I haven”t had so much fun since Super Bowl XXIX way back in late January of 1995. That”s when the San Francisco 49ers pulverized the San Diego Chargers 49-26 for their fifth Super Bowl title in as many appearances.
Thirteen years and a few days later, I watched the “greatest team of all time” lose 17-14 to the lowest-seeded team ever to win a Super Bowl, the No. 5 New York Giants out of the destitute NFC. Actually, I did more than watch. I unabashedly reveled in the experience, especially the last minute or so.
I had no dog in this fight. I”m not a Patriots hater or a Giants lover, but the run-it-up approach the Patriots took to the “greatest season ever in NFL history” left me just a bit perturbed. I”m not a fan of Bill Belichick”s coaching style, if for no other reason than he reminded me of a couple of guys I”ve had the displeasure of interviewing down through the years at the prep sports level.
Belichick is a great coach, no denying that. Before that he was a great defensive coordinator. He has Super Bowl rings aplenty and will probably win a few more before he”s done. But why do you have to be such a jerk? I guess if there”s a Barry Bonds in the NFL, it”s you, so enjoy the distinction. But maybe try to be gracious every now and then, and when I say that I mean in your postgame remarks after your 17-14 loss to the Giants.
There”s no harm and no human weakness in admitting you just lost to a team that played better than you. Maybe the Patriots win seven out of 10 or even nine out of 10 meetings, but this wasn”t one of them.
Actually, I don”t find Belichick half as pathetic as Randy Moss, the ringless wonder. I know all about his great stats with the Vikings, I know all about how he broke Jerry Rice”s record for most TDs in a single season. I also know how he quit on the Raiders. Quit, flat out mailed it in, took his ball home and wouldn”t let anyone else play. Randy Moss is the definition of bad karma and on Sunday, that karma took a huge bite out of Moss, who announced Monday he wouldn”t be partaking in the sun and fun of the Pro Bowl in Hawaii.
Randy doesn”t want to talk about the big one that got away. Can”t say I blame him. Who will he be playing with next season? Hopefully the Cowboys, which means Dallas is doomed.
18-1 isn”t bad at all unless that one loss is the last one, a grim reality the Patriots will have to live with unless they can somehow get that 19-0 next season or the next or the next. They wanted to go into the record books as the greatest team ever and they are definitely going into the record books, but it”s as the only team to win 18 games and not have a ring to show for it.
Perhaps there is some consolation for the Patriots, though I”m not sure what it is unless the New York Jets filmed their loss from every angle possible and sent them the tape … COD. Call it an appropriate parting gift.
The best part of Super Bowl XLII, other than the fact that Moss didn”t get a ring, is that Eli Manning did, just one season after older brother Peyton earned one for leading the Indianapolis Colts to victory. I”m happy because Archie, their dad, was a great quarterback in his day who had the misfortune of playing for the New Orleans Saints, who never sniffed a Super Bowl. I”m thinking Archie is one proud dad having two sons win Super Bowls in back-to-back seasons.
You done good, Archie. Good karma.
Randy Moss, bad karma.
And every once in a while the cavalry still rides over the hill to the rescue, just when things look lost.
Knights or Indians?
Will they or won”t they? The Kelseyville Unified School District board meets tonight to consider reinstatement of Indians as the school”s mascot. The Indians became the Knights a couple of years ago on a 5-0 vote.
If the mascot is changed back to Indians, there”s no reason it won”t change again in the future once the board makeup is different. Yeah, this thing could be like a ping-pong match played out over the next decade.
Just to be on the safe side, Kelseyville High athletic uniforms should be equipped with fabric fasteners to accommodate any and all future changes.
Maybe each side should have a representative meet at midfield on the school”s football field, where a coin can be flipped. Whoever wins gets their pick of mascots and the entire issue is settled once and for all.
Of course, it would take a couple of years just to negotiate who would flip that coin and what kind of coin it would be.
That”s the public school system.
Closing in on 600
Middletown”s Tyler Hunt has 507 points through 22 games this season and needs 93more to join only four other Lake County high school players who have scored 600 points in a single season. He has at least four games remaining and at least one more after that if the Mustangs qualify for the North Central League I North postseason tournament.
