12/21/24
February 15, 2002
Character wins championships: Why the best team won the Super Bowl
Like everyone except the Patriots and their immediate families, I thought the Rams were going to crush them in the Super Bowl. The Rams are the best team in the NFL, they were big favorites, and they'd be favorites in a rematch. But all that matters is that, on the day they played the Super Bowl, the Patriots were the better team. I'm not a Patriots fan; in fact, I rooted for the Raiders and the Steelers in their playoff games against the Patriots. I rooted for the Patriots in the Super Bowl, because I wanted a good game and because I hate the Rams. Character wins championships, and the Patriots won because they demonstrated more character than their opponents throughout their playoff run. The Raiders lost their playoff game against the Patriots because they collapsed after having the controversial no-fumble call go against them. (Which was a correct call of a stupid rule.) It was their reaction to the call, and not the call itself, that cost them the game. All the call did was let the Patriots tie. The Raiders were so upset by the call that they checked out for the rest of the game, and in overtime, two Raiders defensive backs totally blew a tackle in the flat that let the Patriot's receiver run 20 yards downfield and almost into field goal range. On that drive, the Raiders couldn't stop the Patriots on 3rd-and-5, 3rd-and-7, 4th-and-4,and 3rd-and-5. That's why they lost the game. A similar thing happened to the Patriots in the Super Bowl. They returned a fumble 99 yards for an apparent touchdown, which would have given them a huge 24-3 fourth-quarter lead and cinched a Super Bowl win. The play was reversed, and the Rams scored. The Patriots bent, but they didn't break. The Rams scored pretty easily to tie, but instead of being devastated and folding like the Raiders, the Patriots went out and won the Super Bowl. Even if the call against the Raiders was a bad call, you don't deserve to be the champions if you let a bad call beat you. Referees are people, people make mistakes, and it's your responsibility to not let those calls decide the game. Have a bigger lead, make your tackles, shrug it off and win anyway. The Patriots also beat the Steelers and Rams by living up to two cliches: you have to show up, and you have to play the whole game. The Steelers were looking past the Patriots to the Super Bowl, and forgot basic things like not letting a punt returner go all the way up the middle, even though their coach had warned them about that specific thing. The Rams were looking past the Patriots to having sex with cheerleaders in Scrooge McDuck-style swimming pools full of money (maybe Warner was looking forward to his game-costing interceptions in the Pro Bowl as a sequel to his game-costing ones in the Super Bowl). They were outcoached and outplayed for most of the Super Bowl and were only in the game for maybe half of the fourth quarter. The Rams also did not deserve to win because of their whiny poor sportsmanship after the game. We beat ourselves, they said. My thumb hurts. Cry me a river. The Patriots beat the the Rams up, they made them relinquish the ball, and they outhit, outplayed, and outclassed them. And that's why they won the Super Bowl.
posted by kirkaracha to commentary at 02:54 PM - 0 comments