New2Maine.com

Last night saw the Patriots 19-0 dream season fall short by a Lawrence Tynes opening drive field goal. All of (northern) New England is now in mourning as what might have been the best year in the history of professional sports for a city (the Red Sox won the series, the Patriots looked to be a lock to win the Super Bowl, and the Celtics looked dominant in the NBA, at least until mid-January) is now no longer a possibility. Not to downplay the significance of a perfect regular season in professional football, but 18-1 just doesn’t have the same ring to it as 19-0, especially when that one is the Super Bowl! We’d certainly trade that Week 17 victory for a win last night.

In an oddly perfect “a picture is worth 1000 words” moment, I saw a Patriots balloon floating next to a headstone in Evergreen Cemetery while walking my dog this morning. Update: I snapped a picture of the back of the grave (I didn’t want to post the name of the deceased) and have posted it. Sadly, the person’s birthday was February 3—a perfect season would have been his gift. The blue object laying on the ground on the front side of the stone is a 2007 Patriot’s AFC Champions sweatshirt.

Thanks, Tom Brady and company. It was fun while it lasted. If only it had lasted three minutes longer…