The Patriots are yuck

If it wasn't for good luck, the New England Patriots would've had no luck at all.

With the Patriots down by four, with under 90 seconds left, the Ravens stopped the Patriots on 4th down ... but a Ravens coach had called a sideline timeout in the moment before the snap.

Re-running the 4th down, the Ravens stopped the Patriots again ... but the Patriots right guard had jumped a moment before the snap, and the illegal procedure penalty nullified the play.

A couple of plays later, Brady's pass got tipped 15 or more feet into the air, then died perfectly between 4 converging Ravens - just barely out of everyone's reach. The tipped pass was begging to be intercepted. It picked the only midfield spot where it could've safely landed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

An envious Cain defeated Abel in combat. Yet, Cain had lost - due to the contents of his heart - before he had ever begun.




(speculation alert)


I suspect the Patriots will not win the Super Bowl. I suspect the soul-deadening effects of running up scores will catch up to them. Their spirits are not soaring.

Even the best teams are lost if they have no noble purpose. Noble purpose is everything. It calls to mens' souls.

XXVII.

Then out spoke brave Horatius, the Captain of the Gate:
"To every man upon this earth, death cometh soon or late;
And how can man die better than facing fearful odds,
For the ashes of his fathers, and the temples of his Gods,

XXVIII.

And for the tender mother who dandled him to rest,
And for the wife who nurses his baby at her breast,
And for the holy maidens who feed the eternal flame,
To save them from false Sextus, that wrought the deed of shame?

XXIX.

Hew down the bridge, Sir Consul, with all the speed ye may!
I, with two more to help me, will hold the foe in play.
In yon strait path, a thousand may well be stopped by three:
Now, who will stand on either hand and keep the bridge with me?'

XXX.

Then out spake Spurius Lartius; a Ramnian proud was he:
"Lo, I will stand at thy right hand and keep the bridge with thee."
And out spake strong Herminius; of Titian blood was he:
"I will abide on thy left side, and keep the bridge with thee."

XXXI.

"Horatius," quoth the Consul, "as thou sayest, so let it be."
And straight against that great array forth went the dauntless Three.

- from "Horatius", by Thomas Babington Macaulay

Everyone needs noble purpose. It doesn't have to be a huge thing. Taking care of your cat is a noble purpose.

What noble purpose will call the Patriots to stride forth onto the bridge? If my conjecture is correct, they have no noble purpose. And thus they have nothing. No eternal purpose. No goodness to surround and inspire them. Their foundation is rotten.

The Patriots' over-riding purpose is not to seek their bliss. Joy is a gift from God and to God. Seeking transcendent joy - and living it and exuding it - is an honorable cause. The Patriots do not play for this cause.

The Patriots' over-riding purpose is not to glorify God through their play. They do not seek excellence as an expression of love. Excellence in the most appropriate activity is a contribution to society. It is being all you can be - one cannot contribute more to eternity and humanity. Excellence is noble. The Patriots do not seek noble.

The Patriots seek victory, yet they ultimately seek to shame their opponents. They seek humiliation, even destruction. Theirs is a nasty and petty smallness. If my conjecture is correct: the trigger is Bill Belichick's envy of NFL franchises whose honor is seemingly unblemished.

Coach Belichick feels intolerable pain over his moral failure (video spying) being publicly revealed. This intolerable pain is characteristic of overt narcissism(my description below):

Bill Belichick does not define himself according to his understanding of what God created him to be. Instead, Belichick defines himself according to his understanding of other people's perception of him.

Belichick's insecurity drives him to work so that everyone, everywhere, at all times, is building up a shining monument of praise to Bill Belichick. He only feels extant when lighted by the glow which is stoked by his supplicants. If cut off from the glow, Belichick subconsciously feels he does not exist as a worthwhile entity. He can only have worthy existence when he can assure himself the supplicant-fed glow shines on.

An overt narcissist can barely ever relax. He must ensure the supplicants labor on. He must impress the supplicants, coerce the supplicants, and bully them when necessary. He is literally desperate for the glow to be fed, and to not extinguish. An overt narcissist has no interior principles and beliefs and resources to nourish him. He has only the glow which comes from outside. He must hustle, constantly, like the man keeping all the plates spinning on their sticks, in order to keep his supplicants feeding the glow.

An overt narcissist has difficulty identifying with other people. He sees other people mainly as tools for feeding the glowing reinforcement he craves. He looks, and he sees not individuals. He sees units who can do something for him, i.e. feed the glow. To an overt narcissist, everyone is a supplicant: you, me, people the narcissist barely knows, and people the narcissist doesn't know at all. To the narcissist, we all exist to feed the glow which is his only source of self-worth.

Bill Belichick's overt narcissism prevents his understanding that every person on Earth experiences consistent moral failure. Further: it prevents him understanding that wise persons understand this, and that wise persons forgive. If Belichick could understand this, he could then recognize his public moral failure only identifies him as human - and nothing more. His failure only means he is part of the brotherhood of man. Wise persons will forgive him. Sadly, Belichick's narcissistic insecurity blinds him.

Thus, ENVY. Belichick subconsciously fantasizes that ... if his team can succeed in destroying other, seemingly unblemished, NFL franchises ... then he will not have to bear the pain of his own public moral failure. Envy is a primal, subconscious fantasy of destruction. It is lowdown, nasty, and as old as humanity. Part of Belichick's fantasy is his failure to recognize all NFL persons experience instances of moral failure. From that lack of understanding, and from a failure to feel part of a brotherhood of imperfect humans, and from a failure to self-define according to who and what he believes he is created to be: from all that springs the subconscious fantasy of destruction.

The Patriots may yet win the Super Bowl, but they - and especially Belichick - lose more of their honor as every envy-driven week goes along. The Patriots are yuck. Even as they win and win and win, they lose and lose and lose.


Related:
Envy, psyche blogs, sports laboratories