patriotism

three weeks left in the nfl regular season, and the playoff picture is uncertain, to put it mildly. 20 of 32 teams are still in contention for the 12 playoff berths. we're pats fans here in household x, and got all geared up for a pats/steelers game. we went to a pats fan club meeting at a local pub, which might be somewhat surprising for central nc. hell, it's surprising anywhere. pats fans, being new englanders, are generally a dour, taciturn bunch. or maybe that's just me. it didn't help that the steelers #1 defense stuffed the rush, pressured our surprisingly good backup qb, and randy moss blew an easy td reception. twice. what's most surprising then, is that sitting with family x in a room full of frowning yankees decked out in red, white and blue was still a lot of fun. sadly, we had to leave early to get mama x to the airport for a flight that ended up being canceled anyway. daddy x will post on the evils of airlines another time.

in truth, these have been good times to be a pats fan. since the 2001 season, the pats have been a dominant force in the nfl. they've gone to the playoffs six times in seven years, the afc championship 5 times, the superbowl 4 times, and won the lombardi trophy thrice. it's been a helluva run. we'd be right back in the mix had our mvp gq qb not been downed for the season with a knee injury in the 1st qtr of the 1st game this season. still, we have most of the offense that set an nfl scoring record while having the 1st undefeated regular season in 35 years. so happily we remain one of those 20 teams in contention.

there are a lot of bandwagon pats fan these days. a lot star-struck brady-chasers who are more concerned with tabloid news of baby "jet" than they are with the pats win/loss ratio. i say welcome to them, but remind them that it wasn't always like this. when i was a child, the pats were known as the "patsies", and were the joke of an afc east that featured dan marino's fins. i had a pats lunchbox when they took grog in the 1st round in '76 and he turned them from a 3-11 team to an 11-3 team. i remember the crushing defeat of superbowl XX when we got "shuffled" by da bears. i was living in north carolina when there was talk of moving the pats, when bob kraft saved the franchise (all hail robert kraft, the smartest owner in football!) and made drew blesdoe the #1 pick of the '93 draft and the new face of a resurgent team. i watched drew lead the team to 4 playoff runs and go toe-to-toe with brett favre for 3/4 of the '96 superbowl. then i watched as bledsoe spent three years as a tackle-dummy for opposing defenses because of chronic offensive line injuries. many pats fans were skeptical of the young backup tom brady when he took the reins after mo lewis took out bledsoe in the second game of 2001 season. but after watching #11 getting knocked down for three years, i thought brady was electric. his record now stands for itself. the patriots have built a dynasty that stands with the steelers and the cowboys of past decades, in an age when the nfl does all it can to discourage dynasties. yes, the cracks are showing. we still lack a dominant rb. we keep losing quality cornerbacks to free agency (sure miss lawyer and law!). our starting linebackers are getting old. still, we have the best coach in professional football, maybe the best since lombardi himself (sorry, tom landry). we have a front office that selects and grooms players with uncommon wisdom. and next season, our future hall-of-fame qb will return, refreshed. the glory days of the patriots are right now, and there's plenty of room on the bandwagon.