Patriot Games

All that shines apparently is not golden. Take the New England Patriots and their seemingly transcendent drive toward perfected immortality this NFL season. More and more, it’s starting to look as if by the time the Pats get there the feat will be looked upon as much for its dubiosity as any level of grandeur. 

For to the trained eye, it’s becoming rather obvious that all the league’s corporate suits seem to be pulling just as mightily for the Pats to hold the distinction of being able to pop their collars at all the competition as much as their hoodie-wearing coach must be.

Think about it, given all the breaks the Pats have attained in their run for glory, it now seems safe to say Lady Luck, like seemingly half of the leading women in Hollywood, must be a Tom Brady admirer.

Yeah, yeah, we all know luck is the residue of design, meaning that ultimately it’s the New England way of doing things that has put them in the enviable position of chasing their third Super Bowl title in six years. Still, it doesn’t hurt to have the powers-that-be watching your back.

In the final minute alone of their 27-24 Monday night win over the Baltimore Ravens, three game-changing calls categorically sealed the Patriots' fate by all but systematically defining the Ravens' standing.

Certainly the Rex Ryan timeout call, the Jamaine Winborne pass interference call and the Jabar Gaffney touchdown catch were all plays that could have gone either way, but is it mere coincidence that all of them went the way of the Patriots?

“It’s hard to go out there and play the Patriots and the refs at the same time,” Ravens cornerback Chris McAlister told the Associated Press. “They put the crown on top of them, they want them to win. They won.”

Perish that thought insists all 53 members of the Pats’ prideful posse. Brady went so far as to point out to AP “that for three quarters most of it didn’t go our way. We just kept clawing.”

But in the end, everything again went the way of the Patriots. Their drive for perfection remaining intact, even as the level of respect for their mounting accomplishments may be wavering. 

To post a comment, you need to login or sign up.	Fan Comments It's abusurd to think either game officials or NFL front office execs are leaning for the Pats. There are 31 other owners besides Bob Kraft, and they'd have Goodell's butt on a platter so fast his head would spin if any of this was true. Makes for great conspiracy theory stuff though! Posted at 11/12 20:39 by BazBear View All