SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – As far a Mike Vrabel is concerned, the Patriots aren’t the only unbeaten team playing in Super Bowl XLII.
“To me the Giants are just as undefeated as we are,” the Patriots linebacker said late yesterday soon after his unbeaten team landed in rainy Phoenix to begin preparations for Sunday’s game.
“They haven’t lost a game in the playoffs,” Vrabel said. “To me that makes them undefeated.”
Vrabel, like most of the Patriots, was in a relaxed if not reflective mood yesterday. Maybe it was the rain. Maybe it was the grind of a long season and the realization they have reached yet another Super Bowl.
“I was a third-round pick of the Steelers,” Vrabel said. “To think you’re going to play 11 years, win three Super Bowls and have a chance for a fourth, you have to realize how fortunate you are.”
The Patriots received a huge send-off with 20,000 showing up at Gillette Stadium to bid the team good luck. It made an impression on the players.
“We need to get those types of people at the game,” Vrabel said. “Those are the type of fans we need to come to the stadium. They’re the people that get left out because of the cost of our games. But they love football and they love our team.”
The objective the Patriots bring with them is simple: finish the job.