I held off on ranting for 2 weeks, but I have to let it out. Is there any team in this entire league that gets less respect than the Patriots? I mean, having to endure the "Superbowl Shuffle" in 1986 by a bunch of losers who needed rapping lessons? Followed by a run up on the scoreboard (very reflective of the classless, arrogant Bears of that year) by a spectacle overweight lineman? Is that the best you can do? Then to hear comparisons of 1986 to this year? Hearing that we shouldn't have won the "Snow Bowl", and listening to "The Bus" do what he does best, run off at the mouth? To hear that the Steelers already booked their flights to New Orleans (probably non-refundable, or at least I hope)?

What do we know that they don't? I can't believe that they don't run some sort of Defense versus Defense comparison. Am I seeing the same games? When a Defense is good but struggles from the "Red Zone", you hear it all the time, but when we are #1 in Red Zone Defense, we hear that we give up too many yards. What the heck is wrong with these people?

I'll tell you... Allright, I can't explain it. But there is a misperception out there, and this was the week to put an end to it once and for all. We stopped the Bus, we made Slash cry, we exposed their inferior Special Teams, we dusted off a Pro Bowl QB and stuck it to them, ignored the attempts by the referees to shift momentum and hand the title over to the team that "should" have won, and we did it despite the fact that 95% of the media world told us we couldn't do it. I think that is beyond words. I don't know how a team can hold it together when they are told all year that they are not talented. It makes the victory even more special.

Hey, after beating the #1 seed team in the AFC, we should get some respect for the Superbowl, right? Uh... right? Bueller? Well we took abuse from the rest of the country, but prevailed and earned a trip to New Orleans. Here are some pics from the day:

AFC Championship Party pics (click on the picture for a larger version)
The gang	getting	a little	rowdy,	and stuff
We love refs	A new fan	Mark and Natalie	Natalie
Just like her Dad!	Awwww.	Another new fan		Will and Rowan
Our co-host	The lucky charm	kind of like the Buddha	Football is for dogs too