Here we sit in December and a long repeating NFL sea lore has re appeared. The Patriots, by there current looks, are dead. At least that’s what the Boston Globe wants you to believe. They have written this article before though. Many a time they have spoken un fulfilled prophecies of the demise of the dynasty. It hasn’t come true yet and for the record I don’t expect it to. The Patriots even with the loss of Josh Gordon to indefinite suspension today will survive and will fight there way to at least the third weekend in January. Then perhaps they will perish but not yet.
For most of my life I have hated the Patriots, not very journalistic to say I know but this is not the Wall Street journal and In my first ever blog I expressed my hatred for the colossus that is the Patriots. The success the constant winning, myriads of championships, and a pretty boy QB tired me. I have more than once in my young life probably deep in the archives of twitter wished injury on Tommy boy. Again not good for journalistic reputation. So perhaps this is just a cover for a half hearted scam to save me from the day those probably re surface. I see it differently though because over this current season I have become deeply enthralled by the Patriots and everything they stand for.
Finally Tom Brady has an enemy. More importantly one that can beat him. His name is father time, and as much as Brady would like to think he is immortal, he is not. Age is finally catching up with the 41 year old. He’s slowing down, it’s undeniable. You can blame his lack luster targets all you want but at least some of Brady’s arm has diminished in this season. You can see it when he has to throw it. He has to put extra giddy up on it. Just like Peyton Manning his final two seasons in Denver. Brady is not Manning level bad, not even close, but he’s struggling.
Perhaps that’s what bought me to my next words. I love the New England Patriots and I love Tom Brady. Because deep down inside they were for so long what kept me alive as a die hard fan. My hatred for them was the one constant in my life as a fan. Now it’s gone though. And it has so drastically flipped because I am a sucker for the human condition. Brady provides the quintessential hero now. The man overlooked by a league that wants to claim they have passed him by. The former King thrown out of his castle into the wilderness who must scramble desperately to find the final spark inside that will lead him back to the throne. How can you root against him? He is no longer the winner, he is suddenly the underdog. The reason Patriots fans always stuck with Brady was because for so many years New England was the only place on earth that viewed the Pats as an under dog. Now though this new aged NFL, inspired by high power vertical offenses, which throughout his career Brady has rarely been a part of, has somehow discounted Brady. Turned the Patriots into a second tier team, replaced by the likes of the Chargers, Chiefs, and Rams.
So this is it. My letter of intent. The Patriots have captured my heart. As such I will be rooting for them down the stretch. I would implore you to do the same, because when was the last time someone was right counting Tom Brady out?