I was born in Connecticut and have lived there my entire life besides being in college, but I'm no more excited than anyone else about seeing the Patriots return to the Super Bowl for the third year in a row. Even though I am from New England, I'm not a Patriots fan, they are probably the team that I love to hate.
Growing up, the Patriots started going on their first string of Super Bowl wins when people my age were starting to watch football and became interested in it. Some people inherit their favorite teams from family, but other people will just choose a team to root for, and usually a good one at that time if they want to save themselves from agony. I inherited being a Giants fan from my father.
Anyways, a lot of my friends were Patriot fans, and knowing how kids are, they will brag about their team is the best. I remember when the Giants faced the Patriots in the Super Bowl for the first time, everyone in school was picking the Patriots to win. This was back in 2007-2008 the year when the Patriots were undefeated through both the regular season and playoffs at this point (18-0).
A few Giants fans, including myself, wore their jersey to school the Friday beforehand. I had hope that the Giants can pull off the upset, they faced the Patriots in the last game of the regular season and the game was decided by only three points. A little Super Bowl magic helped the Giants out with the David Tyree helmet catch kept the game-winning drive alive for New York, they played spoiler to the Patriots perfect season.
Even though I was young at the time, the win felt so sweet for me because very few people believed the Giants could finish the season as Super Bowl Champs. The Patriots team that they beat was regarded as one of the best teams in NFL history, they would have been the first team to go 19-0 as well.
Since the Patriots have made Superbowl runs so often in the Brady-Belichick era, (this one will mark the 9th) I can't help but feel that each one is almost taken for granted by Patriots fans, especially the younger ones. I'm sure that each one has meaning, but it's not as much without having to endure the struggle before reaping the benefits of seeing your team be the last ones standing.
If you are a Pats fan under 25, all you have been accustomed to is winning the division every year and make deep playoff runs. I know most fans can be impatient with playoff droughts nowadays and expect their team to appear in the playoffs every couple of years, but I believe it is unrealistic to think that the Patriots will always make the playoffs and not have to go through a rebuilding period, especially when Brady decides to hang it up. I wonder how these younger fans will adjust if their team does not make the playoffs because they are not used to that feeling.
It can be frustrating watching the Patriots especially in their last few Superbowl runs because I already know their play style and how they run their offense, every team in the league knows their formula. However, in playoff time it seems no defense can shut down Tom Brady. I watched the game on Sunday between New England and Kansas City and it was a thriller.
One of the story-lines heading into the game was the weakness of the Chiefs defense, and it was clear that the game was over before overtime even started, I have seen it far too many times. The Patriots receive the ball first, march down the field 15-20 yards with each pass, and the defense has no way of stopping them. Just as expected, that is how the game ended on Sunday night, and so we will see the team everyone loves to hate facing off against a young Los Angeles squad on February 3.