Bittersweet Memories

Anyway, I’ve been a Pats fan as long as I can remember, watching games with my Dad as a kid. In those days football to me meant cozy fall and winter days on the sofa eating comfort food, dozing off and waking up when something really good or bad happened. Back then it was usually bad, but we didn’t care because our expectations were so low it really didn’t matter. The team had its moments, but no one really expected them to beat those SuperBowl Shufflin’ Bears. It was about the experience for me, being a kid with nowhere else to be on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Later on Patriots games were a reason to gather with friends (see above), drink some beers, cheer the team on, and have a good time together. It wasn’t until we began to settle down, and having little kids kept me home on Sundays, that I really began to appreciate the finer points of the game.

By luck/coincidence/the stars aligning, my team loyalty was rewarded because this was the Belichick and Brady Era, along with their surrounding and ever-changing talent. I learned to love a good hard clean football hit, a sweet perfectly timed interception, the difference between a sloppy fumble and well-coached forced one, a perfectly run route and over the shoulder catch, great lead blocking for the running back, the importance of the O-line and pass rush, a throwaway instead of a sack, and on and on. And to enjoy every minute of a sport where a game-changing turnover can happen on almost every play, and the importance of playing all 60 (or more) minutes of it.

I grew to love Bill Belichick’s football mind, leadership style, work ethic, and team-first philosophy, and even to see the humor in his interactions with the press. I also learned that football is a business, never to get too emotionally attached to a player, as hard as that has been over the years and most especially recently. But that’s for another post, hopefully soon to come.

So for now, it is what it is, #InBillITrust, we’re on to 2020, and always – Go Pats!!