I have not commented on the Super Bowl in this blog. Trust me, if my Philadelphia Eagles were in it, I would have had plenty to say. But, I don’t even want to talk about their lousy season.
So, we have destiny versus grit, dynasty versus underdog, etc. Part of me wants to see someone replace the Miami Dolphins, finally, as the only NFL team to have a perfect season. Part of me thinks the Patriots deserve to be crowned Super Bowl Champions after the incredibly dominating season they have had — it would be hard to deny they have truly been the best team in football, after all.
But part of me loves underdogs and upsets, and this would be an upset all right. It would be right up there with my very first Super Bowl memory, when Joe Namath and the Jets beat the Colts. My dad assured me before the game that the Colts would win, and I was rooting for them (why, I don’t know — maybe I liked the logo on their helmets?).
I was baffled when the Colts lost, not really grasping at that age that those everyone agreed were “the best” could be beaten — that conventional wisdom could be wrong. Maybe I have liked underdogs since then, having seen how much more fun it would have been to have pulled for the Jets when they won. And after all, if they lost, that was what everyone expected, anyway.
But in this game there’s another factor. Read the rest of this entry »