Confession

I sacrificed a virgin today.

To appease the football Gods of Parity.

It is not easy finding a virgin in 2014.

Parity is a big word in the NFL and it actually kind of exists. From worst to first and first to worst and everything in between - in a heartbeat.

Things change rapidly in the NFL, which is a good thing. You really don't know, from year to year, which team will emerge as dominant, which team will fall from grace, which team will surprise the hell out of you for a chunk of the season and which team will stink up the house so bad you just gotta open the bathroom windows.

Except, between the years of 2000 and 2004, the New England Patriots just dominated this league. Super Bowl victories in '01, '03 and '04. They were the gold standard, baby and it didn't look like anything was going to change anytime soon.

Except things began to go imperceptibly sour, under the radar, eventually culminating in 9 years of pain and frustration.

The football Gods had become angry.

After '04, The PATS could not put it all together. Wild card wins, divisional victories, conference championships, two Super Bowl appearances..........but no more Super Bowl victories.

The most painful was in 2007 when they fell short of a perfect season with a loss to the giants in the Super Bowl. Goddamn Eli, of all people.

But they have teased us a lot, brought us to the brink, consistently competed in the post season, raising expectations and excitement, only to fall short.

For a while I accepted it as the natural ebb and flow of the game, although it was hard to swallow given the apparent invincibility of the Brady/Belichick love connection.

Yesterday hurt. I felt cocky yesterday. I felt we had endured enough heartbreak over the last 9 years, I was positive we were going to the Super Bowl.

Towards the end of the game, dejected PATRIOTS sat on the bench. Including Brady.

It just didn't look right. It felt like the air had been let out of the balloon. Looked like the fight had been knocked out of them.

The evil serpent in my brain began to think that this was it. That I would never see B&B in another Super Bowl. That this was the beginning of the final unraveling of the magic of this team.

That there were no miracles left in the tank.

Really, really brought me down.

I go back to work tomorrow after ten days off. I planned on riding the impending Super Bowl appearance back to work like a warrior horse, giving me the strength and confidence and energy to deal with my idiot boss and the phony baloney job.

Now all I got is me. I did a lot of mental house cleaning over this break and I am ready to do battle.

But you never know. Always good to have an edge.

That's why I sacrificed a virgin.

For the sake of THE PATS. For the sake of my soul.

It was surprisingly easy to do. I'll probably do it again when the situation demands it.

All I am looking for is one more shot at glory for Brady and for Belichick.

All I am looking for is a genuine shot at evolving for the sake of my suffocating soul.

Excuse me. I need to scrub down the altar.