Ready for some football.

It's been eight days since the last NFL action when we learned what the matchup of Super Bowl XXXIX would be. So for the first time since early September, we have gone mroe than a full week without an NFL game that counts for anything. Lucky for us, there's enough mass hysteria and coverage of the Super Bowl that no American citizen has to go more than about 45 seconds before finding some new tidbit of information about the big game.

On ESPN.com I found this article debating whether or not the current iteration of the Patriots should be considered a dynasty. The author debates the subject by comparing the team to what he calls the greatest dynasty of all time: the Ming Dynasty. Interesting strategy.

He consults an art curator from the Smithsonian (side note: I went to the museum of American History today with Scott, who was in town from NC. I didn't have a "D.C. moment" but it was a pretty incredible museum) to compare the two. Her quote: "Every dynasty has to have some product for public consumption, so I guess football is what the Patriots will leave behind."

This brings up a few thoughts: first, every football team leaves behind football, not just dynasties. The Patriots certainly play a successful type of football, but I don't see any lasting legacies from the team. As of now, they have appeared in the playoffs in three of the past four years, and have advanced to the Super Bowl in each of those years. It is certainly a good start, but they certainly have to sustain that success for several more years before leaving behind any type of lasting legacy, which would help their "dynasty" status. (by the way... Go Jets!)

The other point I thought of is how ridiculous it is for a reporter to compare a football team to a ruling order that controlled China for 276 years and built the Great Wall of China, one of the few human-built structures visible from space. I'm sorry, but Gillette Stadium doesn't quite compare to that. I am a huge sports fan and will be glued to the TV set on Sunday, but how much do we elevate sports in our culture today that a reporter would even consider writing an article like this? It's somewhat disturbing. I hope people don't take this idea too seriously. The accomplishments of a professional team cannot come close to that of a society and that team should not represent much more than the sport it plays.