The fourth Lombardi

It's been a great decade to be a New England Patriots fan. If I had a blog back in 1989 -- or '99 -- I could have never imagined writing that sentence. But from the moment Adam Vinatieri's kick sailed through the middle of the uprights on a February Sunday in 2002, being a Pats fan has been an amazing ride. Some might say it was when Tom Brady came on the field while Drew Bledsoe limped to the bench spitting up blood in the September of that season. But not me. I've seen many teams come to the Super Bowl, lose, and then slide right back into the mire of mediocrity (or worse). If Vinatieri's kicked had sailed, say, wide right, who knows what would have happened. The odds were good for the Rams to win in OT since the Pats' D was gassed. If the kick doesn't go through, and the Pats lose, who knows how that would have effected the team. Winning gave that group of young but experienced players a confidence that has influenced everything they have done since. Lose and we'd still be talking about that holding call against Willie at the goal line. We saw it in '86. We saw it in '96.

A lot has happened since Gil's cries of "It's goood! It's gooood!" with the sound of Gino laughing in disbelief in the background. Most of it a lot of fun to watch and cheer for. The Pats have had several shots at winning a fourth title but haven't been able to close the deal. Take away two improbable catches (one by Reggie Wayne in the '06 AFC title game and the other one we all know about) and the Pats could have five Super Bowls in eight years. Oh, and a perfect season. Just a few highlight reel catches away from having the greatest decade in NFL history. But that's what makes football so great. There's no best of seven. After a long, punishing season, you get one game for it all. And any team can win. As much as a bummer as it was to watch them lose leads in the AFC title game and the Super Bowl in back-to-back seasons, you have to give credit to the Colts and Giants. They made the plays. The Pats didn't give those games away. The other teams took them. The Pats have been sooooo close to #4. And now they take another shot at it.

Brady is back and Shep, Matt, Bergs, Mark, Steve, Jim, and the rest of us are ready for another season. We have to enjoy this while it lasts. As we were reminded last year when Brady went down, this won't last forever. But we knew that. We say it all the time. Let's just enjoy it while it lasts because we remember what it was like to root for a 1-15 team. You always hear talk radio referring to the "spoiled Pats fans" who take winning for granted. I haven't met one yet. But I guess they are out there.

I'm going to blog every week this season (not every day... I have a job) as the Pats try to close out the decade with their fourth title. Win another Super Bowl and they will cement their place in the rankings of the top four franchises of all time: 1. Pittsburgh 2. Dallas 3. San Francisco 4. the Pats. (If they had beaten the Giants they'd already be at #2. That's what a 19-0 season would have meant.) I'll follow the season from the tailgate to the fourth quarter of every game at the ever-expanding Patriot Place, uh, I mean Gillette Stadium, (There really is a football stadium back there, I checked on it the other day while going to the movies.)

I'll also look back at some of the best memories of the last decade of football in Foxborough -- in the parking lot and on the field -- in the posts labeled "Tales from the Tailgate." And I'll keep track of the NFL using all the 24/7 outlets on radio and TV that have changed what it's like to be a sports fan. But mostly the NFL Network. Love Prime Time. From Brett Favre and TO to the new Cowboys stadium where the video screen that hangs over the field is so large that punts are hitting it. It should be a great season. Love the NFL.