I’ve got a knot in my stomach about the whole thing. Not because I care who wins, but because the whole thing makes me feel uncomfortable.
- Paul Perillo, Patriots Unfiltered
Perillo went on to say something along the lines of “I don’t want to have to root against Brady. I don’t want to have to think ‘you deserve this, Bill’ if the Patriots get blown out. I just don’t like it.”
And that basically sums up exactly how I feel about Sunday night’s Patriots-Buccaneers game.
I grew up watching the Patriots STINK in the late-80’s/early-90’s. I got to enjoy the Parcells-Bledsoe years in high school. But my entire adult life (from college until I was almost 40) consisted of being treated to the Brady-Belichick dynasty.
The best quarterback to ever play. The best coach to ever coach. I knew I was spoiled as a fan. I knew it would have to end at some point.
But I kept hoping against hope it would end in a joint-retirement of something like that.
Not like this…
I know no one feels bad for Patriots fans. But this is torture.
Brady is my all-time favorite athlete. Almost every single one of my favorite sports fan moments (minus a few Red Sox/Celtics moments) involve him.
Watching the slow-moving car wreck of him leaving the Patriots was brutal. Watching him win a Super Bowl with another team was even more brutal (though I was very happy for him). Watching him come back to New England with that new team while the Patriots are s-t-r-u-g-g-l-i-n-g is just the worst.
To Perillo’s first point in the quote above, I’m always going to be rooting for Brady, but it’s going to be weird rooting against him tomorrow night.
(Though I wonder if some small part of me will be happy if he wins)
To Perillo’s second point in the quote above…Belichick deserves everything he gets. He’s a great coach (albeit probably a huge asshole), but he screwed Brady personnel-wise for YEARS (sure, Gronk and Edelman were awesome, but who else did he have?). He also messed up the roster around Brady from like 2016-2019 — which ultimately played a huge role in Brady’s exit.
I won’t belabor this one too much, but I’ve also got a knot in my stomach. And it’s not because I’m worried about the outcome of the game.
Go Pats (?)
And for today’s song…
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