I know you didn't say it but to the poster that did, if you consider an 18-1 season a debacle you really are clueless. Was it disappointing to get that close and fail? Certainly, but having lived through the 70's and 80's as a fan of this team, 2007 was a magical season even with the SB loss to suggest otherwise is to not know your Patriots history.
I wasn't referring to the whole season, just the SB loss.
I too lived through the 70s & 80s as a fan of this team; whenever those teams had success - 76 (until Ben Dreith), 78(until Fairbanks-to-Colorado was announced), 85(until the SB), 94, 96(until the Tuna escaped) - I seemed to better enjoy the ride back then - until it ended, usually in controversy. The 2007 season, however, began in controversy immed. after an encouraging win on Opening Day in NJ. The rest of the season was played under that cloud, make a shade darker after a game in Baltimore that many outsiders believe that the Pats won only through the help of the zebras.
2007 should indeed have been a magical season. Maybe living in Baltimore that year, even more removed from fellow Pats fans than in Hershey, has darkened my POV about it, but it wasn't nearly as enjoyable for me as it should've been. It was depressing to constantly read, hear & see the amount of vitriol spewed at us from every other part of the country. We were the most hated franchise in sports, just as we were on the way to perhaps accomplishing the greatest feat in the history of sports in this country.
No, it wasn't the whole season that was a debacle; it was just the SB.