I was impressed that people are finally looking at this from a critical angle because it is about Championships.
I rarely if ever post, but I couldn't help it here. I would have started a thread on this, but I'm not allowed to with my post count. This in an attitude that I see all the time on this board, but I just don't get. Not to sound overly critical, but I think it speaks to a lack of history. My Dad lived from 1941-2002. He never saw the Red Sox win a Championship. He lived and died with that team- worshipped Ted Williams and later marveled at Wade Boggs. The season never ended with joy, but he would always be back to watch with the TV muted and the radio on (he grew up in an era of listening not watching and he always loved to hear the games in radio format) He had season tickets for NE in their first year of existence. He only saw the Patriots win one. We would talk about sports all the time, and this topic never came up- of a season being a failure because their was no championship at the end.
I am not suggesting the original poster meant this, but I think too many NE fans take the Patriots winning or losing as a personal reflection upon themselves. We feel smarter when we win. We somehow integrate their success with our own. And yet, the failures or shortcomings often belong to someone else. Often, on Sunday, we are often unhappy after wins. That was never the case in the late 80's or early 90's. Any win was a good win.
We have very little do with their success. We have pretty quiet fans with a great sense of entitlement. They play, we watch, we buy stuff, we talk, we argue, we speculate, we play arm chair coach- it is a great hobby.
Certainly, we can be critical of NE, the defense, Belichick-etc. - especially on a message board. I am not suggesting otherwise. We hope that the team continually strives to improve and address weakness. Most teams that have had success, the championship Steelers, Oakland, Dallas, Washington, SF, NY Giants, Dallas again, Denver and the Steelers agin- have some losing after winning. Generally teams don't try to rebuild soon enough, thinking that they are just a play or two or a player or two, away from winning the who thing. Usually, that is not the case.
The reality is, it is very hard to win, and NE could go decades without winning another. And so could any other of todays contending teams. It takes some luck and some great play to win it all.
For me, Sunday was discouraging. I wasn't happy. The defense is frustrating. I do feel that Belichick has struggled to adapt to the newer coverage rules. It is strange that I prefer it when the opponent is 3rd and 3 instead of 3rd and 11. Yet, for me, it isn't all about championships., because I remember when there were none. It is about being excited and interested every week, because the team is competitive- because every week you have the chance to see something special. Even is last week's loss, Welker was magnificent.
It was great drama, and better than almost anything else on tv. A film doesn't have to have a happy ending for me to appreciate it, and neither does my season as a patriots fan.