It's getting so football, both pro and college, can be boring if the same teams are champions every year.
Alabama's latest national title three weeks ago was met with a collective yawn outside of the SouthEastern Conference (SEC). It didn't help matters that the Crimson Tide were chosen over Pac 12 champion USC and Big 10 champion Ohio State, both of whom had 2 losses at the time, and the selection of Alabama suggested some sort of political collusion, since ESPN is one of the networks with a contract with the SEC, and created the SEC Network a couple of years ago as part of said contract.
After the New England Patriots repeated as AFC champions Sunday night, using another Tom Brady-led 4th quarter comeback to beat Jacksonville, 24-20, one of the first articles to appear online was written by Yahoo!'s Jay Busbee, who took note of referee Clete Blakeman being the first to congratulate Brady after the game. Busbee was speaking for the growing legion of Patriot detractors who felt the fix was in, especially since Blakeman's crew only flagged New England once in the entire game.
My take on Blakeman was that the arbiter let his guard down and let his inner fanboy out for a few seconds. Busbee and all the haters were over-reacting to that innocent moment.
As for the Jaguars, you can say that, like the Atlanta Falcons in last year's Super Bowl, they took their collective foot off the gas pedal at the wrong time, switching to a zone defense instead of man-to-man with the game on the line, and not switching up defenses with every play. Brady or any other elite quarterback will take advantage every time. The Jags were playing their first AFC title game in nearly 20 years, had the defending champs on the ropes, and let them escape.
In total contrast to the games of a week earlier, the Philadelphia-Minnesota game was devoid of drama, the game virtually over at halftime. The Eagles, the NFC's #1 seed, weren't treated like a #1 seed by the Vegas oddsmakers for the 2nd straight week, and took it out on the Vikings to the tune of 38-7, setting up a rematch with New England. The two teams previously met in Super Bowl 39 in 2005, with New England winning their 3rd title in 4 years.
Think about that for a moment. The same pattern is forming here. The Patriots have won two of the last three Super Bowls. Overall, the AFC has won three in a row, with Peyton Manning's last game in between Patriot victories. For all we know, and this isn't quite as certain as it was with Manning two years ago, that this could be the last ride for Brady and coach Bill Belichick, who actually have nothing left to prove. Another Patriot win will be met, again, with a collective yawn, especially if the team returns intact in the fall. Brady, fueled by ego more than anything at 40, won't be satisfied unless he's universally regarded as the greatest quarterback of all time. No matter how many more years and/or titles he wins, he won't get that designation from this desk because of how some of those title victories were tainted by scandal.
You never heard anything like that said about, say for example, Bart Starr, Roger Staubach, or Joe Montana back in the day. Not a word. In contrast, in this modern era, the slightest hint of impropriety on the field will set off a torrent of hatred from fans outside of New England. A couple of bottom feeders were caught taping the Jets' practice at the Meadowlands in 2007, but the league gave the Pats a basic slap on the wrist. Same thing with the "Deflategate" debacle. Controversy creates cash, and the league and its media partners thrive on money, ratings, and scandal. The NFL still sees money in the Patriots, and will do anything to ensure they stay on top. At least until Brady does decide to retire.
The Eagles are 0-2 in the big game. Against Minnesota, they did their best impersonation of the Patriots in a dominating performance. Can they bottle that emotion and use it again in 12 days? We'll find out soon enough.
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