This article is as much a reminder to myself as it is to anyone out there reading it right now:
Enjoy this.
The New England Patriots are back in the Super Bowl. This is their ninth trip, and the seventh for Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. No team or coach/QB has ever been to more. The Patriots have been to more Super Bowls than the Browns have had regular season wins since 2007. This is nothing short of remarkable, and something we are very unlikely to ever see again. This run, this team, this amazing piece of professional sports history, is happening NOW. We're in it. These are the good old days, right at this moment. It's our job as fans who are so blessed to be living it to make damn sure we enjoy every last second of it. Of all of it.
Yes, we can break down game footage. Yes, we can talk about matchups. Yes, we can make predictions and get fired up and count down the minutes until kickoff. We can, and will, do all of those things. But before we get too deply into any of that, I invite all of you to just take a step back, let it all sink in, and enjoy this moment for what it is. You never know when the chance to play in a Super Bowl will come around again, and it can be so easy to get caught up in all the hype and hoopla surrounding the largest sporting event on the planet that it can all zoom by without ever really giving yourself a chance to appreciate what's going on. And since it isn't going to be any easier to enjoy the moment the closer we get to February 5th, I invite you all to not worry about any of the Xs and Os and breakdowns for a little while and just bask in it today.
Maybe even tomorrow as well.
You deserve it, and you owe it to your future fan who is going to look back on this, right here, as the most fun they have ever had supporting a team. Don't let anything, or anyone, take that away from you.
So I'll say it again: enjoy this.
Every last second.