Growing up the Patriots were awful. It was tough being a fan then. Today? Well, today it's pretty easy. That said, the old pessimism wells up when things are bad and tonight was no exception. 28-3 and I was done.
"Let's put on that Tom Hanks movie," I said.
"Are you sure?" said my wife. She's new to Patriots Nation so optimism hasn't been tarnished yet. Not a football fan by any means, but sucked in by her new family ties. "They can absolutely still win this game, right?"
"Nope. We're playing awful, I'm done."
We started watching "Inferno" and the ESPN alerts started coming in on the phone. Then the texts started showing up.
"Are you watching still?"
"You may want to come back"
"Um...it's a one score game."
I watched the plays unfold on the ESPN app and my son, Ben, told me I couldn't turn it back on because it would be bad luck. I think he was kidding, but if he was it was only half-kidding.
"HOLY SHIT! WE TIED THE GAME"
"Put it back on, baby..."
We watched the overtime and, of course, the comeback was completed and now the greatest of all time debate starts (ends?) for Brady...for Belichick. I am, naturally, amped up and very excited. But my life hasn't changed.
I have a pair of boys that are still the highlight of my life - the best things to come out of my being on this Earth. A wonderful stepson and a wife who is the love of my life. I will still be traveling to northern Minnesota to sell slot machines this week; Wisconsin next. I'll still be irritated with our new president and friends that politicize my Patriots (I thought it didn't matter what celebrities thought but don't get me started on conservative hypocrisy). I still have great friends (even those previously mentioned!) and an extended family that is the best in the world.
I'm a crazy lucky man. As I was yesterday and will be in the morning - whether we won or lost.
