One such memory was the general feeling that the country was rooting against the Patriots. Maybe it was a bit of paranoia, but there were cries on Internet message boards from opposing fans that the Patriots were getting calls and that they were the biggest cheats in the history of cheats. The national media, to an extent, echoed some of those sentiments.
Well, with the Colts now the only team left with the chance to go undefeated in 2009, at least one major media outlet is openly rooting for them to go 16-0.
"Come On Colts, It's Up to You!" reads the headline in The Wall Street Journal, followed by a story saying that teams should put the pedal to the metal rather than letting off the gas in the pursuit of perfection.
"We hope the Colts stay strong and try to run it out," says the article. "We're sure the players would like to do it — just to make their nemesis, Mr. Belichick, crawl deeper into his hoodie."
That suggestion offers a bit more of an angle that leans toward "sticking it to the Patriots" as does, say Michael Wilbon's urging of seeking perfection for perfection's sake.
So while the impression is that a good portion of the country will root for the Colts to achieve perfection, it's safe to assume that the residents of New England will be hoping for a different outcome.
Oh, and we can't forget Don Shula, who said that he was "secretly rooting" for someone to beat the Colts and Saints. Not exactly as harsh as his comments from 2007, but noteworthy nonetheless.
In the short term, Patriots fans will be forced to become Jets and Bills fans over the next two weeks, and given Rex Ryan's concession speech on Sunday and the Bills' overall offensive ineptitude, it might be time for everyone to start getting comfortable with the Colts going 16-0.
