New England Patriots

They came up short. Again. I know it stings. It will take some time to get over it, but we all will eventually. We got over the 2003 ALCS, the 1986 World Series, the 1975 World Series, the 2011 Collapse, the 2010 NBA Finals, Super Bowl XLII, and yes, the Stanley Cup Playoffs Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. Boston did. New England did. And we'll get through this one too. They tried to get it for Myra, but fell short. It sucks. It really does. The Giants are probably really hated to New England now. I won't give a recap because 117 million people watched it, a record, and you probably know what happened. But I just keep thinking of all of the ifs. If Brady doesn't intentionally ground it and end up with a safety. If there's eleven instead of twelve men on the field and they recover the fumble. If Brady doesn't throw that pick. If Branch catches it. If Welker catches it. If Hernandez catches it. If Manningham doesn't got one foot down. If Ahmad Bradshaw went in sooner. If Rob Gronkowski's ankle was healthy and he dives for that Hail Mary and CATCHES it. Imagine that? A Hail Myra to win it? The parade would've happened in Indy. Brady would be going to Disney World. What if Andre Carter never got hurt? What if? What if? What if? But those ifs didn't happen. Don't blame Welker. Sure he makes that catch 99 out of 100 times, but Brady threw it a little bit too high and Welker timed it just not right enough. Don't blame them. Blame the ifs. They fell in the Giants' favor and it sucks, but it happened. I know that people always say this after a depressing loss, but the Patriots are in GREAT position to go to New Orleans to compete for the Super Bowl next year. Young wideouts (Gronkowski, Hernandez, Welker, Slater), a good O-line (Solder, Vollmer, Light, Koppen, Connolly), Tom Brady, great running game (Woodhead, Riddley, Law Firm), Patrick Chung, Vince Wilfork, decent linebackers (Mayo, Carter, Spikes, Ninkovic), and a fantastic special teams. Not to mention a great owner and coach in Kraft and Belichick. In the NFL draft, the Pats have four picks in the first two rounds. That's quite the maneuver. Fill the holes and we'll see you in 214 days. Great season, Pats. Just awesome. From Wilfork interceptions, to Gator moments, to thunderous spikes. It was fun. Christmas Eve was fun. The season was fun. The playoffs were fun. Go Pats!