Great article, one that has me second-guessing myself.
I've kept thinking "damn... my instincts tell me the Ravens beat us this Sunday", but that's mainly the negativity about the Patriots defense I've seen this year. Thinking about the crushing losses and the "here we go again" mentality. But I've said before, as have many of my fellow Pats fans, that we need to appreciate the success we've had and cherish it now while it's still happening.
Our Patriots are in the AFC championship, and speaking for myself here, it doesn't feel as magic or improbably as the '96 or '01 seasons did. It was more like "this is where they should be anyway", and sadly I still feel that. I feel like we were deprived of a SB championship LAST year, courtesy of the Jets, and this year's team should make up for it. But it's a dangerous mentality, one of entitlement, one born of the bar being raised too high. I catch myself in these moments and feel shame, because I lose sight of the big picture.
I'm damn proud to be a Patriots fan. I remember when we were awful, and when we were great, and even when we were just kind of okay. For the majority of us here, we were fans long before Belichick and Brady joined the fray, and we'll be fans long after they're gone. But I'm glad they're here now, and Thornton is right, we should enjoy the ride while we can. That's what I intend to do when I go to Gillette Stadium this Sunday for my first ever playoff game. It's not every day I can see my favorite team play a home game with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line. It's an opportunity I refuse to take for granted.
