's still plagued by forced passes and hurried decisions - but I guess you take the bad with the good; it's those decisions that often turn into big plays.

And can you say enough about Ownes tonight. Imagine breaking your leg 6 weeks ago and pulling in 9 or so passes for a 125 yards. Incredible.

Anyway, like I said, at least the Eagles were in it, though they certainly could have played better. I wouldn't have been able to stand it if they came and pulled, well, a Philadelphia.

[WilliamPitt]

2. Rodney Harrison caught more McNabb passes than Freddy Mitchell

Yeah, he coulda done better.

:toast:

[Nothing Without Hope]

3. Having the Pats win was just great, but the true high point for me

was when the Red Sox came from the very bottom of the barrel to sweep away the Darth Yankees. Winning the World Series after that felt like some continuing fantastic dream, as if anything in the world could happen -- because it did.

But the absolute peak for me was still the thrilling, nail-biting, "impossible" defeat of the Yankees and the spirit with which they did it.

For tonight though, let's hear it for the valiant Pats and their brilliant coaching staff. They deserved to win and did.

[Rooktoven]

4. Dunno Will, the Patriots did this with a decimated defense

I think they'll contend again. (Somehow I think they get the threepeat-- then don't win again for a few more years.) I think the Pats are much more likely to repeat than the Sox.

And Philly will have to look out for a healthy Panthers squad as well.

[Nothing Without Hope]

5. The Eagles seemed disoriented near the end

in the way they were running out of time but were just sort of sauntering around and going into huddles instead of moving quickly and calling multiple plays. This meant that the game ended for them faster than it need to; I do wonder if the Eagles could have been more poised at the very end if they had had that extra time. It was very strange.

Once the Patriots settled into their game, which took a while, they once again demonstrated what "professional" football really means.

[Rooktoven]

6. that was the difference between a good coach and

a great coach.

Bellichik would have ensured the team knew the extra plays.

Again, the Pats were stitched together, and losing Eugene Wilson just hurt them worse. I think otherwise McNabb doesn't get 357 yards passing. It's fun to pull for the Pats, they aren't the most talented team by a long shot, but they plan and adjust almost to perfection.

[Nothing Without Hope]

9. Yes, I think you're right. The planning, response and coordination

are well above what is usually seen with football teams.

That is why I am wondering about the impact of the loss of the 2nd tier of the coaching staff, two key people who contributed to that planning and intensive training. Will they be able to find a new Defensive Coordinator who can step in and keep this high performance level going? I guess we'll find out.

I haven't been following the story behind these coaches leaving - is there one, or are they just choosing this moment to move on with their careers at other places?

[Rooktoven]

10. I hope Bellichik gets Norm Chow

(for 2 or 3 years before Norm gets the head gig)

[shawmut]

7. Boston College is next

Final four baby!

[Nothing Without Hope]

8. A great moment AFTER the game's end

was when the head coach of the Patriots was standing with his father Steve (who is in his eighties) and they were BOTH simultaneously drenched with the traditional Gator Ade Bath. Given the long history of this father and son with football -- a lifetime history for the son -- and their close relationship, it was so fitting that they shared that moment.

[theHandpuppet]

11. Gee, do you mean that for GOP toady Tom Brady....

... this is the last time he'll be able to rub elbows (and other parts of his body) with Georgie and Laura up on the hill? Brady never misses a public opportunity to kiss Dubya's ass and in the post-game interview he said he just couldn't wait to visit the White House again. Maybe he can take Rush along with him this time and they can yuck it up about McNabb.

Got another idea, Tommie boy -- you're young, fit, and have all the money you'll ever need -- head on down to the recruiting station and show your idol just how patriotic you really are.

[sniffa]

12. sour grapes

why not go after beLichek - he's obviousLy a huge GOP supporter and Lvoes bush.

[theHandpuppet]

13. Nope... just calling it as I've seen (and heard) it

I suppose you meant to write BELICHICK, by the way. And I'm not particularly an Eagles fan, if that's what you're thinking, so your sour grapes charge won't stick. But after hearing Rush Limpballs racist attack on McNabb and listening to Brady get it hard over Dubya these past couple of years (and again in his post-game interview last night) I can think of nothing I would have liked better than to watch McNabb push the GOP aryan poster boy's face into the dirt.

Is Belichick a "huge GOP supporter and loves Bush"? It wouldn't surprise me. If Bill is as much of a Bush ass-kisser as Brady, maybe they can ride in the parade together with Georgie in a little backseat fascist menage a trois.

And to think I really used to like the Pats.

[WilliamPitt]

15. If you're going to hate, at least get some facts first

Belichick graduated from Wesleyan, is a Democrat, and spends enormous time and resources helping inner city youth.

The 'Brady loves Bush' canard comes from the fact that he went to the SWOTU last year as the invited poster child for the push to get steroids out of pro sports, perhaps the only Bush talking point I am 100% aligned with...oops, maybe *I* love Bush now, too, according to your geometry.

[theHandpuppet]

18. Wrong target, Will

I'm VERY glad to hear Belichick is a Dem, but I wasn't the one who stated he was "obviously a GOP supporter and loves Bush". I had assumed (wrongly) that the poster to whom I was responding knew what they were talking about.

As far as my criticism of Brady goes, that stands -- and last night's little post-game enthusiasm for another WH visit just reminded me of how I detest Brady positioning himself as a Bushbot poster boy.

Oh, there's plenty on Brady snuggling up with the worst the Bushreich has to offer:

http://www.pardonmyenglish.com/index.php?p=264
http://theunionleader.com/yesterday.html?date=1-22-2004
http://www.alternet.org/story/19314/
http://www.newsday.com/sports/football/ny-sppow034133500feb03,0,7765460.column?coll=ny-sports-print

There's plenty more where that came from.

Don't let your love of the Pats undercut your objectivity, Will. I'm a Bengals fan and at least I will admit that the Browns (the owners, not the team) are a bunch of GOP scumbags and one-time QB Jon Kitna is a fundie wacko.

[WilliamPitt]

19. I guess I'll have to see the plenty more

because those links don't get it done.

The first says Brady must be a Republican because he went to the White House for the steroids thing, something I don't buy: When you get invited to the SOTU, especially if you are invited as a standard-bearer for clean sports, you go. Is it possible Brady isn't a DUer, and therefore doesn't know that he is a traitor scumbag for going? By the way, the first story also has Brady agreeing to do a Kerry fundraiser.

The second story link doesn't go anywhere helpful.

The third story link calls him a Republican with absolutely nothing to back it up. Where is his registration? Who did he give money to in 2004? These things are easy to find. Their saying he is a Repub with no proof is the same as you saying it with no proof.

The fourth says he has political ambitions, and compares him to another footballing politician named Kemp. Guilt by stretched association doesn't equal proof.

So I guess I'll have to see that 'plenty more.'

[theHandpuppet]

22. Okay Will, let's take a closer look

"TV images of 25 year-old Brady giving Bush repeated standing ovations – and cheering during several of the speech’s passages – thrilled White House operatives."


"Last Summer Brady even agreed to host a fund-raiser for Kerry in Boston. (He later canceled, claiming a scheduling conflict.) "

"While an official from the New England Patriot organization claims Brady went to Washington this week to simply represent the NFL, others close to the star athlete now claim he is supporting Bush in the upcoming presidential election...
... He has switched his preference from Kerry to Bush,” a well-placed source close to Brady said Tuesday night from Boston. “He thinks President Bush has demonstrated leadership, he was proud, no, he was thrilled to go to Washington to be the president’s guest and to hear his speech. He’s been talking about it for weeks.”

As to the second link, just scroll down the page to find:


SPORTS

Rep. Bradley happy to meet Pats QB at State of the Union


Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, center, flanked by Joyce Rumsfeld, wife of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, left, and Alma Powell, wife of Secretary of State Colin Powell, applaud as President Bush arrives to deliver his State of the Union on Tuesday. (AP)
When advised that Tom Brady would attend the State of the Union address in Washington, D.C., Tuesday evening, U.S. Rep. Jeb Bradley, R-NH, made sure to bring his New England Patriots cap to the event. A big fan of the Super Bowl-bound team, Bradley took time out to talk with the team’s starting quarterback before President Bush took the podium.

“I felt like an autograph hound, like a 12-year-old kid,” Bradley said.

Bradley got his cap autographed by Brady, and his State of the Union program signed by the President.

***********

"Republicans clearly know that celebrity sells. Despite the fact that the vast majority of celebrities are Democrats, the vast majority of those who run for office are Republicans: Ronald Reagan, George Murphy, Sonny Bono, Fred Grandy, Steve Largent, Fred Thompson, JC Watts, Jack Kemp, Clint Eastwood, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Republicans Kelsey Grammer and Dennis Miller have both openly expressed their interest in running for the U.S. Senate. Former Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka recently toyed with taking on Barack Obama in the Senate race in Illinois. And did you happen to notice the prominent positioning of quarterback Tom Brady, a Republican with political ambitions, at President Bush's 2004 State of the Union Address?"

****

Sorry, Will, but I still say your love of the Pats is interfering with your objectivity in this matter. I support athletes (those few) with the courage to stand up against this administration, not ones who let themselves be used as poster boys for the cabal of evil.

[Caution]

23. First of all what does this have to do with his ability? 2nd he's a Dem

From Drudge of all places:

"He is a moderate democrat," a close friend of Brady's countered on Wednesday.

http://www.drudgereport.com/flash2b.htm

Brady has done numerous fundraisers for Mass pols who are not Republicans.

Brady himself has steadfastly refused to state one way or the other if he is a Republican or Democrat.

So if you want to use cirumstantial evidence the case can be made either way.

Personally I don't care. I don't think that all republicans are bad people any more than I think all democrats are good people.

But I will certainly enjoy this run of football dominance for as long as it lasts, because mixing sports and politics is just silly.

You realize that this kind of argument is nearly as ridiculous as repubs boycotting Sean Penn movies because he's an avowed liberal?

The political leanings of a sports figure have absolutely no bearing on one's fandom for a given team and if it does it's time to seriously consider running for office because clearly politics is the overriding factor for everything else.

[sniffa]

24. i actuaLLy posted that to show

how fooLish it is to throw around baseLess accusations.

[MikeG]

14. And NO DYNASTY. So there.

[sniffa]

16. they are a dynasty... onLy the 2nd one ever

onLy the 2nd team to ever win 3 SB's in 4 years. not even the steeLers did that.

so the pats are one of 2 dynasties the game has known. :evilgrin:

[MikeG]

25. Who will be the Hall of Fame players? Hmmmmm?

Maybe two, Brady and Vinatieri. That IT.

We got

Bradshaw
Swann
Greene
Lambert
Stallworth
Ham
Russell
Webster
Blount

THATS A DYNASTY. Sorry.

[sniffa]

26. keep wishing

the steeLers are not a dynasty. did they win 3 SB's in 4 years? didn't think so!

[MikeG]

27. La. la. la. Did somebody say something?

[Rockholm]

21. What? No Joan Collins??!!!

Sorry pal, Patriots ARE a DYNASTY. Get used to it. We have!!!!!!!!!

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

17. Someone's bitter.

This might be the high water mark, but you can still f--- off.

[joeybee12]

20. If you're thinking about ALL of New England, then there's NCAA Hoops

Both men and women's--the UCONN men won't repeat this year, but they'llbe back in a couple. The women just might do it again, or they'll win a few more.

You are, however, right about the Celtics and Bruins.

The Patriots may not repeat, but they'll be back the next year. Same with the Red Sox.