I lost my wallet on Christmas Eve. Unsure of whether it was lost or stolen, my holiday was filled with angst, anger, and sadness. Knowing that you can’t take money with you to the grave, I attempted to enjoy the holiday with family as normally as I could. I wondered if my prayers would go unanswered. My faith wavered. But on Monday, I discovered that someone returned my wallet – with all of my money and credit cards intact – to the customer service booth at an area supermarket.
In a year filled with doom and gloom everywhere you look in our country, my faith in humanity has been restored.
And so it goes with my picture of the world of the National Football League.
I have often admitted my sometimes less-than-100 percent belief in New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and coach Bill Belichick, despite the fact that they have won four Super Bowl titles and transformed the entire sports nation into believers in Boston, New England, and beyond. (The Boston Red Sox have a little something to do with that too.)
I have to admit again that I thought the Patriots would implode after trading outside linebacker Jamie Collins well into the 2016 regular season, and benching defensive end Jabaal Sheard.
Well, I was wrong once again.
In a year that Tom Brady missed a month due to suspension for Deflategate, Gronk was lost to injury, and the coaching staff made more controversial moves, the Patriots are poised to make yet another Super Bowl run. They are just one win (or one Oakland Raiders loss) away from earning the top seed in the American Football Conference in Week 17, and once again, cementing their position as the team to beat to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl.
Lessons learned – Keep the faith!
Congratulations to Tim Schmidt, of Southwick for posting an 11-3 record in Week 16 to earn a gift certificate to The Tavern Restaurant. Schmidt’s tiebreaker assured him of a one-in-17 chance to win a flat-screen television, courtesy of Manny’s TV & Appliances, in our grand prize drawing at season’s end.
With all that being said, I will 100 percent be taking the Patriots to defeat the Miami Dolphins this Sunday. There are several games of intrigue late in the day with playoff implications, including New Orleans-Atlanta, Kansas City-San Diego, Seattle-San Francisco, New York Giants-Washington, and, on Sunday night, Green Bay-Detroit.
And as a late gift to you Patriots fans out there, we have made that game our tiebreaker. Good luck … and keep the faith!
