Pretty good story summing up my thoughts on Belichick as well. Moss got hell for doing the same thing. I think AI got crap about it for leaving early in a basketball game as well. I think all 3 were wrong.
Also, some really poor calls on his part. The long throws late in the game, throw a 10 yard out get some momentum, do something with 30 seconds on the clock. Also not going for the field goal which will be mentioned a million times. The Giants played amazing football, but it seemed like when the Patriots were finally pressed and they could not make the adjustments on the field.
If he's going to lose, Bill Belichick would rather be elsewhere
By MJD
Sunday, Feb 3, 2008 11:12 pm EST
On more than one occasion this year, Bill Belichick and the Patriots have run up the score on an overmatched opponent, and forced an opposing coach to sit there and watch his beaten team go through the motions while their heineys were being handed to them.
But when the shoe's on the other foot, and Bill Belichick's team has been beaten, he can't sit there and take the pain for a few seconds.
With :02 left on the clock, and his team just having failed on a last chance 4th down effort, Bill Belichick ran onto the field for a quick handshake, and then bolted for the locker room. Belichick's an important guy and everything, but I wasn't aware that the league had given him the authority to decide when games end.
There's time left on the clock, his team's been humbled, outplayed, and lost their chance at history ... and Bill Belichick doesn't have the stomach to sit there and absorb the pain until the clock read 0:00.
That's unsportsmanlike at best, disrespectful at least, and at worst, it makes him a big sissy.
Because Bill Belichick wanted to go hide when he lost, the field ended up being flooded with people, and the officials had to clear the area before the Giants could take their final snap and make it official. When you lose, you take your loss. You don't leave early because it makes you feel sad inside. Your opponent deserves more respect than that.
Anyone remember in 2004 when Randy Moss left the sidelines with 2 seconds left in a Vikings vs. Redskins game? Moss was selfish, a baby, a quitter, didn't respect his teammates, and didn't respect the game. Belichick just did the same thing, but did it on the biggest possible stage, and did it from the position of a leader of men.
Maybe there's something to be said for the inability to lose well ... most great winners don't lose well, and a sore loser is still a loser.
But still, if you're an adult, you finish out the game, and you give your opponents the stage and the respect they deserve.
When I was younger, I used to think that the world was doing it to me and that the world owes me some thing…When you're a teeny bopper, that's what you think. I'm 40 now, I don't think that anymore, because I found out it doesn't f--king work. One has to go through that. For the people who even bother to go through that, most assholes just accept what it is anyway and get on with it." - John Lennon
