The Lockerroom
This is a the place to discuss the site, community issues, discuss ideas for opinions, and other things related to the community but not specifically about sports. You can add something to the locker room by clicking the link.
The Five Stages of Grief - Super Bowl XLII Edition
In her groundbreaking 1969 book "On Death and Dying", Swiss psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross introduced the Kübler-Ross model, the process by which people deal with grief and tragedy. The stages are:
- Denial
- Anger
- Bargaining
- Depression
- Acceptance
When Plaxico Burress caught Eli Manning's touchdown pass with 39 seconds left in the game, denial immediately set in. "This can't be happening," I said. Eli Manning simply doesn't drive down the field for a Super Bowl-winning touchdown... Eli Manning is the perpetual goat, the lesser brother, the black sheep of a family rich in quarterbacking heritage. Eli Manning must choke in this situation. Not throw Super Bowl-winning touchdown passes. This cannot be happening.
But it did happen. And anger immediately set in. They weren't who we thought they were. I mean, if they were the greatest team of all time, how could they blow this? How could they implode at the worst possible time? How could Asante Samuel drop that pick? How could they allow Manning to escape their grasp and complete an impossible 3rd-down pass to David Tyree? Expletives were shouted. Shouted at the defense. Shouted at Belichick for not kicking that FG, and for storming off the field like the ultimate sore loser. I was angry at the Patriots, because they let us all down.
Now the next stage, bargaining, is a tricky one in football. The finality of it all -- one second you're winning, the next you're losing with essentially zero chance of coming back -- means bargaining is all but futile. But maybe there were some deals being brokered with the Almighty on that desperation heave to Moss. And, at any rate, it didn't work. The pass was broken up, and with it went any hope of victory.
So depression set in. "I don't want to live in a world where Eli Manning can not only win the Super Bowl, but capture MVP honors for leading an epic game-winning drive." This is not supposed to happen. And, if this kind of thing can happen, what's the point of even being a football fan anymore?
But as I sit here at my computer, the day after the disaster, wearing my Tom Brady jersey with pride nonetheless, I can say that I've finally reached the acceptance stage of grief. Things are going to be okay. Unlike those 2001 Rams, the Patriots will not fade into obscurity. If anything, Belichick, Brady, and the rest of the 2008 team will have learned valuable lessons from the aborted perfect season. Namely, that 19-0 is an unrealistic goal, that sometimes you have to sacrifice regular season wins for postseason ones, perhaps even the importance of pacing yourself... Who knows what other wisdom can be gleaned from 2007? The important thing is that Belichick and the Patriots will come back hungrier than ever after a huge helping of the ultimate "humble pie".
Latest Posts
In the News
Play the Picture Game
