Gregg Easterbrook (aka Tuesday Morning Quarterback on ESPN) had an interesting take on the Pats-Colts rivalry in his most recent column. In essence, he argues that the Colts and Patriots rivalry has become a classic battle of Good (the Colts) vs. Evil (the Patriots). I won't go into the merits of his particular arguments here, but I more or less agree with his point (though perhaps not to the extent that he takes it). I should add, though, that I have a longstanding anti-Pats bias, one that has not been helped by the Red Sox narrowly defeating my Indians in the ALCS.
Anyways, I found the article interesting for two main reasons. One, I was pleased to see that I wasn't the only one who was more than sick of hearing about New England, and hadn't so quickly forgotten about their cheating and how arrogant Belicheck can be. And two (this being the main one), I found it interesting how drastically the Patriots' image has changed. Back when they won their first ring, they were the 'ultimate team'--humble and selfless, composed of no-name players who thrived on coaching and hard work. They were the "complete team", that year in and year out were able to one-up Manning and the Colts. The Colts were, of course, the exact opposite--a flashy, finesse offense studded with stars like Manning and Harrison, trying to outscore opponents who generally could put up serious points against their inadequate defense. Boy, how time have changed! As Harrison has aged, the offense has really become more 
complete; it has blossomed into something that isn't dependent on drop-back passes, or on the speed of Harrison and Wayne, etc. Likewise, as their Super Bowl run showed, their defense can handle hard-nosed running teams and high-scoring offenses alike. And what about the Patriots? Well, the cheating scandal has certainly changed how many view them, but that aside, their offense has become more and more finesse while their D doesn't seem as dominant as in years past (not to say that it isn't good; it is).
complete; it has blossomed into something that isn't dependent on drop-back passes, or on the speed of Harrison and Wayne, etc. Likewise, as their Super Bowl run showed, their defense can handle hard-nosed running teams and high-scoring offenses alike. And what about the Patriots? Well, the cheating scandal has certainly changed how many view them, but that aside, their offense has become more and more finesse while their D doesn't seem as dominant as in years past (not to say that it isn't good; it is).Anyways, I found it interesting how the roles have been reversed in this case, and I think changes both in the teams' style of play, as well as coaches' deamanor (and, of course, whether or not they've been caught cheating) have brought about this change in view.
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