A Little Perspective

I am not happy that the New England Patriots lost to the New York Jets in the divisional round of the playoffs.  Before I jump on the bandwagon of fellow Pats fans who are as I speak driving to the Tobin Bridge to jump off, I thought that I should reflect on whether this is the worst thing that ever happened or at least the worst thing that has happened while I've been alive.

I'm 34 years old.  I was born on March 18, 1976.  When I was two years old the New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox in a one game playoff when Bucky Bleeping Dent smashed the game winning HR.  When I was four years old Iranian students took over the American Embassy and held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days.  When I was five years old John Lennon was killed in NYC.  When I was seven years old the US Marine Corps barracks was bombed in Beirut.  When I was nine years old my grandmother died.  When I was ten years old the space shuttle Challenger exploded while it was taking off and the Red Sox blew game 6 and eventually the World Series, and the Patriots lost the Super Bowl.  When I was eleven the Celtics lost the NBA Finals to the Lakers.  When I was twelve years old the Bruins lost the Stanley Cup Finals and Michael Dukakis decided to run for President.  When I was thirteen years old the San Francisco earthquake struck during the World Series.  When I was fourteen years old the Bruins lost the Stanley Cup Finals again and President Bush launched Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm.  When I was fifteen years old the Perfect Storm hit the east coast.  When I was sixteen years old Rodney King was beat down by the LAPD and my uncle Rick died.  When I was seventeen years old Reggie Lewis died of a heart attack, my mother died of cancer and my grandfather died.  When I was eighteen years old O.J. Simpson killed Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.  When I was nineteen years old my uncle Jake died of brain cancer and the Patriots lost another Super Bowl.  When I was twenty years old the New York Yankees won the World Series (this happened again when I was 21, 23, 24, and 33) and John Elway and the Broncos won the Super Bowl. (This happened again when I was twenty one years old.)  When I was twenty one years old my father fell down and fractured his skull.  When I was twenty two years old a drunk girl fell down the stairs of my fraternity house and almost got me and my roommates kicked out of school.  When I was twenty three years old Dale Earnhardt died during the Daytona 500.  When I was twenty four years old Islamic terrorists blew up the World Trade Center and the United States of America invaded Afghanistan.  When I was twenty seven years old the United States of America invaded Iraq and the Red Sox blew game 7 of the ALCS to the New York Yankees and my grandmother died.  When I was twenty eight years old the Boston Red Sox won the World Series!!! (I am aware that this doesn't qualify as a bad thing I just still can't believe it and love to say it!!!)  When I was twenty nine years old I got laid off (This happened again when I was 31 and 34.) and Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast.  When I was thirty years old the New England Patriots blew a 21 point in the second half and lost the AFC Championship to the Indianapolis Colts.  When I was thirty one years old the New England Patriots lost to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl thus ending their bid for an undefeated season.  When I was thirty two years old Tom Brady tore his ACL on the first series of the first game of the season, the Red Sox lost the ALCS to the Tampa Bay Rays and and the Boston Bruins lost a game 7 and the global economy almost collapsed. (The latter also happened when I was 33 and 34.)  When I was thirty four years old the Celtics lost the NBA Finals to the Lakers, my wife and unborn son were run off the highway in a hit and run accident and the Pats lost to the Jets in the Playoffs, an oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico and a psycho executed 5 people in Arizona.

Now...  this has been an off the top of my head list of bad things that have happened during my life.  Some are comical, others are incidental, and some were life altering and earth shattering.  Do I have a point?  I guess my point is that the Patriots losing this playoff game isn't the end of the world.  Just trying to add a little perspective.   Besides we all know that end of the world is directly linked to Mark Czarnowski's happiness...  and considering that he is happier lately than I've ever seen him, I think that it is safe to say we in serious trouble!!

Well, if you are still reading this then you obviously have as much time on your hands as I do and if that's the case then you have my sympathies.