I’m telling you right now: if you don’t want to read about whining and homerism, don’t keep reading.
I wish the Patriots never got the bye week.
Out of that extra week without a game for New England, the only stuff that happened benefited the Patriots in no way. There was a lot of trash talk, lots of speculation and some more trash talk.
By the time the day of the actual game arrived, I was worried about it all. Everyone was talking about how little chance the New York Jets should have against this seemingly flawless team. It seemed that this would be a repeat of the second Patriots-Jets game in the regular season and not the first. It was very reminiscent of a couple years ago, a game that ended with Plaxico Burress making the phrase “18-1″ grow everywhere.
I know how little sympathy New England fans get from the rest of the NFL universe, but it still hurts a lot. I’m normally a calm person while watching Patriots games. I was absolutely mute watching the 18-1 Game, and I barely said much during the “4th and 2″ game against the Colts. Bursts of rage and yelling aren’t common from me while watching sports.
In this game, however? When Santonio Holmes scored that absolutely unbelievable touchdown (which had a dagger-in-the-heart feel that had been felt before by another unfortunate team) to put the Jets up 21-11? That was it. I couldn’t take it after that. I flung my remote at my wall in a combination of anger and…. hate?
I couldn’t possibly be hateful right now, could I? Against this New York Jets team that I enjoyed in “Hard Knocks”? The hilarious head coach Rex Ryan, whom I loved watching 14 games out of the regular season? It felt so hard to despise these guys wearing enemy colors after watching them able to speak outside of a game.
Fuck that. After last night’s game, there’s absolutely no way I can watch any of these players anymore. I hate Mark Sanchez, and he’s still a terrible quarterback. Braylon Edwards is a dumb asshole, and I hope he breaks his hands after a car runs them over. It’ll probably make him better at catching. I’ve hated Santonio Holmes when he was a Steeler with his absolutely frustrating, scream-inducing catches, and I hate him so much more now. Eric Smith is a terrible player and doesn’t deserve to be on any team. Finally, Bart Scott is a stupid cunt. I drafted a couple of Jets players on my fantasy team this season, and none of them were consistent. They all sucked when I needed them the most. Ironic.
I tried to get away from ESPN. I still haven’t watched any Sportscenter and probably won’t be able to until the conference championships this weekend. There needs to be a flushing of anything Patriots. I turned to Twitter and the Golden Globe Awards. Making fun of celebrities would help me feel better (it partially did). The sting came back, though, after reading this tweet after the game made it feel even worse. The Patriots killed all the teams left in the playoffs before during the regular season, and they can’t do it now when it matters much more? Why couldn’t they do it?
The first team I really hated were the Pittsburgh Steelers. I’m pretty sure it stemmed from a really irrational reason, too; they always beat me whenever I played Madden. After Ben Roethlisberger was drafted, my anger towards the team continued. James Harrison and Hines Ward also contribute a lot to that hate. When Anthony Smith was talking shit in 2007, I finally, full-blown hated that team. I’ll never admit to actually liking anyone on the Jets, but I can finally say that I downright hate them, and hope they have absolutely no success. I’m hoping for a helicopter crash in the middle of the field next week when New York and Pittsburgh square off. Who do I want to win the Super Bowl now? Anyone from the NFC.
Go.
Packers.