Hello? Hello? Is this thing on? It’s been awfully quiet on the national scene since about 10pm Sunday night.

It really is hard to believe just how many media-created storylines have to be scrapped following Sunday night’s Super Bowl win by the New England Patriots.

You will never again hear that the Patriots haven’t won a Super Bowl since Spygate. (On the other hand, you can continue to point out that the Denver Broncos haven’t won a Super Bowl since they cheated the salary cap.)

You’ll never again hear that Bill Belichick could only win with Bill Parcells’ players. (A ridiculous notion to begin with. Bill Parcells couldn’t win with Bill Parcells’ players.)

You’ll never hear that Belichick didn’t win without Romeo Crennel or Charlie Weis.

You’ll never again hear that Tom Brady doesn’t have as many Super Bowl wins as Joe Montana or Terry Bradshaw.

You won’t hear about what a colossal mistake it was to let Wes Welker go and have Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola instead.

You won’t hear that the team made a fatal mistake trading Logan Mankins. (By the way, weird coincidence – Mankins was drafted three months after the Patriots won the Super Bowl in February 2005, and was traded away five months before the Patriots won the Super Bowl in February 2015. His Patriots career exactly spanned the gap between titles.)

No more “Gisele jinx” if that was such a thing. (From the above, it would seem more like Mankins was the jinx.)

That’s not even counting the endless stupid storylines that were generated just this season by no-nothing columnists and sports radio hosts. Brady’s finished! Rift between Brady/Belichick! Revis is disinterested! LaFell is a bust! Gronk can’t stay healthy for a full year! Browner is below average! Jimmy G! Broncos are ALL IN! WEAPONZ! Etc etc etc.

This was the Super Bowl that handled all family business. From the very start of the season this team was under siege. In intensified tenfold during the two weeks leading up to the game, thanks to whiny Ryan Grigson of the Colts.

Perhaps not coincidentally, Grigson was a scout with the Rams when they lost to the Patriots in 2001, and with the Eagles when they lost to the Patriots in 2004.

All Grigson has accomplished is making his team a target for the foreseeable future.

It’s hard to imagine a more satisfying win. Even the manner in which victory was sealed – snatching victory from what appeared to be heartbreaking defeat – was perfect. The rest of the country looking on, rooting hard against the Patriots, thinking they’re done, especially after the third unbelievable last-minute catch by the opponent in three Super Bowls, and an undrafted rookie intercepts the ball, crushing millions. The videos circulating of various Super Bowl parties are hilarious.

Coming into the game, I was glad it was going to be Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth doing the game. I’ve had issues with Collinsworth in the past, but I thought the duo was more than fair in the Patriots games they did this season, including the Cincinnati game when they spend a good chunk of the broadcast mocking those in the media who were calling Tom Brady finished.

It was disappointing then, for me to hear them throughout the night placing such a focus on the underinflated footballs, even as the Patriots took the lead late in the fourth quarter. Earlier in the day, Ian Rapoport of the NFL had provided the most details yet on the case, which pointed even more towards this whole thing being a witchhunt, yet it wasn’t mentioned at all.

It still wasn’t enough to put any sort of true damper on the night.

It was truly a game for the ages, in which a new generation of NFL fans got to see Belichick and Brady ascend to the top of the game once again.

I’m still trying to process it all.

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Published by Bruce Allen

Automattician.

18 thoughts on “The Ultimate Answer”

  1. Nice summary, Bruce.

    Of all of the phony storylines, my absolute favorite is the Brady / B.B. rift.

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  2. The home whose wall I wish I were a fly on late Sunday night belongs to Indy Media Hack Bob Kravitz. He was the one who happily brought matches AND gasoline to a fire that wasn’t, and who largely lives a solitary, curmudgeonly life because of his angry behavioral patterns.

    I’m betting there was some pet-kicking and pot-throwing going on in that household.

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    1. I’m already looking forward to the Colts game in Indy next year. Hopefully it will be later in the year after the Pats have hit their groove.

      What’s the record for points in a game? BB will be gunning for it.

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    2. Don’t forget “Doyel”, the even BIGGER moron and psychotic Pats hater who took Kravitz’s place at Indy Star. He must have been going all Glenn Close in “Fatal Attraction” after Butler picked off that pass — sitting in his bedroom, staring straight ahead with a blank look on his face and flipping the desk lamp off and on repeatedly.

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  3. You will never again hear that the Patriots haven’t won a Super Bowl since Spygate.

    “Tony, they were handed that one this year, but let’s not forget they lost two. The Spygate narrative is alive and well.”

    YARM!

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  4. Great season Bruce. Well done all season pointing out the nonsense.

    WHEN it is finally reported that the Patriots did absolutely, and unequivocally, NOTHING wrong in the deflating nonsense, it will really be a shame to think back at all of the things said and written on this topic. And how none of the toothpaste can go back in the tube. For me, it was being away on business in my hotel room a couple weeks back and watching Mike Greenberg on CNN talking about how this may affect Belichick’s HOF status. How absurd will that sound in retrospect?

    This was the most satisfying one of all, there is no doubt. During the season I thought about all of the local idiots (ahem… F&M… ahem) who would be eating crow in February… little did I know the national media would be joining the fun.

    What a great season… despite the noise, I enjoyed it immensely.

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    1. The benefit of the witch hunt will be that the Patriots have exposed who the frauds are and who their friends are. ESPN is getting the “Fredo” treament from the Pats.

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      1. One other benefit: Unlike with Spygate, when their passive attitude “for the good of the league” allowed the media and the haters to frame THE NARRATIVE, which sticks with them to this day (CHEATERS!!), Kraft and BB clearly are no longer going to take the “lie back and think of England” approach the next time the Boy King in charge of the NFL in New York wants to pull his tough guy act just because some bitter, sore loser team accuses the Pats of something. Fortunately, I think those days are over. Of course, they can’t really control what the professional smear merchants in the media say, because it’s nearly impossible to win a libel suit against the press; however, as you said, at least they can begin stiffing those media outlets who take it too far — like ESPN, which is now a two-time offender in the “taking it too far” category (Spygate and Deflategate).

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  5. A great season that was, on a broadcasting level, painful at times to endure as a fan because of the media and the noise they generated, both locally and across the country. No need to rehash it all — you just put it into perfect perspective Bruce — but when Butler made the INT, a cloud lifted and my delirium went to a place I’m not sure I’ve ever felt before — mainly because of the wild swings in the last 2 minutes. We’ll all be savoring this one for a very, very, very, very, VERY long time.

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    1. Well, at least he threw in the “if any” to make it sound like there’s at least some doubt they’ll get penalized (should be 100% doubt, but it’s the NFL, and Herr Goodell makes crap up as he goes along, so you never know what might happen).

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  7. Bruce, that’s an awesome line about Denver not winning a Super Bowl since cheating on the salary cap. Perfect comeback for any Broncos trolls (and they are out there!) who come crawling around Patriots boards, etc. The 49ers haven’t won a SB since they were caught cap-cheating either. So, if we apply the ludicrous “just getting there doesn’t count” standard that was applied to the Patriots after they lost two Super Bowls post-Spygate, then it’s perfectly OK for us to say: “you guys haven’t won ANYTHING since you were caught cheating on the cap.” Fair assessment, yes?

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  8. By the way, shouldn’t Tanguay receive the “Mediot of the Year” award simply for his insane THE WINDOW IS CLOSED!!! rant after the team BEAT the Jets in Foxboro on that Thursday night? That was an all-timer, right there.

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    1. “They won’t get better, Andy!! They just won’t”

      Was 100% waiting (and hoping) Gresh would have tossed him right out of the press box to a painful death. I remember hearing some very real frustration and anger in Gresh’s voice that night.

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      1. It wasn’t worth the waste of breath since Tanguay is fired too. Rants like that are what did him in. Trying to be like Mike (Felger)and not the good one(Jordan)is what cost him a job. The lesson kids is just be yourself.

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    2. Co-winners, Tanguay and Guregian, who made the same declaration in a column published in the Herald and then a few weeks later was writing as if that never happened.

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  9. Charles Haley, speaking in the 3rd person, going with the Mort report and ignoring the Ian Rappaport report. People will believe what they want to believe.

    “This is what Charles Haley believes — it’s going to come back to haunt him one day,” Haley said. “If the league doesn’t come down on this guy. … Everybody is talking about it. Nobody believes it was by accident. It is what it is.

    “I’m not going to take any of his Super Bowl rings away from him. But it’s sad that it has to be tainted like it is right now. Hopefully they’ll come out and let us know what really happened. Then all the mystery is gone.”

    ***

    Tried and Convicted in the court of Charles Haley!!!

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