Does it haunt you thinking about 'COULD have''s?

This is the guy who for years prior to the 2001 season asked the big man in the sky "just one in my life time, please".

So no, I'm not haunted by any of the near misses I was certainly disappoited a thte time but got over it. The 2007 SB hurt because it was againts the Giants and I hate them so much. But, I have to live with that as "somethng not meant to be".

Instead of being "haunted" I'm very grateful for the past 13 years. Maybe other fans hadn't suffered enough prior to 2001 and are those being "haunted". Not me.

The way I see it is this. There are 32 teams in the NFL, so a fan should (on average) see the team he roots for win a championship in his 16th year following that team, then another 32 years later (year 48), and one more 32 years after that (year 80).

Three championships in 80 years, that's my realistic expectation. And I was able to witness a lifetime worth of Super Bowl victories in a four-year span. Disappointed? Hell no! I'm ecstatic at what I was able to see, and enjoying the ride now.

Woulda' coulda' shoulda'? The thought never crosses my mind, until I see or hear someone else bring it up. To me I'm playing with house money as far as my being a fan of the Patriots goes.


If you're going to bring up close misses, personally I would start with the Ben Dreith game rather than any of those other years. But if you're going to look at it that way, in fairness one should look at the opposite as well. In SB36 the Patriots could have easily lost, if not for (a) Mike Martz being so stubborn in his play calling, (b) Isaac Bruce getting his ribs fractured on the first series, and (c) the Rams' left tackle being injured.

Similarly in SB38, what if Carolina hadn't chased points early by going for 2, and what if John Kasay doesn't kick the ball out of bounds? Ty Law and Tyrone Poole were unavailable before the game started, Eugene Wilson was lost just before halftime, and Rodney Harrison missed time with an injury. With the situation with the secondary and the way the Panthers were able to pass the ball late, they likely would have won in OT.

The following year Pittsburgh was overconfident playing at Heinz and having defeated the Pats earlier in the season; had Cowher done a better job keeping his team grounded then there's a good chance the Pats don't make it to the Super Bowl, and the Steelers rather than the Patriots are the de facto team of the decade.


Woulda' coulda' shoulda' works both ways. While it would have been nice to have more championships, I never dwell on it - and am simply thankful for the ones I did get to witness - and that I didn't have to wait as long as my parents did to see the Pats (and Red Sox) win it all.

It does at time, so I try not to think about it -- after all, my life is basically the same. I try to focus on the ones we've won, and also content myself with knowing there are almost certainly are counterparts each year we did win (what if they didn't make the right call on the tuck rule, for ex? )

Nah, we've been good so long it's a real gift. I do hope that the BB/TB combo wins one more Superbowl together.

Just think, we coulda been Buffalo fans during this whole time...

I could easily see the 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2011 teams winning the SB...they were all extremely good teams, and therefore I have regrets with all

The 2009 team was going nowhere even with Wes, much less without
The 2012 team from last year was OK, but their potential was t as great as the ones mentioned above

I remember the 2011 team being almost like a team of destiny beating teams which had previously kicked it out of the playoffs, the revenge team...but an injured gronk from the game before really hurt us

Eli Freakin' Manning....

it is silly to live you life thinking about regrets like these.

the patriots dont worry about could have beens, and neither should you.

I still wake up in cold sweats thinking about Tyree. I never thought for even a minute we would lose that game. On the bright side, I get to complain that Eli was clearly in the grasp for the rest of my life.

NCpatriot said:

I still wake up in cold sweats thinking about Tyree. I never thought for even a minute we would lose that game. On the bright side, I get to complain that Eli was clearly in the grasp for the rest of my life.

Click to expand...

And yeah, this isn't holding on #60, right?



:bricks: