The Superbowl<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Eh. \u00a0Most in the sports media have declared Tom Brady the greatest quarterback of all time, and the Patriots the greatest team. \u00a0Even if they lose\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2017\/02\/the-superbowl.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Superbowl\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Eh. \u00a0Most in the sports media have declared Tom Brady the greatest quarterback of all time, and the Patriots the greatest team. \u00a0Even if they lose\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2017\/02\/the-superbowl.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Daffey 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{"id":8569,"date":"2017-02-05T14:26:04","date_gmt":"2017-02-05T18:26:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/?p=8569"},"modified":"2017-02-05T09:50:49","modified_gmt":"2017-02-05T13:50:49","slug":"the-superbowl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2017\/02\/the-superbowl.html","title":{"rendered":"The Superbowl"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Eh<\/a>. \u00a0Most in the sports media have declared Tom Brady the greatest quarterback of all time, and the Patriots the greatest team. \u00a0Even if they lose tonight. \u00a0 If the Patriots win, then they\u2019ll have a simple stat to back up the claim.<\/p>\n

The problem most people have is that the Patriots seem to embody the stereotypes of what people don\u2019t like about America: Win at all costs, break the rules if you can, morals take a back seat to profit, contempt, snobbishness, \u00a0abrasiveness, and a general dismissal of the little people who keep them there in the first place.<\/p>\n

By virtue of longevity, Brady has racked up the stats, as has the team under Belichick. \u00a0But their talent can\u2019t be ignored. \u00a0Nonetheless there is something more than the bottom line. \u00a0Perhaps it\u2019s an indictment on modern\u00a0America that so many of their biggest fans seem to embrace the\u00a0\u2018it\u2019s the bottom line, stupid\u2019 \u00a0mantra.<\/p>\n

Yet there is something else. \u00a0I lived through the Steelers\u2019 domination of the late 70s, the era of the Cowboys, and the 49ers\u2019 in the 80s, and I can say the Patriots have never enjoyed the same sense of \u2018admiration\u2019 that those teams had in their days. \u00a0In the 80s, even fans of other teams found themselves rooting for San Francisco. Heck, even non-football fans liked them. \u00a0There was something about the finesse, the wink and a nod, of the 49ers back then. \u00a0There was more than just stats that made a sports program, or an athlete.<\/p>\n

This time, not so much. \u00a0In fact, one thing that unites\u00a0America today is that most Americans dislike the Patriots<\/a>, despite their victories. \u00a0I think that speaks volumes.<\/p>\n

But the sports media, and FOX, seem to love them, and so no matter what tonight, they already have enshrined the Patriots\u00a0as the greatest team and quarterback in the history of the game. \u00a0Nonetheless, I\u2019ll root for the Falcons. \u00a0If for no other reason, then on general principle.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"