This is the Worst Loss I've Ever Experienced as a Fan

[Horace's Ivories]

I think the only way to deal with this loss is to truly take in that this team was not 19-0 caliber (well, obviously by the record). but even if they win by 4 they are not the best ever and the perfect season would always be muddled with spygate (without merit), the improbable Baltimore win, and then barely getting past the Giants twice. If a team is to be 19-0 it needs to destroy teams all the way through the playoffs and the SB ala the 18-1 Bears. Try to look forward to a revamped Defense (LBs and DBs esp) and maybe a real Offensive Coordinator (sorry, I couldnt help it)...

 

[Lansdowne]

Yeah, but notice how well the 2004 WS took care of 2003 rather nicely? I'm just really hoping that the Pats can grab another one next year, and this year is just remembered as that fluky super bowl that they lost between wins.

If I tell myself that enough, I can kinda ignore the voice of reason in my head that keeps saying that you can't just squander Super Bowl opportunities- you just don't get that many of them.

I think that, for me, beyond the fact that we could have had 19-0, the worst part is that I really can't rationalize this loss. When we lost to the Broncos, it was a fluke pick-six, it was substantially weaker than the last 2 teams anyways, and some odd reffing. When we lost to the Colts, the injuries were clearly the cause. As a result, I was able to maintain the way I look at Belichick and Brady, which is basically as a couple of superheroes.

That's over, though. I don't know if I'll ever be able to explain it to people who didn't experience something like it (most of the posters here obviously did), but, in 2003 and 2004, Belichick and Brady were untouchable. By virtue of them being on our side, I never doubted that we would win. When we won the 2003 and 2004 SBs by a combined 6 points, I honestly wasn't nearly as worried as, in hindsight, I probably should have been. I knew that they'd pull through. It was a really, really fun place to be in; all of the good parts of being a fan, without any of the ****ty parts. After the last 3 years, though, that's definitely gone, and even winning next year's SB wouldn't bring it back. Don't get me wrong, I definitely think this team has the ability to win another couple of SBs, but I'll never think it's a sure thing.

Going back to the baseball comparison, this is the first time that I've ever felt bad for Yankees fans. Jeter was their Brady, Torre was their Belichick, and right now was their 2004.

I forgot to mention the Red Sox's 2004 redemption as part of the case for the SB being worse.

I totally agree, the Patriots mystique and air of invincibility is gone. This 2007 felt like the big brother of their 2003/2004 counterparts until that stinker in the SB. Instead it is the big brother of 2006, who got into Harvard but flunked out in the final semester.

A Super Bowl regardless of record would help a lot, since that is always what is most important. But yeah, the Patriots raised the bar so high that there will be at least a slight sense of disappointment if they can't head into the playoffs undefeated again. Because you just know that if any team can pull it off, it's the Patriots.

 

[karran_s]

The first day is always the worst.. Then, it gets a little better.

We'll remember this one for a long time though.. Each agonizing little play that could have gone our way didn't for some reason.. On the other hand, the Giants were able to convert the slimmest of chances in their favor - Eli's escape and the miracle catch .. that was the one play that made the difference. In the end, it took a miracle to beat us - all by 3 points (the FG that BB decided not to kick !)

Well, maybe we were not destined to win this year, with all the accumulating 'hubris'....

I'm looking forward to next year.. It will be a long road and the team should focus on reaching the goal again and win this time !

I don't care about being perfect again.. The media kind of ruined the whole perfection thing and set us up to fail ... If the team had been loose and playing without history weighing heavily, we would have brought home another ring. At the start of the game, all the Pats looked serious, grim and very few were smiling...

 

[aluminum seats]

After a couple of days thinking about it, I think there's a couple reasons this is so bad to me, apart from losing the perfect season.

One, it's the cumulative effect of the last couple years. Some of you have said you thought last year was more painful than this year. I don't agree, but it WAS horrifically painful--I think we all feel confident that the Pats would have beaten the Bears last year (although we all know there's no guarantee.) So what we're looking at NOW is the Pats could have TWO more Super Bowls if just TWO plays were different--the Pats converting the 3rd down last year, and Samuel holding on the pick this year. That's unprecedented sports pain, if you think about it. What comes close back to back?

The second thing for me that makes this worse is that it shakes the foundation of what we believed. The Denver loss two years ago was a series of screw-ups that you could write off to chance. Last year, the Pats were spent, sick, and exhausted, and really out-manned on offense. But this year, the primary problem was with the COACHING. Ouch. And, honestly, if Brady is the leader of the team, he's GOT to be more aggressive in making things happen, before the last drive.

So the 2 great parts of the team let us down. Ouch again. Like all of this stuff, the pain can really only be mitigated by another season, another championship. It seems so far away now, but I can't wait to be immersed in a football season again.

 

[richpats]

The second thing for me that makes this worse is that it shakes the foundation of what we believed. The Denver loss two years ago was a series of screw-ups that you could write off to chance. Last year, the Pats were spent, sick, and exhausted, and really out-manned on offense. But this year, the primary problem was with the COACHING. Ouch. And, honestly, if Brady is the leader of the team, he's GOT to be more aggressive in making things happen, before the last drive.

It's better to look at the 2005-2007 Patriots as a separate entity from the 2001-2004 Patriots. It won't make you feel better, but it'll make you understand what has been happening to the Patriots. The last 3 Patriot teams have been anything but dominant in the playoffs.