Another Reason to Watch...

As a child growing up, I loved to watch professional wrestling. Sure it was fake, but boy was it intriguing. The good guys vs. the bad guys. Right vs. wrong. Most of the kids that watched loved the "good guys." Not me... I loved the bad guys. They had so much more charisma and when they talked it had nothing to do with saying your prayers and eating your vitamins. They wanted to destroy you. They wanted to kill you. But most important, they entertained you and always kept you watching.

Bill Belicheck, the head coach of the New England Patriots, is without a doubt, the best bad guy the NFL has ever seen. He's so bad, he's good. He is smug, arrogant, cocky, brash, and oh by the way, the best coach in the NFL. You either love this guy or you despise him. There is no middle ground. Most look at this guy like the milk carton that has expired. You know you should throw it out, but you still have to smell it anyway to know how bad it really is.

Earlier this season, the Patriots were busted for what is now called "spy gate" and have been branded cheaters by the media and opposing teams. The reality is this is a common practice amongst all NFL teams and the Patriots were the ones caught with their pants down. There was talk of forfeiting that victory. There was talk of putting an asterisk by this season's win total. The only thing to come of it was a big fine levied by the NFL.

So what did Belicheck and his Patriots do? They decided to stick it to the NFL and every team that stood in its path. They began to run up the score as if they were out to cover the over/under on their own. They ran some scores up so much you would have thought they were making a move in the college bowl standings and the margin of victory was factored in.

Everyone took note. Vegas started posting numbers as if the Patriots were taking on your high school Alma mater. Teams have turned playing the Patriots into their own Super Bowl week. Baltimore played them to the wire this past week, and had they won, would have vindicated their poor season. Imagine Michigan winning only one game and it being against Ohio State (God Forbid!!!), somehow their season would have been saved. Same scenario.

Belecheck is predictable. His sound bites don't stir up echos of Bill Parcells, Herm Edwards, or Dennis Green. A Coors Light commercial is not on the horizon. He sounds like he mumbles. He looks pissed off that he even has to be at the press conference. He is the bad guy of the NFL coaching fraternity.

Bill Belecheck has become "that guy." He is the guy you root against and get to say I told you so when he fails. He is the guy that would copy the answers off the smart kid in the class and then cover his answers when you tried to peak. He would be the kid that has the coolest toys and doesn't share with anyone.

But here's the thing. For all the fans that watch to see Tom Brady throw and Randy Moss catch, and a group of linebackers that can do it all, there is a healthy portion of us watching to see Belecheck succeed or fail.

If only Vince McMahon could get his hands on this guy. A self-made bad guy on the most watched team in football. Four games remain for the Patriots in their goal for an undefeated season. Only the Miami Dolphins have achieved this feat and that was thirty five years ago. That team went on to win the Super Bowl and hoist their coach Don Shula on their shoulders in celebration. Only time will tell if Belecheck and the Patriots have a similar outcome.

Chances are you know someone like Belecheck. Chances are in some ways you wish you were a little more like that person without giving up too much of yourself. Chances are you will be watching on Sundays to see if Belecheck and his team can or can't do it. Whether they do or don't, chances are you will say, "I told you so..."