By Dave Diamond

Can we get the Patriots back in the Super Bowl, please? The numbers cannot be argued; Super Bowls are better when New England has a say.

It was living proof Sunday night when the two “best” teams went head-to-head in another “classic,” which may have been fantastic if: a) Somebody could hold onto the football, and b) Rex Grossman did not attend. Only a year ago we watched in horror as the best pass was thrown by a Pittsburgh wide receiver (Antoine Randle-El). And if you listen closely between the raindrops, you can still hear the Seahawk faithful grumbling about bad officiating. Never mind the fact that they lost to a six seed.

The bottom line is the Super Bowl has been a frighteningly awful game in the most recent generation with the exception of three, all of which were New England victories by a three point margin. Last minute drives captained by a clutch quarterback, excellent strategy from genius head coaching, the game-winning field goal with time expired; these are a few of my favorite things. They are all essentials to a game of this magnitude, and frankly these elements have been thrown out the window if the Pats’ are watching at home.

For crying out loud, Sunday’s game included “Mr. Clutch” himself, Adam Vinatieri, and still it was terrible. Face it fans, like them or not, the Patriots make for better football, appetizers, scoring pools, you name it.

Here’s your sampling. The Patriots defeated the Rams, Panthers, and Eagles by a combined nine points in their last three appearances. This year the Bears lost by 12. Last year the top-seeded Seahawks fell by 11. All other Super Bowls in this decade not including the Patriots were blowouts with the Buccaneers dismantling Oakland and Baltimore embarrassing the overmatched Giants.

Not since Rams-Titans in 1999 have we seen true excitement in the waning seconds unless Brady and Belicheck are providing the fireworks with yet another impressive display. In fact, Super Bowl XXXVIII with Carolina was probably the best Super Bowl of the decade, with the lead changing hands all the way into the fourth quarter. More people would remember this game for its explosive display if a certain breast did not shockingly enter the public domain at halftime.

Apparently, when you subtract New England and MTV from Super Sunday, you extract any chance of enjoyment. Even the Patriot playoff games this season, right up to their final minute loss to Indianapolis, were far more enticing than any other. They upset San Diego with a great fourth quarter comeback, and took the eventual champs to the brink of another disaster before Peyton finally got it done.

Make no mistake; they did not deserve to go this year. The better team may not always win, but usually the better team doesn’t blow an 18-point lead in a championship game. The Colts were better and are a very exciting team to watch, which begs the question, what happens to these teams when they hit the big show?

As I sat and watched Sunday night the non-football enthusiasts gasped with each fumble and horrid interception and they asked me “are these really the best the NFL has to offer.” Well, yeah.

The good thing about parody is that any team can win in any given year, which is what makes the NFL the best sport to watch in this country. The problem is if the potential dynasty teams are ripped apart by free agency and salary cap consequences, then the performance by the NFL’s “best” team is going to be remarkably less impressive. Look at baseball during the Yankee dominance of the late 90’s. There were always good up-and-coming teams that were fun to watch, but when we hit the World Series, you knew the Yankees would be there because they didn’t make mistakes. Mistakes make for bad games.

So next year when we hit Super Bowl Sunday, let’s hope the red, white, and blue we see is not just the object of the National Anthem. As long as the Patriots are in the running for a Super Bowl title, Monday morning will be spent discussing actual football rather than over-the-top commercials and aging halftime acts.