Saturday, February 2, 2008

The Perfect Season

By now you’re painfully aware of the fact that the New England Patriots have made history by being only the second team ever to complete a perfect regular season in Football. Joining the 1972 Miami Dolphins (14-0) along with eclipsing the 1985 Chicago Bears. (15-1)

The Patriots will now set about making further history in the NFL by attempting to sweep the tables on an unprecedented run to 19-0, when they encounter the New York Giants in Super Bowl 42 in Glendale, Arizona, to which many pundits say is merely a formality as the Patriots expect to win their fourth Super Bowl in seven years…

Yet, this most impressive feat has never been accomplished in motor racing to date, although a few driver/team combinations have flirted with the notion over the years.

Many of you will most likely recall that McLaren came Oh-So ever close in 1988, when bosom buddies Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna won 15 of that year’s 16 events aboard the all mighty McLaren MP/4-4 Honda, in what was the swan song season of the 1.5 liter turbocharged era.

Yet as fate would have it, while convincingly leading the race at Monza, Ayrton Senna came upon the back marker Jean Louis Schlesser, whom was filling in for the injured Nigel Mansell in an underpowered Williams/Judd. Yet ‘Ol Arrogant was just itching to get past the Frenchman and must have been dumbstruck when the two of them tangled while colliding in the first chicane. And less you think Schlesser was a wanker, as he’d shared the 1979 French Formula 3 Championship with fellow countryman Alain Prost.

Of course this sent the Tiafosi wild, as Gerhard Berger would lead Michele Alboreto in an unexpected Ferrari 1-2 sweep just weeks after Il Commendatore (Enzo Ferrari) had passed away.

In 1992, the Williams F1 team had rebounded with the help of the mighty Renault V-10, as BLOODY NIGE (Nigel Mansell) simply dominated the season, starting off with five consecutive victories on his way to a tally of 12 and his long awaited World Championship.

Having left Formula 1 in favour of CART after Sir Frank was unwilling to break his piggy bank to meet Il Lione’s demands; Mansell won the Championship in his rookie season for Newman/Haas in 1993.

Yet the following year, Team Penske Marlboro audaciously stamped its mark of dominance upon the entire CART community while running a three car operation for Al Unser Jr., Emerson Fittipaldi and Paul Tracy. These three bandito’s swept the table for “The Captain,” finishing 1-2-3 in the season standings. Not only did ‘lil Al win that years Vanderbilt Cup, he also won his second Indianapolis 500 with the mighty Mercedes Benz “Stock Block,” as Roger’s boys won 12 of that year’s 16 events.

And not to be outdone by BLOODY NIGE, Michael Schumacher simply obliterated the field during the 2004 Formula 1 season, enroute to his record seventh World Championship. That year Herr Schumacher simply ran the tables, winning 13 races, while leaving everybody in his wake.

So, hopefully history will NOT be made this weekend, as I’d find it most satisfying to see the New York Giants BEAT the FRILLING Patriots…

GO GIANTS!!!