As a life long Pats fan, I have reveled in their success for the past 17 years. It wasn't always so.

My first real memory of the Pat's (then the Boston Patriots) was in the mid 60's. I was in the high school band and we did the half time show at BU's Nickerson field, where the Pats played their games in those early days.

We suffered through the 60's and 70's and the 80's when the Miami Dolphins with Dan Marino and Don Schula dominated the AFC East except in 1985 when the Patriots won the AFC Title then got creamed in Super Bowl XX by the Chicago Bears 46-10. That was sooo demoralizing. Then Buffalo, Denver and Indianapolis had their shot.

Pats went 1-15 in 1990 / 6-10 1991/2-14 1992 / 5-11 1993/ 10-6 1994 & lost wild card playoff. 6-10 1995. Then had a couple of productive years. Went to the 1997 Super Bowl and once again got smacked by Green Bay 35 -21. Most Pats fans, the older ones anyway, know what it's like to be on the losing end year after year. Younger ones, not so much. So I can empathize with the fans of teams who haven't had successful years in a long time.

Then the 2000's came. Tom Brady, a little known college QB, was drafted by the Patriots in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft. New England fans have been riding a wave ever since.

If the Pats lose today, they'll lose to a good team. I'll be disappointed, but not terribly sad. We've had a great run. I lived outside of Philly for 12 years and the Eagles were my NFC team. But cheer the Pats on I will. I would love to see Tom Brady win his 6th SB ring, a feat that probably won't be seen again in my lifetime.

Good luck to both teams.