For 59 minutes I thought I'd have to change my name to "The Cooler".  I am a huge Ravens fan, but the horrific play of my favorite team this season caused me to hop onto the Patriots bandwagon.  I then watched the Ravens nearly beat the Patriots and realized that only my jinx could have caused such an amazing near upset.

In the end I'm glad the Patriots won.  Here's why:

• 1. I was born in 1973 and don't care what the 1972 Dolphins did. I think Mercury Morris is very annoying and I'd love to see thePatriots shut him up by going undefeated. In 30 years I fully expect to become a crotchety old man who bitterly resents younger generations, but until I become that man I'll go ahead and resent the older generations.

• 2. A victory by the Ravens might have saved Brian Billick's job. It took him 3 months to realize that our strength is running the ball. We'll probably end up losing to the Dolphins which will seal Billick's fate. While I was amused by him blowing kisses to Rodney Harrison, I still think he's the worst coach in the league and needs to fade away.

• 3. Willis McGahee looked awesome running behind Jonathan Ogden and our young rookie offensive lineman. Young offensive lineman are better at run blocking year 1 than they are at pass blocking. It's a lot harder for offensive lineman to adapt to the strength and speed of NFL pass rushers than it is for them to open up holes in between the tackles. The only coach that didn't realize this was Brian Billick Week 1 to 12. Anyway, I feel very optimistic that our running game will be solid next season.

• 4. I know his interception was costly, but Kyle Boller once again looked like the 20^th best QB in the league. I know that doesn't sound like high praise, but if we can be a top 5 running team while also playing Top 3 defense then having the 20^th best starting QB is not the worst thing in the world. Hopefully he can go to the David Garrard school of minimizing mistakes in the off-season.

• 5. The defense will be a Top 3 unit even though Ray Lewis is getting older. Our numbers aren't as good this year as they were last year, but a lot of that has to do with our offense allowing opposing teams to start at mid-field every drive. Injuries to Trevor Pryce hurt our ability to rush the passer. With health and young players improving we'll get back to being the top defense next season.

• 6. I like seeing history. I want the Patriots to go undefeated so I can see history. I like Bill Belichick. Not only is he the best coach in the league, he called into Howard Stern the morning after winning the Super Bowl.

• 7. I consider myself agnostic. I'm not ballsy enough to be an atheist, but I'm also someone who studied human evolution, genetics and biology in graduate school and am fully convinced that an all powerful God is not necessary to explain the world I see today. At least this is what I thought before the game. After every single play went in Tom Brady's favor (timeout on 4^th down, tipped pass not intercepted, defensive holding on 4^th down, game winning TD) I realized that there must be a God and he loves Tom Brady. How else do you explain his on-field and off-field success?