Ordinarily, I root for greatness.
It is why I preferred Muhammad Ali to Joe Frazier. It is why I didn’t want Karl Malone and John Stockton to win their first NBA championship when Michael Jordan could get his sixth.
It explains why every October I pulled for the Atlanta Braves because their truly great accomplishment of 14 consecutive postseason appearances during the free-agent era needed more than one World Series title for greatness to be sealed.
I not only love Tiger, I find it incomprehensible why so many people like Phil.
When it comes to the New England Patriots, however, I am suddenly conflicted.
The Patriots are not only great, they’ve redefined the word by raising its standards. I am mesmerized by the efficiency of Tom Brady. He likened his quarterback performance last week to that of a point guard. It was a perfect analogy. Brady and the Pats’ offense are scoring touchdowns with the ease of a fast-break layup. All Brady does is keep his eyes open and dish to the open man — Randy Moss often as not — for the bunny six.
“The most underrated segment of the New England Patriots is their offensive line,” Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said. “Tom Brady does not have this year unless that offensive line is giving him as much time as he has to make some of those throws. He takes three or four hitches sometimes to make some of those throws downfield.”
But as the Patriots close in on their mission of becoming the greatest team of all time, why is my heart tugging for the field?
It’s not because of any attachment to the 1972 Miami Dolphins, the most overrated 17-0 team in football history. Nor is it because I think the Patriots are cheats. I don’t. They got caught illegally taping in the first quarter of the first game of the season. They are 10-0 now with nine blowouts. Spygate may have helped the Pats win previous Super Bowls but it has meant nothing to their dominance in 2007, other than to inspire revenge.
Maybe that’s it. The Patriots are bullies. There is usually a modicum of class that comes with greatness. I’m no fashion king and my well-worn hooded sweatshirt proves it. But even I struggle to spot class in a hoody.
And it doesn’t matter if the Pats are a fast-break team. When you’re up 40 in the fourth, the lowest denominator of sportsmanship says you play the bench and go into the four-corner stall.
The Pats are great, no doubt. But they have bullied their way there.
Or maybe my problem with the Patriots is they’ve gone beyond great to the level of the absurd. I’m not even sure the Patriots are good for the NFL. The suits in Manhattan cannot be pleased the wise guys in Vegas have made the Patriots a 24-point favorite today against the Philadelphia Eagles.
No team led by Andy Reid on the sidelines and Brian Westbrook in the backfield should go into a game down 24-0. Since when did the NFL become Tom Osborne’s Cornhuskers taking on North Texas, circa 1993? It’s an outrage. Greatness is much more attractive when there’s some element of intrigue. Not even Tiger wins them all.
“The New England Patriots have beat the free-agency system,” said Steve Young, the former great quarterback who is now an ESPN analyst. “They have figured out how to become a team like the powerhouses pre-free agency. Meanwhile, they are playing teams that are in free agency that haven’t figured it out. It used to be you’d play 10 really good defenses a year. Now they’re playing two. And they’re really enjoying that. They’re in the nirvana period.”
The Pats’ nirvana is my lament. Maybe Moss is my problem. He is a proven quitter. Quit once on the Vikings in an NFC championship game. Quit on his second season in Oakland. And now he’s the lift operator in the Patriots’ climb from very good to great.
If quitters never win, and winners never quit, what are we going to tell our children if Moss wins the Super Bowl?
Mike Klis: 303-954-1055 or mklis@denverpost.com
