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Pats now prefect failures
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Also by Tyler Mason:
- McBain opts out of senior year (March 26, 2009)
- UW must fix season-long mistakes (March 25, 2009)
- UW finishes 3rd at WCHA finals (March 22, 2009)
- Jamie McBain named WCHA Player of the Year (March 22, 2009)
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I have to admit I was a little disappointed in this year’s Super Bowl.
Oh, wait, I mean I was disappointed in the Super Bowl commercials.
On the contrary, the game itself left little to be upset about. Even you bummed-out Beantowners have to give credit to the fact that it was entertaining for four quarters. It was much closer than “experts” predicted and came nowhere close to the 12-point spread Vegas oddsmakers set. From wire to wire, it was an even match. In fact, it was the closest margin of victory since (ironically) the Patriots defeated the Eagles in 2005.
Perhaps the greatest thing about Super Bowl XLII, however, was that it ended New England’s perfect season. No more talks of perfection. Nothing more said about how godly Bill Belichick is. No more self-righteous Pats fans.
That’s right. A 16-0 regular season and two playoff wins all mean nothing now for Tom Brady and Co. They lost the big one.
As a self-proclaimed Patriots hater (although I know I’m not the only one), I finally have the chance to gloat at the expense of the Pats. For 18 weeks, everyone was saying that New England was clearly the best team in the NFL, and possibly the best team ever.
None of that mattered Sunday, though, as Eli Manning led an improbable upset over the once-perfect Patriots as brother Peyton — winner of last year’s Super Bowl MVP — watched from the press box.
You see, it doesn’t matter how many regular season games you win if you can’t seal the deal and win the Lombardi Trophy at the end. The 1972 Dolphins can celebrate now, as they are the only team to make it an entire season, Super Bowl and all, without a blemish on their record. I can guarantee you the Pats would exchange this loss for a regular season one in a heartbeat.
Usually, people only remember the Super Bowl winner, but in this case it’s more likely the Patriots will live on as the biggest disappointment in Super Bowl history. The Giants weren’t even supposed to make the playoffs. Now they’re on top of the world.
Aside from the stingy New York defense that sacked Brady five times and the poise of Eli Manning, one other factor can be looked at as to how seemingly invincible New England left Phoenix as losers. I call this the “Jessica Simpson Effect.”
Before the game, the Fox cameras were showing notable celebrities in attendance, as can be expected for the Super Bowl. The aforementioned Peyton Manning was there, as were LL Cool J, Jim Carrey, Jenny McCarthy, Pamela Anderson and Giselle Bundchen. For those of you that don’t know, Bundchen is a Victoria’s Secret model and the girlfriend of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.
So what’s the big deal if a model wants to come and watch her boy toy attempt to make history?
Usually, nothing. But this season, as Dallas quarterback Tony Romo has shown us, it’s a bad idea to bring your lady friend to the game, lest you buckle under the pressure of her watchful eyes.
Whenever Jessica Simpson —Romo’s honey —came to watch him play, he performed poorly. The media made a big deal out of it for whatever reason, but nonetheless, the story took off. According to an article on MSNBC.com, Brady even went as far as to give advice to Romo, telling him to forbid Simpson from coming to his games. The story even said that Bundchen was not planning on making the trip to Phoenix for the Super Bowl.
Maybe she should have stayed home.
OK, so I don’t really think that the supermodel’s presence caused New England’s poster boy to complete just one touchdown and lose his first Super Bowl in four tries. But it’s as good of an explanation as I can come up with.
Who would have thought dating a supermodel could have a downside?
Tyler Mason is a junior majoring in journalism. Send him your predictions for Super Bowl XLIII (it won’t be the Packers, sorry) to tmason@badgerherald.com.
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we understand that you hate the pats, but that doesnt mean you need to write a column about it. your column has no point to it, its merely saying how happy you are that they lost. that’s bad journalism. you earned the right to have a weekly column for a reason. people want to read legitimate arguments; no one cares which teams you root for and which teams you hate. make a point
For the record, Jessica attended 3 Dallas games. The 3rd one was the loss in Dallas against the Giants. So for you people to put the blame at all on her is ridiculous. And to blame that to the girlfriend is plain irational.