It's official. Boston sports have it too good. Most Boston fans may be nodding in agreement, some may be willing to disagree and hear me out, another group may be groaning at yet another article reminding them of things they already know, and then there's those just waiting to bring up the Patriots Super Bowl loss, 18-1, Spygate, blah blah blah; however, this is about an aspect of the Patriots that everyone has come to know, but is too valuable to go unspoken, especially this year. The Patriots are still the New England Patriots.
It seems that this team is never phased, never intimidated, and NEVER dwells on the past. Leading up to training camp most of the Patriot-related news was circulating around the Patriots Super Bowl loss and how the team would react. The Patriots are only three days into training camp and that question has already been answered. The team has moved on and not only that, but has watched the film of their loss to the Giants to further improve. Any Patriot player or ocach who was asked about the loss responded along the lines of "we've moved on" or "it's in the past." Hell, it's only three days in and Belichick has already used over one hundred football cliches to answer reporters questions, and I'm loving every second of it. I wasn't one who bought into the idea that the Patriots would be phased by the disappointing ending to the quest for perfection. I'm not usually one to talk cocky about my sports teams, but the Patriots are way above that. You may say that every NFL team has no choice but to move on and forget the past, but not every team can actually follow through. The Patriots are a team that thrive on the present, and not a day past. (or week) The Patriots have far too many smart and experienced players to dwell on a loss and even if they didn't, Belichick would force the game out of their minds. The way Belichick preachs the game to their players (especially their new players) is like giving the team a lobotomy. Anything they thought football was, any bad habits they had, any personal obsessions they had...all out the window. When you come into New England you get completely brainwashed. Any thoughts of previous years, good or bad, is wiped away. New season. new team, same mentality year in and year out.
I would expect this season to be a nice relief to the Patriots and their fans. The comparison of last years Patriots to this years can be compared to Derek Vinyard in American History X. The 2007 New England Patriots were full of hate after Spygate and it's aftermath in Week 1 and went on to humiliate and destroy opponents, much like Vinyard did to non-whites after his father was murdered by an African American. Eventually, karma caughrt up to the Patriots and they lost the Super Bowl and went through a series of difficult issues in the offseason (Nick Kazcur, Kevin Faulk, Willie Andrews, Arlen Specter, etc.), which is the equivalent of Vinyard getting thrown in jail for murder and going through a sequence of rough times. But in the end, it's a fresh slate for the Patriots. A new start, a new team. Much like how Vinyard learned from past experiences and used it to better himself in the future. The Patriots will enjoy not being seen as the bullies of the league much like Derek Vinyard enjoys not being viewed as a white supremist. (We'll just ignore the ending of American History X because if this is a fair comparison then the ending of this year will not bode well for the Pats!)
Once more it seems like the Patriots brought in the right guys...guys like Jerod Mayo, who has already taken the Patriot mentality, Tank Williams and Fernando Bryant who are already impressing...the Patriots also let go of the right guys like Willie Andrews who was a Pacman in the making, Asante Samuel who got paid wy too much and is injured and Colvin who also may be more hurt than he let's on. But above all, this seems to be the same old team, with the same old leaders, with the same old coach, with the same old QB, and the same old philosophies. The Patriots don't do their talking to reporters, they do it on the field. Belichick already showed that he's pressing the players to work harder this season as the first two practices were with full pads, and to no surprise you don't hear any players complaining. There's no conflicts, no talk of last season, no controversy, and no big headlines. As Tom Brady said "it's good to be back out on the field and get back to work."

The Patriots are back once more.

I love being stressed out.

I love everything about it, the light sweating, the queasy stomach, the never-ending feeling of doom, and especially the feeling that your entire life could unwind because of just one moment. However, if there's one thing I really love to be stressed out about, it's sports. I remember twisting the shit out of my boxers during Game 5 of the 2003 ALDS and then erupting when D-Lowe struck out Terrence Long and abruptly told the A's dugout to "suck it," I remember dying then resurrecting myself multiple times during the Celtics championship run, but mostly, I remember sitting in silence being eaten away by my own thoughts during the Patriots undefeated run.



Let's face it, we don't like being stressed out, we love it. We love it when it turns to work out in our favor. I was ecstatic when the Celtics won championship 17, and yet I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that it had to end in such an anti-climatic way. I was suicidal when the Patriots ended their perfect season in an imperfect way. To this day I can't stomach the picture of Tom Brady walking dejectedly off the field.



But that's just the down side of what makes sports so exciting and entertaining isn't it? If every game was like the Celtics clincher against LA we all know it'd be like Shrek 2, extremely disappointing. I've heard a lot of Patriots fans thanking the Lord that a new season is upon us and that we can leave all the stress and the news behind us. People are excited that the chances of a perfect season are over because they just couldn't handle the suspense, and eventually, the bitter taste of being disappointed. That taste was something I had to experience (and I'm still experiencing) and still…here I am wanting more. I'm not satisfied with a normal season (unless it brings another title of course), I want to taste perfection. I want to experience that feeling of immortality so I can go back to my Grandma's Boy poster and apologize for smashing the shit out of it in February.



They say the Celtics championship eases the pain…it may…but it doesn't ease my hunger GOD DAMMIT! Words cannot even describe how much I want football season to return so me and my family can once again huddle around the plasma TV and scream even more than Samuel Jackson during a span of 2 hours. I miss everything about it…I miss seeing Randy do his "I love opening the vagina" celebration…I miss watching Tom Brady scream out audibles at the line to the point where it may be creepy just how much of a man crush I have on him…I miss watching Tedy Bruschi and his PJ Brown-like teammates shuffling around with their walkers on defense…I even miss Stephen Gostkowski and his random illegal procedures, which will make any Patriot fan shit on him for about 10 minutes even if he just hit a 50 yard field goal…



But above all, I miss perfection. I miss the feeling where it could all end in one small, unfortunate turn of events (FUCK YOU DAVID TYREE!!!!!) everything could fall apart. It seems like Patriots fans are like Nick Swardson's character in "The Benchwarmers," they are afraid of going outside. In this sense, outside is something good, yet the thought of the bad things that could loom out there distract us from the good and the excitement that it brings. We all need to take that first step outside. Deep down everyone is hungry to finish what we started, and nothing outside of a Super Bowl victory is acceptable.