The Daily Dose/February 5, 2018
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy
Notes from around the Human Experience…
DID WE CALL IT, OR WHAT?: Following their triumphant 52-0 whitewashing of the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LII, the New England Patriots must now be considered one of the great dynasties in American professional sports.
Oh, Bloody Hell: Well, that didn’t happen.
Those rascals known as the Philadelphia Eagles didn’t blink when in the past other teams had and actually ended up winning Super Bowl LII 41-33. The steadying, brilliant hand of Nick Foles played no small part in the win, though you look up Team in the dictionary you may well find a pic of this Eagles team.
Over The Hump: It was the first Super Bowl win for the Eagles and their first NFL title since 1960 and their fourth overall.
FunFact: It was the fifth Super Bowl loss for the Patriots, tying them with Denver for the most loss Super Bowl losses.
Yawn…Whatever: In fact, it was another Super Bowl for the Patriots in an era where Super Bowls are regular occurrences. It was the franchises record tenth Super Bowl appearance overall and the eighth Super Bowl of the Belichick/Brady era, a testament to the unselfish work they’ve demanded of themselves and everyone else who’s worn a New England uniform over this century.
GOAT: Patriots quarterback Tom Brady showed why he is the very best ever at what he does and maybe, perhaps, the best athlete in a team sport ever. Brady became the first quarterback to pass for over 500 yards in a Super Bowl and is now 8-for-8 in having his team in position to win the Vince Lombardi Trophy. Football is a team game, though, and the Patriots are only 5-3 in these games. With some luck, good or bad, they could easily be 8-0 or 0-8 because all eight have been close games.
Fly In The Ointment: While the Patriots are a model for long-term success, they are not quite a dynasty, however. Their five Super Bowl wins have simply been spread over too many years for that.
Consider this: the Green Bay Packers won five NFL titles and the first two Super Bowls – then a game between the NFL and AFL champions – in seven seasons in the 1960’s, which might well be the NFL’s greatest dynasty.
Other sports have seen even more impressive championship runs: the Boston Celtics won 11 NBA titles from 1957-69, the Montreal Canadiens won 15 Stanley Cups between 1965-79 and the New York Yankees won the World Series twelve times between 1936-53.
The Bottom Line: Bully for all of them. A win Sunday would have made the Patriots shine a little brighter, but the sustained excellence of the past 18 years – an era filled with salary caps and labor strife, among other things – is still a very impressive feat.
THE MORE THINGS CHANGE…: The Immigration Act of 1917 becomes law on this date in 1917 when Congress overrides President Woodrow Wilson’s veto of the previous December. It was the first immigration that restricted immigration where previous policy had merely regulated it.
The Act barred immigration from most of Asia and the Pacific Islands, though it did not include Japan or the Philippines. It also featured a literacy test for European immigrants, which actually wasn’t all that difficult, consisting of merely reading several dozen words from the person’s native language. There were waivers to allow Mexicans to continue to come and work our fields and railroads.
Oh Yeah: It would remain America’s governing immigration policy until 1952’s Immigration and Nationality Act.
DBF: The SS Tuscania is torpedoed and sunk in the Irish Sea on this date in 1918, becoming the first ship carrying US troops to Europe during World War I to suffer that fate. It was sunk by the German U-boat UB77, killing an estimated 210 US troops. Approximately 2,300 troops and crewman had been aboard.
This Is Definitely A Violation Of Regulations: The US Air Force loses a hydrogen bomb off the coast of Georgia on this date in 1958. The bomb was on a B-47, which was on a training mission when it collided with an F-86. The F-86 pilot ejected, but the B-47 remained airborne, eventually regaining control. The bomb, however, was jettisoned over the ocean and was never found. Occasional checks of the area have yet to find any radioactive contamination.
Quotebook: Realizing that the function of a political leader in a democracy is not to impose his will, but to help the people decide wisely for themselves… – Benjamin Thomas, Abraham Lincoln
Answer To The Last Trivia Question: The last country to land a spacecraft on the moon was China. Their rover Chang’e 3 landed on the moon on December 14, 2013.
Today’s Stumper: What stadiums have the Philadelphia Eagles on their four NFL champions in? – Answer next time!
