My Right Foot

With the NFL playoffs in full swing, I think it’s finally time to tell the tale of The Shoe. Honestly, I cannot believe I have had this blog for the better part of a year and never mentioned this.

Last year I was talking with My Work Buddy Johnny about the upcoming Sunday night NFL game between the Patriots and Dallas. Johnny was positive the Cowboys would win, while I was so confident the Patriots would win, I put my foot on his desk and said “The Pats will win. It’s a shoe-in!” (A takeoff of a gag from the classic “Lisa the Greek” episode of the Simpsons) The Patriots went on to win 12-0.

I said that next week’s game against the Texans was a shoe-in as well. The result: another Patriots win (although it went down to the wire). Soon I was saying “My Shoe guarantees a Pats win” and “The Shoe knows the Pats are going to cruise to victory.” To make a long story short, the Patriots did not lose the rest of the year and won the Super Bowl.

Coincidence? Possibly. After all, the Patriots were an excellent team that had won the Super Bowl just two seasons ago. But since the creation of the Shoe, the next season the Red Sox went on to win their first World Series in 86 years. There are clearly greater powers at work. A power I call…The Shoe.

Why am I telling you this? A lot of people (like Mike Vanderjagt) think the time is right for Peyton Manning and the Colts to finally beat the Patriots after five straight losses. After all, Peyton is on fire, and the Pats secondary has been riddled with injuries. Sure, he’s lost five straight to the Pat, but that can’t last forever, right? This has to be the time, doesn’t it?

The Shoe disagrees. The Shoe knows it will not be easy, but he has confidence in the Patriots offense (no slackers in their own right), as well as Bill Belicick’s ability to cook something up on defense and get into Mr. Manning’s head.

Final score: Patriots 35, Colts 31

And if the Shoe’s wrong, he’ll feel like a heel

(Couldn’t resist)