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Karen Guregian: Patriots Hall of Famer shares Super Bowl cautionary tale ahead of big game
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- Karen Guregian: Patriots Hall of Famer shares Super Bowl cautionary tale ahead of big game
The Patriots are on to Super Bowl 60. They’re on to Santa Clara and a date with the Seattle Seahawks .
As the journey has unfolded, the Patriots’ roll through the regular season and playoffs has been uplifting on so many levels.
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They’ve captured fans in New England and beyond with their rags-to-riches story, and their embrace of the underdog role.
But there’s one more mission for Mike Vrabel’s team to accomplish, one more goal to achieve.
The train can’t stop here.
As Pro Football Hall of Famer Andre Tippett found out, not all Cinderella stories have happy endings.
Speaking with the former Patriots great last week, he drew some parallels to the 1985 team he played on, and the current team.
Tippett remembered how his team, coached by Raymond Berry, also went on a magical ride two decades ago.
“The year we went to the Super Bowl, we played over our heads,” Tippett said. “We were so fired up. We thought we had all the right people, offense, defense, special teams.
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“We all played together. We all had that bond for each other. Everybody understood the message, and what the opportunities were.”
Sound familiar?
It’s the same script with the 2025 team. They’ve all talked about buying in and understanding Vrabel’s message, and being completely connected as a team.
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They’ve talked about their special bond, and playing for each other one game to the next.
“As corny as it sounds, that’s part of anybody’s winning formula. We didn’t invent it,” Tippett said. “But everybody that’s had success, everybody that’s won championships, everybody that’s been in this situation know those are the most important traits.”
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Tippett’s Patriots didn’t win that Super Bowl. They got blown out by the Chicago Bears , 46-10.
That team, because of their belief in Berry and each other, figured they’d back to the big game.
They thought they had a good enough team to return, it just didn’t happen. Tippett learned the cruel reality of sports and how some great teams never finish the job, or never got back to the title game after that first taste.
It’s a cautionary tale to be sure.
“I remember telling guys, you don’t know if you’re going to get back again,” Tippett said. “We thought we were good enough to set us up for the future. It didn’t turn out that way. You never know. Nothing’s promised.”
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The following year, they finished with the same 11-5 record, first in the AFC East, but didn’t make it past the divisional round. In 1987, then went 8-7. In 1988 9-7 and 5-11 in 1989.
That’s why it behooves the Patriots to pounce on their first trip because there are no guarantees they’ll have the chance again, even having Mike Vrabel and Drake Maye for many more years to come.
While the Patriots braintrust is trying to build a team for sustained success, and look like they’ll be contenders for many years to come, the path to getting to the big game might not be as paved as it was this season.
Starting next season, the Patriots are going to have a more difficult schedule. They aren’t going to sneak up on anyone. They’ll be good once again, thanks in part to Vrabel, Maye and a good roster, but will they get back to the Super Bowl?
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Of course the Bill Belichick- Tom Brady Patriots made that happen. They built a dynasty. But those instances are more the exception, than the rule.
“You don’t know how long that window is going to last. We were blessed for those 20-something years to have the success that we’ve had with Bill’s regime,” Tippett said. “To start anew again, it’s amazing. But you gotta keep believing in each other. You gotta block out the noise. You can’t buy into the hype. You can’t get caught up in that stuff.
“You have to leave it at the door when you get (to the Super Bowl). You have to continue to push each other, having everybody banding together and believing in each other, understanding what’s at stake. It’s that simple.”
Perhaps this Patriots team will have many more kicks at the can. Perhaps they’ll be perennial Super Bowl contenders and participants in the big game.
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They just can’t assume that will be the case. They have to play like this is their best and only shot.
And, that’s exactly what Vrabel will be preaching during the lead-up to the Patriots showdown with the Seahawks.
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