by Dan Snapp
dan@patriotsdaily.com
So 10 days past the debacle, and already the conspiracy theories are out. Some fans can’t accept a legitimate loss, and grasp any straw available, even the last one. The claims this time (I’ll spare you the links) are that the refs swallowed their whistles in the waning minutes, and that there was some funny business with the game clock.
Don’t do it to yourselves, people. It’s pointless, it’s embarrassing and it’s wrong. It doesn’t matter what you think you see on video or in still frames; they’re not going to reverse the outcome. The Patriots lost, and they deserved to lose.
ProFootballTalk and Deadspin have already latched onto this one, Deadspin to laugh at the joke “online petitions” are to begin with, and PFT just to laugh at Patriot fans. Apparently PFT thinks all signees – up to nearly 20,000 – are legit Pats fans, in which case I’d like to officially welcome Monty Python, Forrest Gump and Elmer Fudd to the flock.
The petition isn’t unique to Patriot fans, though. After the Patriots beat the Rams in 2002, one sullen Rams fan took it as his mission in life to prove the Rams were cheated of rightful victory. He used still frames from the game to point out in great detail how the NFL and the government were in cahoots after 9-11 to award the championship to the Patriots (“9-11” and the “Patriots”, get it? Do you see??!!). Because, the thinking must have gone, were the Rams to prevail, well then the terrorists have already won.
Don’t be that guy, Pats fans.
Go through any game with a fine-toothed comb and you’ll find a dozen penalties that get missed, for both sides. Some games are called better than others, and we’re always going to be bothered by the more egregious errors. But Mike Carey and his crew called a fair game in the Super Bowl. And if you’re honest with yourselves, you’d see the Patriots line got away with some holds, too.
Take your cue from the Patriots coaches and players. Not a one has said anything other than the Giants outplayed them. Certainly none have said, “The better team lost.”
Patriots Daily 
I politely disagree with you. This is not some “conspiracy theory” that people are talking about, but rather, some accute observations. It seams rather odd that not only was there at least one face mask on the play in question, but what appears like several holds. I’m not saying that there was some league wide conspiracy that lead to our loss (our poor performance along the offensive line did the majority of that); however, I think it’s also fair to say that the refs may have blown the call, and should at least admit the possiblity that they changed the outcome of the game by doing that.
It’s interesting to remember an article I read almost 30 years ago that suggested that Superbowls in the future would not be single events, but rather perhaps two separate games, comprising of 8 total periods instead of 4 quarters. The feeling amonst players at the time was that this would tend to mitigate such errors in the future. (I beleive this opinion was especially espoused by players in the late 70’s)
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Great post. For a couple of days after the game I was upset with the way the clock was handled in the last two and a half minutes. It just seemed strange to me (this before all of the YouTube videos and articles came out). With that said, I realized that things like this happen and nothing is going to change the outcome of that game. Just like the Patriots/9-11 angle and the Tuck-Rule. I don’t want this Super Bowl loss to be clumped together with other bitch-fest/conspiracy theories.
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Great post. While I do agree that most media members didn’t want to see us win (as Bruce wrote), the whole talk of petitions and conspiracy theories is a joke. I loved this season and there is nothing I look forward to MORE IN MY LIFE than following and watching the Pats. There were 15-20 plays the Pats could HAVE made in that game which would have changed the outcome but,uncharacteristically they didn’t. They got destroyed on the offensive line and that proved to be the difference plain and simple.
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Tom, what’s to stop a Rams, Panthers or Eagles fan from doing the same thing in the Super Bowls they lost? You think they can’t pare down the game tapes to a half dozen instances where the Patriots got away with something that should have been called?
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Couldn’t agree more, Dan. We laugh at fans of other teams when they make EXCUSES as to why they lost to the Pats…To see some Patriot “fans” playing the “excuse game” is an embarrassment….Pats lost fair and square, tip your hats to the Giants and move on.
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Good points, Dan. We Pats fans need to keep in mind the larger context here: Our Patriots have all handled the sad loss in the Super Bowl with grace, saying that the Giants played an excellent game — which they did. No member of the Pats organization is engaging in sour grapes. By contrast, we have two national figures, Arlen Spector and Marshall Faulk, abusing their positions as Senator and as TV commentator to make sour-grapes claims that Eagles, Steelers, and Rams must have lost playoffs in the 2001, 2003, and 2004 seasons because of Patriots cheating! There is no conceivable basis for such claims, as teams often lose during the season to a competitor they beat in the post-season. Why not? Every play of the earlier game is analyzed. Tendencies are discovered. Coaching can be better the second time around for reasons having nothing to do with signs (and they can be watched from the stands, anyway).
Pats fans need to be able to speak up along with many others against the sour-grapes abuses of political and media power that the likes of Marshall Faulk and Senator Spector are engaged in. So we need to avoid any silly claims against the Giants this time. Who wants an NFL in which every team that loses in the playoffs or Super Bowl calls for investigations because they supposedly were cheated? Close calls and imperfections are part of the game for everyone. The Pats would not have been vulnerable to anything that happened in the last two minutes in Arizona IF their offensive line had protected Brady as usual. It didn’t. The Giants played with smarts and passion, and they won.
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Amen, Brother!
No whining people.
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Jesus Tom, get a grip on yourself. There are hard losses and losses (and victories) that shouldn’t have been. The Ravens fans could make some good points. But NEVER will fans petitions be met with anything other than a shrug that some tin foiled hats have access to the internet and too much time on their hands. If the petition creators could get every human being on the planet to sign the results will not be overturned.
Nothing will change. Yes, I had some problems with the game but the Patriots got beat by a team that played better than they did. I’m still in the “what-if” mode about that game but the refereeing and clock management didn’t cause the Patriots to lose that game.
You idiots (and I’m speaking to Tom Savino and friends) tarnish good, knowledgeable fans. Please take your fandom elsewhere or concentrate on the Kennedy assassination.
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When a Giant player predicted that they will win by the score of 23-17, how many of us thought that if the Giants can hold this offense to 17 points, they deserve the win? I surelly did. Well, they held us to 14, they deserve the win.
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Thanks for weighing in everyone.
Just a word to you trolls that have been occasionally dropping by in this thread and others with comments that are clearly intended to bait others and drive this conversation down into the gutter. Your comments will be deleted. Every time, every comment. It may take two minutes, or it might be two hours, but they will be deleted, and you will be blocked from commenting here again.
If you are someone who is critical of the Patriots, the coach, etc. on this or any other issue, you are welcome if you can make your case in a logical, intelligent manner. If you can do this, then you should be, and will be, treated with respect here.
However, if you’re here to make this yet another board in which you’ve disturbed with your nonsense, purely for the purpose of pissing people off, please be advised that you are not welcome here and never will be, and you’ll be dispensed with for good.
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