It was 234 years ago when Britain sent its finest across the Atlantic ocean to display their awesome prowess. Nearly two and a half centuries later, America is returning the favor. But unlike the redcoats, this time everyone is hoping the invasion turns into a permanent settlement.
And this revolution will be televised (1 p.m., CBS).
This is the third season in which the NFL will send two teams to London's Wembley Stadium to display just why American football should be considered the superior game to, ahem, soccer. Not until this season, however, have they sent their most elite team.
The Dolphins, Chargers and Saints aren't exactly NFL royalty. The Giants may have won the Super Bowl following their 2007 London trip, but even they didn't arrive with the star power the Patriots pack.
It helps that Tom Brady is being touted as the world's biggest celebrity athlete, possibly even surpassing England's own David Beckham. Published reports in the UK say New England is the country's most popular NFL team, and this is expected to be the biggest NFL game played on British soil thus far. Sure, the winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers aren't exactly showcase-worthy, but keep in mind owner Malcolm Glazer also owns Manchester United; it doesn't hurt the NFL to buddy up to the Premier League if it wants to get a foothold in the country.
In the past few days, Patriots owner Robert Kraft has said putting an NFL team in Europe is "the right thing to do," and he expects it to happen in the next decade or so. Commissioner Roger Goodell has indicated he'd like to see the league expand overseas, but nothing amps up that talk like seeing the Patriots and imaging what it would be like to have an entire country behind one franchise each and every week.
There's something poetic about the idea of sending the team named for the revolutionaries that fought for independence from England across the pond as representatives of the American game. It could be considered the long-awaited victory tour following the Revolution, but those days are gone. In 2009, we couldn't care less how much tax we pay for tea. Sam Adams is a beer, not a rabble-rouser.
The Patriots are trying to play this off as just another regular-season game, albeit one with special circumstances. But one need only look at the frequent smile plastered on Bill Belichick's face ... even they realize they are not just in London to play a football game, but to be ambassadors of their sport. It's the by-product of being the most successful team of the new millennium. Perhaps they are under orders from league brass to be more congenial and informative than they might normally be, but even the normally tight-lipped and buttoned-down Belichick wouldn't need reminding.
But as unique and internationally important as this game may be, it's still a road game the Patriots need to win.
"The coaches let us know we haven't won on the road all year," linebacker Jerod Mayo said. "How far are we from home? This is a huge road game."
It's no secret the Patriots haven't played as well on the road as they have at home, but the most glaring discrepancy comes at the position the entire UK is lining up to see: quarterback. At Gillette Stadium, Brady is putting up a 112.7 QB rating, and the opposing quarterback is averaging 71.8. On the road, Brady is averaging a 71.4 rating, while the opponent is at 98.1.
But Brady is also at his best when the stage is at its biggest, and it's hard to get any bigger than having an entire continent focused on your every move. Unless, of course, the Patriots are still playing in February.
MRS. REESE MAKES A CALL
For some, the Patriots' 59-point win over Tennessee last Sunday just wasn't enough. Sally Reese, wife of Patriots senior football advisor Floyd Reese, called Nashville radio station WGFX-FM on Thursday and said she wanted the Patriots to score 100 points and embarrass the team that let her husband go in 2007.
Floyd Reese had been an employee of the organization for 21 years when he was unceremoniously dumped from his general manager position so the Titans could go in a "new direction." Sally Reese called in to defend her husband amidst claims that he hated Titans coach Jeff Fisher.
"(Floyd) kept Jeff from getting fired two times," Reese said. "So if he'd let him get fired, he'd still be there. Hello? That's hindsight. ... Sunday I was hoping they'd run it to 100. And I love Tennessee. All you Tennessee people, my dad's from Tennessee, but when you get sucker punched, you want to sucker punch back."
She also claimed her husband was not allowed to clean out his office, and that a senior team official wrote a statement that they claimed had come from her husband.
Belichick and Reese are said to be close, but it's hard to believe the Patriots would "run up the score" in order to help their new executive exact revenge on his former club. Now, 100 points, that would have been a different story ...
TOM BRADY: ROOT OF ALL EVIL
Remember when Brady met with the Pope? Maybe there was more to it than we thought.The Amazing Grace Baptist Church of North Carolina has a list on their Web site of numerous sports stars who are going to hell. Not only is Brady on it, he's one of only two who have their own sub-page.
Here's a sampling of what the Church claims as the reason for Brady's banishment:
"Tom Brady has an unwed child, but it's okay because he wins Super Bowls ... Tom Brady is teaching us to have sex outside of marriage, to commit fornication, don't marry and do the right thing, don't take responsibility for your actions, have a good time no matter who you hurt in this world, go from sex partner to sex partner, and it's okay because of who I am. How many of you dads cheer on Tom in the Super Bowl while your kids are watching?"
After this caught the eye of the media, the Church — which also promotes book-burning — added the following statement: "If you notice I don't say anything about Tom Brady going to hell. Neither do I have a Top Ten List of those that are. The media is lying."
Actually, lying might qualify us media types for hell, at least according to the Church. Some of the other sins that will land you eternal damnation include marrying Playboy Playmates (Jeff Garcia), being a "fake wrestler" (Torrie Wilson) and having long hair (Joakim Noah).
Brady won't be the only Patriot in hell, however. The church's list also includes tackle Nick Kaczur (for his drug arrest in April 2008) and running back Kevin Faulk (caught with marijuana in 2008).
Source southcoasttoday.com
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