When I was growing up, I wanted to be Luke Skywalker. I wanted to be the underdog, the good guy who took on the evil Empire and triumphed. As a Patriots fan since the early '80s, I've lived the fan-equivalent to being young Skywalker.
First, in 2001, the Pats were the young upstarts, who somehow managed to fire their photon torpedoes into the Death Star that was the St. Louis Rams and become unlikely champions of the world.
For the first half of this decade, the Pats were praised as the ultimate team. They didn't always have the stars but they always seemed to come out on top. Peyton Manning could have his commercials and glossy receivers, the Patriots did just fine with a collection of castoffs and overachieving rookies.
As recently as 2006, the Pats waltzed into NFL superstar-haven San Diego, and defeated the likes of LaDainian Tomlinson and Shawne Merriman with the likes of Reche Caldwell and Artrell Hawkins.
In 2007, things changed. Maybe it was Spygate, maybe it was Bill Belichick's demeanor, maybe Tom Brady's good looks and dating habits, or the addition of all-stars like Adalius Thomas and Randy Moss, but the Patriots were no longer Luke Skywalker. They became Darth Vader.
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