History

Not a photoshop. 

When it comes to history being made in sports, you can often see it coming. The Stanley Cup Finals. The World Series. The Super Bowl. Almost any playoffs. I'd include golf, but we all know it's not really a sport. With the aformentioned events, you know it will be history of some sort. That doesn't always make it special. That brings us to Sunday Night Football this past Sunday. After the first three Patriots offensive possessions (and they were indeed, offensive) each ended with them coughing up the ball, history did seem to be taking place. A smackdown of historic proportion was in progress. The culmination of injuries to the Pats, Peyton Manning's monster season continuing and a few good bounces made it look like the reality of this season was setting in. This team, battered, bruised and delving deep into the roster, was hitting the wall. Somehow, they still managed to find a way to win. By halftime, my heart sunk. it was 24-0. The team left the field to a chorus of boos, which they earned. The mood was such that you were seeing statistics like this:

Not good. 

Some people changed the channel, some went to bed. At that point, Eeoyre had nothing on me. Still, the Patriots are my team. I watch. Maybe, I think, they can score a touchdown or two and it won't look so bad on the score sheet by the end of the game. Deep inside me, the thought was there. I tried to not even think it, as not to jinx it, as if that would make a difference. Had I really turned into one of those guys?

I kept watching because it was half over and I thought... maybe. Just maybe they can put up a fight and come back. Wouldn't that be something? All of those fans that left early because it was a blowout, the ones who'll lie and claim they stayed the whole time if they did come back and win. They'd miss a chance at history. Don't get me wrong, it's one game. It doesn't mean much of anything, except it does. If these guys can take the kind of beating they did in the first half and come out and turn it around, that means something. It means they have all of those cliches you hear at the press conferences about character and leadership and resilience. Doesn't matter, can't happen. Won't happen. Probably won't happen. Wouldn't it be amazing, though, if it did?

It did. No other way to explain this. 

We all know now that is exactly what happened. They came out of the locker room after halftime and played incredibly. One play at a time, they strung together offensive drives, scoring 21 points in the third quarter alone. Took the lead, won in overtime. 73 minutes and 4 seconds of football later, there it was. History. The biggest comeback in New England Patriots history. I had doubts that they'd even win before the game started. I was never so glad to be wrong.

This is why you never leave a game early. I never have and I never will. You don't know what could happen, and unless you are watching, you'll miss it. Watching the highlights instead, it's just not the same. Sure, you'll see what happened, but you won't feel like this:

I'm not even sure what this is, to be honest.