Crow is probably not the healthiest of meals and arguably not the tastiest either, but sometimes it is well deserved. Today, as the NFL kicks off Super Bowl XLVI week, it seems an appropriate dining experience.
On Nov. 7, the Herald ran a lengthy obituary for the Patriots' long-running dynasty following their 24-20 loss to the team they will meet again Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Super Bowl XLVI, the New York Giants. They had just lost their second game in a row in a way that seemed to make clear everything had changed for the most successful franchise in the league over roughly the last two decades (1994-present).
It was a game of turnovers (four), missed opportunities and a defense that couldn't hold, allowing the Giants to travel 80 yards in 81 seconds for the winning score as time was running out. That loss ended a 20-game home winning streak in a way that led to the following conclusion:
"Dynasties do not end in spectacular collapse or fiery conflagration. They end from the corrosive effect of winning, eaten bit by bit until the edge is no longer on your side of the line of scrimmage ... That's how the good old days become the good old days -- one small mistake at a time until your edge is gone and what is left is one dogfight after another.
"That is who the Patriots are now. They are a team doing its best, but not always enough. They are not a dynasty any more. They are a team running with the pack: closer to the head of it than the rear but headed in the wrong direction."
Thus inspired by yours truly, the Patriots didn't lose another game. They won 10 straight to reach their fourth Super Bowl in the past 11 years under the direction of Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and Bob Kraft, and I'm glad I could help.
These Patriots won the AFC championship in just the kind of nail-biting dogfight that earlier column alluded to, but when you win those types of games, as the Patriots did so often this season, it means the dynasty is not over regardless of what happens Sunday.
If the Patriots win their fourth Super Bowl in five tries it will cement their position among the elite of the elite: the Packers of the 1960s, Steelers of the '70s, 49ers of the '80s and Cowboys of the '90s. They will have won as many Super Bowls in one era as the Steelers and will be only one short of the five San Francisco took home between 1981 (its first) and 1994 (its last). Forget the Steelers' grand total of six because the last two came more than 25 years after the fourth, making that run a different point in time.
But even if they are beaten by the Giants it doesn't change the fact they're here, one of two survivors in the most competitive league in sports. A loss would not signal the end because against difficult circumstances they kept the torch ignited in 2001 burning. That alone makes them the equivalent of the Ming Dynasty.
If the Patriots defeat the Giants they would have won four Lombardi Trophies in 11 seasons and would have lasted longer at the top than any franchise but the 49ers, who won five in 14 years.
The Packers won five championships in seven years between 1961 and 1967, the latter two being the first two Super Bowls, but after that glorious run to daylight did not return to the Super Bowl for 29 years.
The Steelers won four Super Bowls in six years between 1974 and 1979 but then went 16 years before returning and 26 years before winning again.
The 49ers were the dominant team of the 1980s and some might argue of all time, winning five Super Bowls between 1981 and 1994, but it has now been 17 years and counting waiting for their return (although they did reach the NFC Championship Game this season, so the beast is stirring again).
In the 1990s, it was America's Team, the Dallas Cowboys, that ruled the decade, winning three Super Bowls in four years between 1992 and 1995, but it has now been 16 years and counting since they last won and their return does not appear likely any time soon. In fairness to Dallas, 1992-95 was arguably its second dynasty, as the Cowboys won two Super Bowls and appeared in five between 1970 and 1978. Fourteen years then elapsed before they returned, so maybe that's the normal span after a decade of dominance?
While one can argue the merits of the Patriots dynasty over those of the Packers, Steelers, 49ers and Cowboys, with their return to Super Bowl XLVI there's one thing you can't argue: A dynasty ain't over till it's over. So, excuse me while I go broil the bird and wash down some crow with a bottle of cabernet from Drew Bledsoe's Doubleback Winery.
Bon appetit!
