There is no sport or activity in the world that I have as much of a love for as football. The hits, the strategy, the history and tradition; all of these aspects help to make football in any form, the greatest sport in the world. However in 2007, when the Patriots began to dominate the NFL through shady tactics and unethical running up of the score, I began to question whether my love of the game could survive while years of honor and tradition were washed away in exchange for a bandwagon following of a franchise that had almost no fanbase a decade ago. Week after week, real fans of football were forced to watch as a team that had been caught cheating was declared "the greatest team ever" by a media that shunned the chance of any team defeating them and only helped to promote the frontrunner movement in New England. Now I would have been fine with a team aiming for perfection if they actually deserved it, but after spygate it was revealed to me what the true character of the Patriots was; from Belichick, the coach who aimed to punish the rest of the league for revealing his dirty tactics through embarrassing defeats, to the cocky douchebag QB Tom Brady, who scoffed and laughed at the thought of his team losing.
Of course the Patriots quest for "perfection" did not simply come from their own efforts, as the league officials and refs did their best to keep New England's undefeated season going in order to attract the attention of shameless East Coasters who had never watched football in their lives, but were appealed by the idea of a male model QB and his surprisingly white team becoming the greatest football team ever. This of course was nothing new for residents of New England (especially Massachusetts) who had suddenly found a deep love for the Boston Redsox and Celtics as their teams became championship contenders. Now while I had respect for these franchises and their success, the sudden surge in their fanbase caused me to doubt the legitimacy of their following. For the patriots however, there was no respect; although I did not question their dynasty over the past decade, their current status quo had crossed the line.
It was during the game vs the Baltimore Ravens in which I truly realized how far the cancer of this team had spread into the league, as Baltimore was winning the game and were about to secure their victory over the Patriots, but due to outrageous and unbelievable rulings by the officials the Patriots were given a second wind. The refs claimed that someone on the Ravens sideline had called a timeout before the Patriots 4th down in which their drive was stopped by Ray Lewis and crew, which would have returned possession to the Ravens and won them the game as they could have run out the clock. Now you could claim that this was simply a coincidence, however it was not a player on the field or the head coach, Brian Billick, so what kind of legitimacy could that have had, I ask you? The answer of course is none! Roger Goddell and his goons in stripes were so desperate for the patriots to win they had litterly made up a call to give the Patriots a second chance. Of course New England managed to "win" the game, however neither the Ravens or myself believed that Brady's bunch had actually won the game.
See the bullshit for yourself
Of course the only team that could have stopped the Pats from getting to the Superbowl, the Colts, fell to the Phillip Rivers and the Chargers (their playoff kryptonite) before they had the chance to, thus allowing the Patriots to waltz into the big game without any real challenge. The only thing standing in their way from perfection now? Eli Manning, a QB who had thrown 4 interceptions against the Vikings earlier in the season (Minnesota had a terrible secondary at the time). However, the Giants had climbed their way up the playoff bracket, first defeating Tampa Bay, then upsetting the Cowboys (and proving that Tony Romo cannot win in the playoffs), and of course preventing Favre and the Packers from getting to the Super Bowl (which may have caused Favre to return from retirement a year later).
No wall is safe from Brandon Jacob's rage
Now going into this game, no one, and I mean no one, gave the Giants the benefit of the doubt. In fact the only ones who believed they would win were the Giants themselves, and that is mainly due to the leadership of Micheal Strahan.
Oh look it's the picture from the banner! However, when the game actually began, I was given a sense of hope. Hope that evil and injustice would not prevail this day and that although a it was a one in a thousand chance, the giants could still prevail and defeat Shady Brady and Bill Belicheat. Of course, you all know the story; the Giants revealed Brady's weakness of the pass rush, which causes the Pats offense to fluke, and Eli manages to save New York's chances with the miracle play of the helmet catch.
David Tyree's helmet embarrassed Rodney Harrison more than getting caught using HGH ever couldWhen the game was over I was filled with a sense of relief, not only that the cheating patriots had lost, but also that football's honor and nobility had survived. Had the patriots won the game and gone 19-0, I would forever be skeptical of football and it's legitimacy in today's world, where bureaucracy and fame are more admired than hard work and individual accomplishment. In other words, it would have been another nail in the coffin of my faith in humanity. So when I see the phrase, 18-1, it represents to me not only the most epic failure in the history of sports, but also that there is still some hope in this world for justice and righteousness. So all of you butthurt Patriots fans who don't like the name of this blog can understand that it means more than to mock Brady's failure. It will forever be a symbol that perseverance and belief in yourself can help you triumph over the impossible, and that cheating may bring you small victories, but in the end it will bring you nothing but failure and shame. 18-1.
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