Mercury Morris on D and C

[FrontSeven]

I have not seen anything here but complaints about Mercury's comments but I caught a replay of an interview with him today, and was blind-sided by how much sense the guy made.

For one thing he pointed out something that is often overlooked about the tough games the Pats have won. His point wasn't about how vulnerable they looked. It was about how much character it showed to win those close games.

He also pointed out that the Pats' job is tougher than the Dolphins' job in 1972. He said that the Dolphins had little pressure on them because as the season progressed nobody thought they could do it. They even went into the SB as underdogs. I had forgotten that. How weird is that?

In contrast he said that the Pats were called out early in the year by some people to go all the way with a perfect record, and that type of pressure would be horrible to endure compared to what the Dolphins endured. Now that I think about it, yeh, it did start early and often. This has been very difficult for the team, I am sure.

Nothing but props from Mercury for the Pats though.

He also skewered his own team - the current team - and because the interview was old, he predicted that the Pats would bury them in their rematch. I like a guy who is straight forward about his own team. That is called "negative" in some unrealistic circles, but don't you think it's refreshing to hear the truth? He spoke the truth and didn't even flinch.

He also said it would be nice to have somebody else on the mountain top with the Dolphins who can speak their undefeated language. This surprised me because I had gathered that Morris was nothing but a jealous pissant from comments I've seen here. It did not sound like it.

He also said that it's a myth that they get together to do champagne. They don't do that. I thought it was a cool story, but guys do live in other cities or states, right? It's just a story.

He was not the Mercury Morris that I thought he was going to be. He did admit to being a jokester and being outrageous in order to have fun, and I am wondering if this contributed to his bad image around here? He is really the first guy that put forth the idea that the Pats have endured far more pressure than his team did. He said it. He seems to not be afraid of the truth even if the truth makes the Pats look bigger than his own team.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

Don't know what D and C is, but it sounds like old Merc was spin controlling, or happened to have a brand new 8 ball that day.

At least I hope he's the monumental butthole he's made himself out to be, so I can say stuff like this:

http://patriotsexpatriot.blogspot.com/

Heh

PFnV

 

[weswelker#83]

I have not seen anything here .

http://www.patsfans.com/new-england-patriots/messageboard/showthread.php?t=72429

 

[FrontSeven]

Don't know what D and C is, but it sounds like old Merc was spin controlling, or happened to have a brand new 8 ball that day.

At least I hope he's the monumental butthole he's made himself out to be, so I can say stuff like this:

http://patriotsexpatriot.blogspot.com/

Heh

PFnV

Hey, nice piece of writing. You have a nice touch.

I think Mercury has changed his tune, although I tuned in late to the interview. D and C is Dennis and Callahan on WEEI. The interview was surprisingly interesting, and Merc had nothing but complimentary things to say about the team. I suspect that as the team actually drew closer to proving it was capable of the perfect regular season, remarks like ""Don't call me when you're in my town," became obsolete.

But I actually appreciated that remark when he made it. Why? Because he was telling us that they get hounded about this stuff year after year, and it's been going on for 30 years with nobody actually producing the promised result. That is an insight into his reality, and it's real to him and them. They've seen many assaults on that record. I can imagine it would get wearying to see yet one more team achieve 10-0 and start all the talk again.

I think we now know that 10-0 just gets you to a portal. To pass that portal you have to dig down much deeper, and endure far more pressure, and take some pretty hard smacks to the mouth. Most teams just fold under that type of pressure.

All along I did think that this team was different, but I'm a fan and I can't really tell if my perceptions are warped by my homerism. I do try to see things from another perspective. Well, maybe not always. But I did think this team needed to be treated differently even by the Dolphins, despite failures by great teams before. Those were some great teams (Bears, Broncos, Colts). I can understand a non-NE fan not treating us like all the others. It turned out to be a mistake on their part, but I do get why they cannot consider every team that reaches 10-0 to be a big threat. It just ain't so. They are in town at 10-0, but they really aren't in the neighborhood. The neighborhood is when the Eagles and Ravens, playing their personal super bowls, get to smack you in the face, knock you down, and you have to figure out new ways to win from behind.

We did it, but I can see why the skepticism beforhand.

 

[NYCPatsFan]

Don't know what D and C is, but it sounds like old Merc was spin controlling, or happened to have a brand new 8 ball that day.

At least I hope he's the monumental butthole he's made himself out to be, so I can say stuff like this:

http://patriotsexpatriot.blogspot.com/

Heh

PFnV

Hey, I didn't know about this blog! Always admired your posts (in all topics) and your points. Great writing as usual. The Mt. Everest > K2 was a nice touch, the one on the Ravens game was quite funny.

On the main topic: I agree with FrontSeven's thoughts because I also remarked earlier that I don't feel bad when MM made those comments earlier because it was way friggin early and I doubt how many of us would have the patience to keep answering the same question year after year. At some point you get terse and make your replies wry and cold.

Now that we are in his 'neighbourhood', I am glad that he changed his stance and welcomed us + our achivements in what seems to be true feelings/thoughts. I might be wrong on the last point but since he belongs to a different generation, I think he is true to his thoughts and words them exactly how he feels it.