Another Sports Miracle

We in Winthrop know all about sports miracles. Our native son, Olympic captain Mike Eruzione, brought the entire nation to its feet when he scored the winning goal against the heavily-favored Soviet Union team and Team USA went on to beat Finland for the gold medal in the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid. Sports Illustrated called Mike’s achievement the greatest sports moment of the 20th Century and the team inspired two movies, “Miracle on Ice” and “Miracle.”

But if Sports Illustrated in this week’s edition is ready to call the Patriots’ victory over the Falcons a “miracle,” that’s fine too, because the Patriots’ amazing comeback truly was a spectacular sports story. When the Patriots were trailing 28-3 in the third quarter, only the most optimistic of fans would believe that New England would score 31 unanswered points and win the first-ever overtime Super Bowl.

The Greatest Quarterback of All Time, Tom Brady, The Greatest Coach of All Tiime, Bill Belichick, and the entire team taught us once again never to give up and always to play as a team until the final whistle sounds.

We thank Bob Kraft and his family for building such a great NFL franchise that has given us so many thrills over the past 17 years.

To listen to Bill Belichick tell the fans, “No Days Off” during the rally, and to Tom Brady say, “We Want Six,” shows that the team is poised to pursue a sixth Super Bowl championship with all of its heart and energy.

Congratulations, Patriots, and we in Winthrop truly appreciate another sports miracle, just as Mike Eruzione provided us 37 years ago this month.