00:00Mike Reese is the ESPN Nation reporter covering the Patriots.
00:04Mike, hello!
00:06Good morning, Fred, Hardy, John.
00:08How are we doing this morning?
00:10Good.
00:11I mean, just let's put this all in perspective.
00:15You cover the team.
00:17You're no homer, but you look at things and you're never overly negative.
00:23Just beginning of the season, let's just kind of put this in some kind of perspective.
00:28If someone would have told you they're playing, forget the Stidham angle, forget even what's happening.
00:34We'll get to the AFC Championship game in a minute.
00:36But if someone told you the Patriots were going to be playing the AFC Championship game this year, what would you have said?
00:42Are you okay?
00:43Right.
00:44Are you crazy?
00:47Yeah, that is not a reasonable thing to be thinking.
00:53And I think optimism is great, and that's what makes the NFL so great.
00:57But this is totally, totally unexpected.
01:01And it's why sports are great.
01:03And that was another unforgettable.
01:07I'm thinking about the scene at the stadium yesterday for those that were down there.
01:12It's just, you know, this region and these are, you know, the Patriots fans have been blessed with so much.
01:18That I think a lot of people, what I hear from them felt like, if it never happened again, like, we would have been okay.
01:25And I think so many people appreciate it, that you almost feel that, that it's back again.
01:32That you almost feel that in the stadium, guys.
01:34That's it.
