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Just got back from Arizona. Wasn't there very long, just sat/sun/mon. I decided last minute I was going to go.
The Pats are the only team I am passionate about. Since I have gotten older and everything, my passion for most teams has slipped, but never with the Pats. Maybe it goes back to being there for the bad years when they were a laughing stock playing in a half filled stadium with aluminum benches. Anyways, they are the only team I have a real passion for, and wins and losses (in the playoffs) really mean something.
From the second I got near the stadium, something didn't feel right. I can't put my finger on it, but it just didn't feel right. I had been to Super Bowls 36 (rams) and 38 (panthers), and the feeling before both of those games and this one were night and day. I expected them to win, and as it got closer to game time, I was never comfortable with this. You should never feel comfortable expecting your team to win, and I did. It just didn't feel right. Put it this way, I was so weirded out about everything, I didn't even buy any shirts/hats/etc before the game, as I was getting worried this season was going to come crashing down pretty quickly.
Of course there is a buzz in the stadium before the Super Bowl, but the Pats fans were dead. While their home games can be pretty quiet, my experience has been their crowds that travel to the Super Bowls are pretty rowdy. Not this time. I don't know if it was over confidence, pressure, or what, but it just wasn't the same. (When they were introduced before 36, the place went INSANE).
And as soon as the Pats were introduced, my fears became a little worse. And when I saw Tom Brady shake hands w/ Pat OBrien, I just knew something wasn't right (espn's simmons pointed it out too). The Pats had no energy coming out of the tunnel, and IMO thier fans didn't either. I kinda convinced myself it was that they were confident and had done this before, but.......
After they went up 7-3, I thought they'd be okay. But they never got into a rythm after that, and looking back even that drive wasn't that pretty either. And they weren't themselves the entire game, and didn't execute how/when they normally do. The first real example of this was not scoring when they had the ball in the last 2 minutes of the half, something they almost always seem to do. And when they didnt score to start the 2H (even after the 12 men on the field call), I started to realize my worst fears. You guys all know what happened the rest of the game, so I won't get into all that. I will make the point that their game plan was puzzling, as they were at times predictable and seemed to get away from what they had done all year. And IMO Belichick had a bad game, especially not kicking the field goal.
I'll say this, looking at the field, 4th down w/ 10 secs left, I had never felt like that my entire life because of sports. Thats when the real finality had set in. I never knew a loss could hurt that bad, especially after winning 3 SB's. But it did.
Looking back at it, so much of the last two weeks were so wrong. Its like they went away from everything they had done that made them the tough team who always came through at the end. They didn't seem to havde a swagger, didn't seem to be tough, and when they got hit in the mouth they never hit back. They seemed to be going through the motions, especially pregame.
I don't know if the pressure got them, but they just didn't seem right. And neither did the whole thing. The game, the fans, the energy, and especially everybody (including me) expecting to win. It all felt wrong, and it was.
The Pats are the only team I am passionate about. Since I have gotten older and everything, my passion for most teams has slipped, but never with the Pats. Maybe it goes back to being there for the bad years when they were a laughing stock playing in a half filled stadium with aluminum benches. Anyways, they are the only team I have a real passion for, and wins and losses (in the playoffs) really mean something.
From the second I got near the stadium, something didn't feel right. I can't put my finger on it, but it just didn't feel right. I had been to Super Bowls 36 (rams) and 38 (panthers), and the feeling before both of those games and this one were night and day. I expected them to win, and as it got closer to game time, I was never comfortable with this. You should never feel comfortable expecting your team to win, and I did. It just didn't feel right. Put it this way, I was so weirded out about everything, I didn't even buy any shirts/hats/etc before the game, as I was getting worried this season was going to come crashing down pretty quickly.
Of course there is a buzz in the stadium before the Super Bowl, but the Pats fans were dead. While their home games can be pretty quiet, my experience has been their crowds that travel to the Super Bowls are pretty rowdy. Not this time. I don't know if it was over confidence, pressure, or what, but it just wasn't the same. (When they were introduced before 36, the place went INSANE).
And as soon as the Pats were introduced, my fears became a little worse. And when I saw Tom Brady shake hands w/ Pat OBrien, I just knew something wasn't right (espn's simmons pointed it out too). The Pats had no energy coming out of the tunnel, and IMO thier fans didn't either. I kinda convinced myself it was that they were confident and had done this before, but.......
After they went up 7-3, I thought they'd be okay. But they never got into a rythm after that, and looking back even that drive wasn't that pretty either. And they weren't themselves the entire game, and didn't execute how/when they normally do. The first real example of this was not scoring when they had the ball in the last 2 minutes of the half, something they almost always seem to do. And when they didnt score to start the 2H (even after the 12 men on the field call), I started to realize my worst fears. You guys all know what happened the rest of the game, so I won't get into all that. I will make the point that their game plan was puzzling, as they were at times predictable and seemed to get away from what they had done all year. And IMO Belichick had a bad game, especially not kicking the field goal.
I'll say this, looking at the field, 4th down w/ 10 secs left, I had never felt like that my entire life because of sports. Thats when the real finality had set in. I never knew a loss could hurt that bad, especially after winning 3 SB's. But it did.
Looking back at it, so much of the last two weeks were so wrong. Its like they went away from everything they had done that made them the tough team who always came through at the end. They didn't seem to havde a swagger, didn't seem to be tough, and when they got hit in the mouth they never hit back. They seemed to be going through the motions, especially pregame.
I don't know if the pressure got them, but they just didn't seem right. And neither did the whole thing. The game, the fans, the energy, and especially everybody (including me) expecting to win. It all felt wrong, and it was.
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