JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- They said it couldn't happen in this salary-cap era, that parity would rule and we'd be seeing different teams stepping to the podium each year to take hold of the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
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| Left tackle Matt Light hoists yet another Vince Lombardi Trophy. (AP) |
Yeah, right.
The New England Patriots are a dynasty, pure and simple. The players or coaches wouldn't come close to saying it leading up to Sunday's Super Bowl XXXIX, saying it's the media's place to label what they accomplished.
So here goes: By beating the Philadelphia Eagles 24-21 at Alltel Stadium, the Patriots have now achieved the greatest accomplishment in modern NFL history.
They have kicked the salary-cap equalizing theory all to hell.
In the process, their coach has become a legend, their quarterback has two steps inside the door to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the rest of the league is scurrying trying to figure out ways to catch up.
By beating the Eagles, the Patriots became the eighth team to win consecutive Super Bowls and just the second to win three in four years, joining the Dallas Cowboys of the 1990s.
It is an amazing feat in this era of NFL football, but as you went though the interview room late Sunday night looking for any hint of the dynasty talk, good luck. As expected, Patriots players pushed aside any of that talk.
"I'm not going there, but I think we're a pretty darn good team," linebacker Ted Johnson said.
Pretty darn good team? And a Ferrari is a pretty darn good car.
But that's what's so special about this group of players. Even at their crowning moment, a time when they should be screaming at the top of their lungs about their greatness, they shun the chance. Baiting them is futile.
Linebacker Roman Phifer even termed dynasty the "D" word. The D word, as if it's a bad thing.
