Posted on: Tuesday, February 8, 2005
Pats should have place in history
| • | Versatile, unselfish Pats a dynasty in the making |
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By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Columnist
Winning their third Super Bowl in four years, it turns out, might have been the easy part for these New England Patriots.
Winning assurance of their place in history is proving tougher. In the hours and days after the Super Bowl triumph over Philadelphia, dynasty-level respect has come grudgingly to the Patriots, if it has come at all.
You'd think they stumbled onto all those Lombardi Trophies at some flea market instead of going 34-4 over these past two seasons for all the criticism they've taken.
Never mind that only the Dallas Cowboys (1992, '94 and '95) have won as many Super Bowls in a four-year span. A lot of people are reluctant to have the Patriots rub shoulder pads with Green Bay of the 1960s, Pittsburgh of the 1970s, San Francisco of the 1980s and the Cowboys, much less put them into the dynastic category.
Part of it is undoubtedly that the Patriots have won by narrow margins — as if that should be the determining factor. Then there is the absence of superstar quality names and alliterative nicknames. No Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin and Emmitt Smith trio here. No "Doomsday Defense" either. Though the Indianapolis Colts might give testimony otherwise.
The real problem, however, is that nobody has gotten around to updating the definition of what constitutes a "dynasty" today. We're still stuck on the Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio Yankees of the 1940s and '50s, and the Bill Russell Boston Celtics of the 1950s and '60s. If not the Ming — not Yao — of 1368-1644.
Times change and it is ridiculous to hold the Patriots to the standards of a long ago period before the salary cap, free agency, which are more unforgiving than the Cardinals or Bears.
Yes, the Celtics won an amazing eight consecutive NBA championships in their heyday. But a lot has changed since Red Auerbach was lighting his victory cigars. When the Celtics were on their record title run —
1958-59 through 1965-66 — the NBA had only a handful of teams. They began their run in an era of just eight teams — none of them west of Minneapolis.
As for the Yankees, their domination of 1949-53 came with just 16 major league teams and few black and Hispanic players.
But the biggest difference is the financial framework. Baseball clung tightly to its reserve clause — which bound players to their teams like chattel and prohibited free agency — until the 1976 season.
You don't hear the Patriots saying much about the
D-word because in their minds New England might have another title left in it before the salary cap exacts its inevitable toll. Already some oddsmakers have established the Patriots as 4-1 favorites to repeat in Detroit.
These Patriots are a dynasty. Not in the old sense, perhaps, but as much of one as we are likely to see under the current conditions.
Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.
