At 11:53 AM 1/19/2004 -0600 Julia Thompson wrote:
>Before yesterday's games, I had decided that I wanted to root for
>whichever AFC team made it, against whichever NFC team made it.
>
>So I guess one of us will be disappointed. (But at least, we won't have
>*both* of us disappointed, right?)
Well.....yeah. My first read on this game is that I like the Patriots to
win big.
Although the Patriots benefitted from some extraordinary luck in their last
Super Bowl run, the various breaks that have gone their way this year have
hardly been untoward. They play exceedingly tough and hard-nosed football.
At any rate, the Panthers - while an incredilbe story of perseverance - are
also the beneficiaries of an extraordinary down-cycle in the NFC, as well
as the beneficiaries of being a division that should have been one of the
best in football this year, but instead fall flat on its face. I don't
think that the phrase "just happy to be here" has applied so aptly to a
Super Bowl team since the Chargers somehow snuck into the big game in the
mid-1990's.
As for the game itself, the Panthers should really struggle running the
ball against the Patriots front 7, and I fully expect Bill Belichick's
defensive mind to thoroughly confuse and befuddle Jake Delhomme. This
game might even end up as a shutout.
As for my heart, Boston got their Super Bowl win a few years back, and so
I'd be more than happy to see the plucky Panthers bring home a Championship
for Charlotte.
I won't, however, be holding my breath.
JDG
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John D. Giorgis - [EMAIL PROTECTED]
"The liberty we prize is not America's gift to the world,
it is God's gift to humanity." - George W. Bush 1/29/03
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