Fuck Eli Manning

When the Pats picked up Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Adalius Thomas, Dante Stallworth, Sammy Morris and resigned Asante Samuel in the offseason last year, I knew something special was about to happen in Boston.

When they won their first game 38-14 against the Jets - a game that was a lot closer on paper than it was if you watched it - the first thing I thought of was "holy shit they are going to go 19-0". They kept rolling on and each Sunday became the highlight of my week - with the anticipation of each game increasing exponentially as they approached perfection.

But then last night happened.

By far the biggest game I've ever witnessed, and conversely - the biggest upset of my lifetime.

What I can't help but thinking is that if they had to do it all over again, would I rather they lose somewhere in the regular season and win the Superbowl or go out like they did last night? I mean to go 18-0 and lose the bowl is almost identical to final tabling a MTT as the chip leader the whole way and losing heads up (to Eli fucking Manning).

But regardless of the outcome, the 2007 season is one I'll never forget. If they had lost to the Colts, Eagles, Baltimore, etc during the regular season then went on to win the Superbowl, it would have been great, but thats been done before. Thats the 2004 Pats, where they played well throughout the season then dominated the playoffs. I've been through that. Its fun; but this was better.

And knowing that it is ridiculously unlikely that any team ever again will approach perfection, I guess I have to take solace in the fact that I was apart of something special, even including the loss last night.

There were many things that went awry in last nights game, but probably the most disappointing thing is that the Pats beat themselves. I would probably be more willing to accept the loss if Eli went 28/34 345 yards 4 td's 0 int's but that wasn't the case. Neither team played that great and the game came down to who made less mistakes. I don't know who was playing QB for the Pats last night but it wasn't the God among men that had played the whole season. Although I do have to admit that the Giants pass rush was off the charts last night, probably knocking Brady down more than he had been knocked down all season accumulatively. And yet, I was never even considering that they would actually lose the game. With 36 seconds and 3 time outs on their own 15 I was still confident they were winning. Not until Brady threw the final pass on 4th and 20 did I think it was over. If you watched them play this year you know what I mean. During every close game you almost felt that they had it all under control, almost toying with their opponents at times.

So while Eli's ridiculous 3rd and 5 scramble and toss up will probably go down as the best play in Superbowl history, I'll always remember it as the only sports moment that truly broke my heart.

And while I'm depressed now, I guess thats why we watch sports, since there are very few things on earth that can make us feel such euphoric highs and lows. I just hope I'll be on the opposite side of the emotion scale in the future since this was an all time low.