If you are a sensitive, insecure Patriots fan you might want to grab some “Old School”-style earmuffs to wear for the next couple weeks.
And some blinders.
Heck, you might just want to go out of pocket and off the grid for a while.
Because the Super Bowl LVIII matchup between Patrick Mahomes’ Chiefs and Brock Purdy’s 49ers is a painful reminder of what New England used to be and what Robert Kraft’s team is far from being right now.
Tom Brady and Bill Belichick are now both long gone from Foxborough.
The Patriot Dynasty is officially dead and buried. And like some perverse month-too-late version of “A Christmas Carol”, Patriot Nation is forced to sit back and prepare for a Super Bowl that’s essentially a nightmare of the team’s playoff appearances gone by.
Kansas City is starting to hit a bit too close to home for some in these parts. They ride the best QB in football, a guy you just can’t bet against with the game or season on the line. Mahomes is now in his fourth Super Bowl in six years as a starting quarterback. He’s looking to land his third Lombardi while trying to guide the Chiefs to become the first NFL team to win back-to-back Super Bowls since the, yes, 2003-04 Patriots.
Mahomes is doing more with less these days in the passing game, although his defense and running game are chipping in as much as ever. And he has a future Hall of Fame tight end in Travis Kelce to turn to when he needs a passing play and needs to trust his target most. Sound familiar?
Reid and Mahomes are making a run to challenge accomplishments and records set by Belichick and Brady that many thought would never be approached again, certainly not in the immediate aftermath of two decades of success that left the football world in awe.
But here we are, lauding and applauding Reid, Mahomes and the budding dynasty that’s showing up year after year in the Show Me state.
And if the Chiefs are the reminder of the great days of the Patriots’ recent past, then the 49ers bring back memories from a couple decades earlier and the foundation of the dynasty in New England.
Purdy is an upstart second-year, late-round pick looking to put his name in the record books of Super Bowl winners and heroes. Sure he’s got arguably the most talented team in the NFL, managing offensive playmakers and a talented defense to success. But no one in these parts should sniff at the San Francisco signal-caller’s humble football beginnings.
And the San Francisco organization is back in the biggest game in sports for the eighth time, looking to join the Patriots and Steelers as the only franchises with six Lombardi Trophies to brag about.
The Patriots dynasty is secure in its accomplishments, even if some of its fans are not. Belichick is the most accomplished winner in NFL history, at least for now. Brady is the GOAT, his seven Super Bowl wins still light years ahead of the perceived competition.
But the Chiefs got something special building in the Midwest. Reid is vying to make an argument that he’s the best coach of this generation, one that grows more worthy by the day. Mahomes is the closest thing to a GOAT the game has to offer these days, beginning to graze in grass as green or greener than Brady’s at this point in their comparative careers.
Meanwhile the 49ers are back reminding the world that truly elite organizations reach the heights of the game in different generations with different people in place running the show.
Don’t want to hear how great the Chiefs, Mahomes and Reid are? Don’t want to see people compare Purdy to Brady’s origin-story?
Then you might want to go dark for the next few weeks.
Or, better yet, lock yourself in a room for a binge marathon of Patriots “Three Games To Glory” DVDs.
You remember DVDs, right? They were the preferred way to watch videos back in the not-too-distant past, back when the Patriots were the model franchise and dynasty of the NFL driven by the best coach/QB combo.
How quickly times have changed. And not for the better in these parts.