There's probably no greater, more partisan Patriots fan among the "net media" than Bill Simmons, ESPN's Sports Guy. Minutes after the Giants stunning Super Bowl win, blog commenters were wondering if the Boston native was still alive or if the upset had sent him over the edge.
Yesterday he posted his Super Bowl recap article, which was surprisingly gracious. He compared his fellow Patriots fans to the cocky Rams fans that watched their team choke away Super Bowl XXXV to the Patriots seven years ago and congratulated the Giants fans on their big win.
The most interesting news from the article was that Simmons had arranged to celebrate the Patriots inevitable win at a private celebration with Tom Brady and his entourage in his deluxe suite. I'm sure it's no surprise to Simmons' critics that one day he would spend a night in Tom Brady's hotel room but it was almost sad as you read how disappointed he was.
Almost. Before you felt too sorry for Simmons, he demonstrated why so many football fans loathed the Patriots this season:
Nice. Looks like there's plenty of loathing left over for next season.
Two other thoughts:
- The 2004 New York Yankees (the team that lost four straight to the Red Sox in the ALCS) went 101-61 during the regular season and led the league in home runs. Boston fans like to call that "the greatest choke in sports history". I wonder if that's still the case.
- In 2007, Peyton beats the Patriots then goes on to win the Super Bowl MVP. This year Eli beats the Patriots then goes on to win the Super Bowl MVP. The Manning family owns Boston lately. If I were George Steinbrenner, I'd sign a Manning - any Manning - just for the rub-it-in-their-faces PR value.