Quaggitty said:
I find the whole New England team to be arrogant. So this loss should be a big lesson for them.
Of course they were arrogant, as they should be. They're not a bunch of girls playing hopscotch on the school yard, this is the NFL. If you aren't a little arrogant, you don't belong at the top. Do you know of a single business leader (Trump, Buffet, Gates, Iacocca, Turner, Black etc.) at the top of his game who isn't arrogant? (yes I included Black, because he was not brought down by his arrogance, he was brought down by his actions). Why should professional sport be different.
And what "lesson" should they learn? To be less arrogant? Hell no. The lessons they should learn are:
- when you have your hands on the QB - bring him down!
- when you are the CB in the red zone at the end of the game, don't fall for the fake to the inside
- for the O-line the lesson is to pick up the pass rush.
Had the Pats been less arrogant, it wouldn't have done them a damn thing. Their failure was not arrogance, it was lack of execution on the field. They were outplayed on the line of scrimmage, and still almost won but didn't.
The Pats are not in a popularity contest. They won't sell more merchandise, tickets and TV spots if people would say "Aw, they're such nice boys, too bad they lost." They are paid to win, and they make money by winning. In fact the Raiders who cultivated a "bad boy" image continue to sell alot of merchandise.
And for the NFL it was a winning formula. Having the Pats in the Superbowl - loved by their fans and hated by all others, ensured a record TV audience and $$$ for all.
