SportsGirl

For anyone who has read any of my previous posts, it’s not a secret that I love the Patriots. So it should come as no surprise that I have to weigh in on their pursuit of the perfect season. So many people hate them this season, while I feel more inspired than ever to cheer them on and do so loudly. Love the column posted by my favorite sports writer Bill Simmons where he discusses his unbridled passion for rooting the Pats on even when they’re running up the score on someone. Yes, I know, it’s unsportsman-like, and according to Gregg Easterbrook, the Patriots have no right to be upset that so many people are questioning their ability to win. Sorry, Mr. Easterbrook, but I completely disagree with your Good vs. Evil depiction of the Colts-Pats match-up. Yes, the Patriots were found to have illegally taped the other team’s signals in the Jets game. And yes, I know you believe in some big grassy knoll theory that they’ve been doing this for years, are still doing it, and will probably have secret intel on the outcome of the up-coming elections for President. I, on the other hand, think that they got caught illegally videotaping the Jets sideline and were in possession of materials that weren’t going to be of use to the team until they sat down and reviewed them, so truly there was no competitive advantage gained. Not that I condone or excuse what they did, and I’m not going to get into the “they’re not the only team using this type of tactic” argument, but seriously. We’re talking about them having this material in a game that they were winning without it and the tapes were destroyed before they could use them to game plan for the next meeting with the Jets.

So I don’t view the Patriots as evil. I don’t view them as good either. Great, would be more like it. Dominant. In your face, even. And I love every minute of it. So much of the discussion about this team has been about whether or not they’ll actually pursue the perfect season. Or if they’ll play it safe if they’ve locked up everything for the playoffs, which it seems likely they will. I say they’ll pursue the perfect season, but not because they want the record. They want to win every game just like every team does. And the argument goes something like “once home-field advantage throughout is locked up, why not rest your key guys to make sure they’re fresh for the post season?”. To not rest your guys would be arrogant, unsportsman-like even, or so the argument goes. I would suggest that there’s evidence that the opposite is true. That by resting your guys, or by altering your normal routine in a dramatic way, you’d be ultimately hurting your chances of reaching your ultimate goal, which is without question a win in the Super Bowl.

Look at the last two World Series. One team had their LCS wrapped up well in advance of their eventual competition. The team that finished the LCS early went on to lose the World Series, in ugly fashion I might add. It’s like my dad always says about being in law school. The kids that got straight A’s in college never did as well in law school because they weren’t used to having to work for it. The kids that got B’s and C’s in college did great in law school because they knew how to apply themselves. They already had a routine down of how to juggle all the priorities and get their study time in, etc. It’s the same concept in sports.

And this is the same reason why I’m not bothered when the Pats seem to run up the score. What would you have them do? Stop calling effective plays in favor of allowing their opponent the opportunity to come back and make it a close game? In a league where San Diego can give up almost 500 yards of offense to Minnesota one week and then next week they can pick off Peyton Manning 6 times, I’m not going to try to figure out which teams I can afford to slack off against, and which I can’t. And isn’t that almost more offensive and insulting to a team? “Hey, I know you suck and we’re up 20 points in the first quarter, so I’m just gonna put the ship on autopilot right now and let my guys cruise. You’ve got no chance of winning this thing!” Are you supposed to tell your defense to stop trying to make plays? Or to stop pass rushing quite as effectively just so your offense stays on the sidelines a little longer?

This is why I’m all for what the Patriots are doing right now. You play to win each game. Not to shame your opponents, but to play your best each week for 60 minutes. To give anything less would be disrespectful to the sport and the other teams. And you keep pressing ahead even when you’ve locked everything up because you play to win every game. No one wants to be rusty when the Super Bowl rolls around. And let’s face it, the chances of your guys being “fresh” because they didn’t play for 3 weeks versus being plain ol’ rusty are slim. So I say pursue that perfect season oh proud Patriots. Not to shove it in peoples’ faces, though you know a little bit of that is ok with me because people are blowing this camera-gate thing way out of proportion, but because that’s the way you play the game. To win.