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| DYNASTY VS. DESTINY The Thrilla in Jacksonvilla (PART II) By Mike Dodge A Dynasty was born�but it was a tough delivery. Tougher than most thought anyway. Super Bowl XXXIX will go down in history as the game that was �Lost� not �Won�. As a fan of the Champs, I look back at the Super Bowl, and all I remember is a laundry list of missed opportunities, mistakes, and questionable play calling by both teams. Although my beloved Pats prevailed, I was left scratching my head on more than one occasion. I have one word for the Super Bowl fiasco�OVER-HYPED. The end-product didn�t nearly live up to everyone�s expectations. But isn�t that how it is every year. When you fill two weeks leading up to the game with extensive media interviews, ESPN commentators over-analyzing the two teams, and more flip flopping than a Waffle House pancake on �who is going to win�. The clear favorite going into the game were the Patriots, but by the following weekend, somehow the tables looked to turn more toward the Eagles�if you listened to the folks on NFL Primetime. But off course, by Super Bowl Weekend all the �Flip-Floppers� were back picking the Pats like they never gave the Eagles any chance. What they did was, balance the betting. I can�t help but think that a lot of the sports networks are getting �kick backs� for assisting Vegas in balancing the Super Bowl wagering. We live in a corrupt society folks, and when it comes to sports and money�Vegas is �The Rake.� We have all seen the game; if you didn�t, you must have seen the highlights at least 20 times. With this being said, I am going to spare you all the monotony of reliving each and every play call, first down, etc., but there were some occurrences just worth talking about. Big props to the Pee-wee leaguer that flipped the coin. Oops, did I say flip, I meant lob. This was the first official sign that this game was going to be a testing experience. Lets� start with the four straight punts and zero first downs until the second quarter for the Patriots. I truly admire Bill Belichick, but people paid good money to see a football game�and 3 & outs just wasn't cutting it. I truly expected Charlie Weiss to throw the kitchen sink at the Eagles�seeing that it was his last game as a Patriots Offensive Coordinator. On the other hand, the Eagles were threatening in the Red Zone, and not only were my Patriots about to allow a score, but my 0-0 board square was in serious trouble! (For those of you that know what a board square is, great. For those that don�t, it�s too long to explain.) Here are my exact words for the next series of plays: �YES, Interception by A. Samuel!��� DAMN�flag on Phifer!� �YES, Interception by Rodney Harrison!���My 0-0 is in the bag�PAY ME!� The first quarter was a wash; the second quarter wasn�t that much better. With the second half to look forward to, all we had to do was live through the half time show�which I had serious doubt Paul McCartney was going to be able to do. To be honest, I didn�t watch one minute of it�just like last year. I was one of the few fans that didn�t know about the Janet Jackson �exposure� until the following day. The Super Bowl has truly escaped the clutches of the �American Man�. What true �man� would allow himself to sit through an hour of teeny bopper performances before the game and a glitzy half time show? The final straw for me was last year and the announcement that Justin Timberlake was performing. As soon as he and Janet Jackson were introduced, I went outside for a beer and a smoke. Rap and Teeny Bobbers have ruined our Super Bowl�OH THE SHAME OF IT ALL! In my opinion, bringing out Paul McCartney was just as bad. Hell, he was one of those �Teeny Bobber� performers 80 or so years ago. What are the odds of a team winning three Super Bowls in four years by three points�where the kicker scores the last points of the game with�of course�a field goal. The odds have to be high, but believe it or not, that�s exactly what was running through my mind after the third quarter ended tied at 14-14. Well, that didn�t look to be the case when Tom Brady and his ever so reliable Patriots squad jumped out to a 10 point lead with just over 8 minutes to go. But Vinatieri�s field goal would be the difference. The game turned into the Eagles �How do we want to lose this� Game Show. I really feel for you Philly fans. I was actually yelling at the television with you. As the game clock ticked away, I found myself yelling �Take your time� or �Do you NOT know it is the fourth quarter??� Then my wife looked at me with around 2 minutes left and said �How can you be so confident, the Pats could still lose this game��unlikely my dear, you couldn�t be more wrong. The Eagles made no attempt to win it. Yes the Eagles scored a TD to cut it to 3, but the onside kick was a joke, and Belichick was not going to risk anything, so of course the Eagles got the ball back, except they were pinned waaay back inside their 20 with less than a minute left. Throw in a second Rodney Harrison INT and there you have it�A Dynasty for the Pats, and misery for the city of Philadelphia. Now, whose shoulders do we dump all this blame on? Put those �goat horns� on Donovan McNabb. Donovan fans will blame the coaching staff, but Donovan was on the field with all the plays on his wristband. Poor execution, poor clock management, and absolutely no sense of urgency or desire to win the game. Donovan claims he wasn�t sick or �dry heaving� in the huddle, but I am going to have to believe his teammates on the field with him. If he wasn�t sick, then he was scared to death. I can�t fault him for being nervous�or even a bit scared, but calling his teammates basically �liars�, is a sign of poor sportsmanship. It pains me to do this, but I am going on the record in saying T.O. is the man. I have been hobbled with ankle injuries not nearly as bad as his and could hardly walk� never mind run in the time frame it took him to bounce back. The whole arm flapping he did after his multi-yard gain reception ended up backfiring, with the Pats having more reason to do it, mocking the Eagles receivers. But, it was definitely impressive, and I admit it, I definitely wrote him off as a �non-factor� for the Super Bowl. Freddie Mitchell on the other hand�have fun bagging those groceries next year, because you did what I thought could not be done�surpassed Randy Moss on the idiot meter. Freddie is lower than dirt, and the biggest clown in professional sports. The only thing that separates him from Moss is�Randy has skills. To this day, Freddie is talking trash about the Patriots�the Eagles�the media, etc. Philly, get rid of him, you're better off without him. I have a laundry list of things I wanted to point out about the Super Bowl, but it has been over a week since the game ended, and I have cooled off quite a bit since. The stage was set for Philly to take this game�hell; the refs did everything they could to help! But, the better team won as it has for 38 years of Super Bowl play.. The Red Sox finally won a World Series, the Patriots are a Dynasty, what�s next? Life is good right now, and winning never gets old. My prediction for next year�Philly vs. The Dynasty Part II�do I hear 3-PEAT? Until next time folks ... I would like to hear from you. Please e-mail me your comments, suggestions, or questions to [email protected] Pictures provided by NFL.com |
| Valiant offort by Donivan, but the Champs defense inflicted some devastating hits early in the game. |
| Drop the banjo and put your teeth back in Grampa, your scaring the children. |
| Just imagine how big this story would have been if the Eagles won. |
| "We don't lose free hat and T-shirt games" quoted Bruschi |
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| Ah, cheer up; it's only a game. Just think how "Goofy Hat Guy" feels. |
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