They can picture the scene that would have, that should have, unfolded this Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. And, man, what a scene it is.
Voices slow to a cryptic crawl as minds wander to what would have been. The crowd would have boomed as the players walked through the tunnel and hoisted their Super Bowl rings into the air. These wouldn't have been any old Super Bowl rings, either. No, they'd have been glistening 19-0rings. The '85 Bears would have had no choice but to take a bow. Those '72 Dolphins, too.
There'd be no debate. From Vince Lombardi's Packers to the Steel Curtain to Joe Montana's Niners to the Cowboys of the '90s, everybody would have needed to pay homage to the '07 Patriots. On this night, 10 years later, they would have have been celebrated as the greatest team in NFLhistory.
Of course, there is no such pilgrimage planned to Minneapolis. There will be no Super Bowl party, no reminisces of glory up on the video board, no celebration at all. Rather, these '07 Patriots remain scattered around the country because some guy named David Tyree pinned a football against his head and ruined everything.
On 3rd-and-5 from his own 44, Eli Manning escaped a swarm of Patriots to heave a 32-yard prayer downfield to Tyree. The Giants scored a touchdown a few plays later, won 17-14, and the resulting trauma never completely subsided. These Patriots are forced to instead look back at that team, game and play with a bizarre mix of pride and regret. They're filled with a dash of joy and anger and enough exasperation to last a lifetime.
You can hear the lasting pain in their voices. Or in the refusal to relive the events of Feb. 3, 2008. Many of the players Bleacher Report contacted for this story turned down interviews. Many others ignored calls and texts. Seven players, however, were willing to look themselves in the mirror and dissect everything all over again…as painful as that may be....
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2756553-10-years-later-the-patriots-reflect-on-the-tyree-catch-that-cost-them-19-0
