The New England Patriots blew their opportunity of winning the franchise's fourth Super Bowl with thier overall bad attitudes.
It’s been six days since the New York Giants took the New England Patriots to the proverbial woodshed in Super Bowl XLII, and I’m finally getting a clear picture of what happened on the Pats’ trip to perfection.
The reasons for New England’s trip to ignominy are several fold, but in retrospect, only became all too apparent once the shock of losing the title game started to recede – somewhat.
First and foremost, the Giants obviously wanted the title more than the 18-0 Patriots. They weren’t conceding anything in their quest to unseat the steamrolling Pats.
New York had momentum going into the game, and took it to New England with their first drive, eating up more than 10 minutes. And, although the Giants settled for a field goal, the drive proved they could move the ball against the Patriots.
New England went into the contest already gloating about the prospects of an undefeated season. Several Patriots even had the audacity to invite New York players to post-game celebrations. Say, what? That’s the kind of thing head coach Bill Belichick eschews. And it may have further stirred up the New Yorkers to stick it to the Pats.
Much was made of declarations by a couple of Giants when they predicted a victory (Plaxico Burress) and accused the Patriots of dirty play (Osi Umenyiora). Belichick’s boys habitually used such pronouncements as tools to engender licks on their opposition. Then they shot off their own mouths.
Throughout the regular season and beyond, New England’s players harped on Belichick’s mantra of remaining humble. Well, they went into the biggest game of the year with their heads so swelled that it’s amazing they could fit in their helmets. And it was New York who did the humbling this time around.
