Sunday is the biggest day in professional sports, and I’m pissed that I can’t be more excited about it. The thing is, how can I be? I really thought my favorite team was going to be in the game – and they just aren’t.
I’m a Patriots fan. I love the my Patriots. I hate when they’re season is over. I went into that AFC Championship game with cautious optimism and left it with a pit in my stomach. I truly could not believe they lost.
But they did.
We here in the New England are are totally spoiled. Okay, not all of our teams are great right now, but between the four major teams in the region we’ve have nine championships since 2001. That’s nine teams that have one the championship in their respective sport.
That is not including the four times our teams have been in the championship game/series and have lost. In total we’ve rooted for our teams in thirteen championships over the past fifteen years.
It’s pretty disgusting. And I would hate us if I were a fan of another team. The crazy thing is, no matter how many times you taste victory through your favorite team you always want more.
How lucky are we that our Patriots have been in the last five AFC Championship games? Other cities would love to have that opportunity – but they’ve only one two of those five conference championship games and only one of those ended in a Super Bowl title.
Still, not a bad problem to have. But when they lose, I go into a sort of depression. I cut myself off from sports almost entirely. I give up on sports radio completely and barely check sports Web sites or TV channels.
I understand that WEEI and The Sports Hub have to talk about the Patriots losing, but why do I have to put myself through it again listening to it? I have plenty of other non-porous stuff to listen to and enjoy.
Which finally brings me to this game on Sunday? If the Patriots won, there would’ve been a huge Super Bowl party at one of my friends house. I would’ve been wearing Patriots stuff for the past two weeks and would have been soaking in every radio and TV show I could.
Now, it’s just a game. A game I guess I’ll be watching, but probably at home with my wife or by myself. It’s won’t be as enjoyable, and it won’t have any real meaning to it.
So I guess this is how most football fans watch it every year. Me, I watch it with a slow shake of the head thinking – my team had a chance to be there again and they blew it. Now I have to watch the team that beat them to get there.
And I guess I do have something to root for. I am not a Panthers fan, but I don’t have anything against them. If they win, that’s nice for them. I think Cam Newton is on the verge of being the next BIG superstar in this league, and I hope they win it. I do.
But more importantly, I hope the Broncos lose and lose bad. I hope it’s like when the Seahawks destroyed them two years ago. I’m not rooting for a close game. Not close at all. I hope the Panthers lose by 40.
Yes, I am bitter my team lose and is not there. And yes, I do NOT want to have an entire off season of sports reporters licking Peyton Manning’s undercarriage as he possibly rides off into the sunset. I don’t think I can take that.
Luckily I can avoid most of it if it were to happen. Which I don’t think it will.
Panthers 40 – Broncos 20.
More importantly, I just hope that my Super Bowl squares are good numbers.
And the commercials don’t suck.
