09:45 AM EST on Monday, November 29, 2004

FOXBORO -- So I fly into Boston last Tuesday on an international flight and, after clearing customs and getting into my car, the first thing I want to know when I turn on the radio is how the Patriots made out in Kansas City on Monday night.

It's got to be the prime topic of New England sports conversation, doesn't it? I mean, is there a bigger story than the Patriots? Especially the day after a game?

Apparently.

Because it wasn't until much later, after talk about where and when Pedro might sign, how huge a jerk Ron Artest is, and what a ridiculous league the NBA has become, that the score of the Patriots' win over the Chiefs finally came over the airways.

That was all. Just the score. No comment. No discussion.

Ho-hum, the Pats won again. No big deal. Let's move on to more exciting topics.

Which makes me wonder about New England sports fans, and what they'll have to say today, after the Patriots rubbed the Ravens' red faces in the mud yesterday at Gillette Stadium, 24-3, for their 25th win in the last 26 games.

Pats win? Yawn.

Now that the euphoria over the Red Sox's first World Series victory since 1918 -- without question, the biggest story in New England sport history -- has subsided, all anybody, make that everybody, should be talking about is the Patriots and the truly incredible, absolutely remarkable, almost unfathomable run they are on.

What is it about New England sports fans that they don't seem to appreciate what an amazing streak the Patriots have put together? Instead, it seems they really are, as Rick Pitino once said, the fellowship of the miserable.

They're only happy when they're unhappy. They'd much rather complain than celebrate. It's more fun for them to

worry about the breakup of the Red Sox, who could lose Martinez, Jason Varitek, Derek Lowe, and Orlando Cabrera, than to revel in how the Patriots keep winning, week, after week, after week, after week.

The magnitude of the Pats' ongoing achievement is almost impossible to overstate. To win 25 of 26 in this age of NFL parity is a feat not likely ever to be repeated. The Patriots are in the midst of a mind-boggling string of successes that most people seem to take for granted.

The Pats now have won 10 of 11 games this season. Given the remaining schedule, it's hard to imagine they won't win at least four more games, and perhaps all five. They have won two of the last three Super Bowls, and very well may repeat as NFL champions.

Yet, instead of singing their praises, many of New England sports fans apparently prefer to turn their attention elsewhere.

If you're a Patriots fan, these are the best of times. Consider, not only what they are doing, but also how they have done it.

They were without both their starting cornerbacks -- Pro Bowler Ty Law and Tyrone Poole -- again yesterday, for the fourth consecutive game. They also were without their top backup corner, Asante Samuel.

They had Don Davis, an inside linebacker, playing free safety. They had Troy Brown, a wide receiver, alternating between safety and covering the Ravens' slot man. They had Randall Gay, an undrafted rookie free agent, starting at cornerback. Another corner, Earthwind Moreland, spent the first half of the year on the practice squad.

Yet they held the Ravens to just three points. Three points that Baltimore would not have gotten had it not been for misplayed punt, followed by 30 yards of penalties on another punt return, just before halftime.

Perhaps that shouldn't have been surprising, considering that the same patchwork crew had beaten such high-powered passing attacks as the Chiefs, Bills, and Rams in recent weeks.

But shouldn't it have been surprising? Or have New England fans become jaded by the continuing success of the Patriots, no matter the circumstances, no matter who's in the lineup?

The Pats dominated the second half against the Ravens. Corey Dillon ran for a total of 123 yards (83 of them coming after halftime) and a touchdown on 30 carries, enabling New England to control the ball for 35:54.

Tom Brady, throwing a wet ball, completed 15 of 30 passes, for 172 yards, without an interception. And the New England defense produced the clinching touchdown, Tedy Bruschi knocking the ball out of QB Kyle Boller's hand and Jarvis Green recovering in the end zone in the first minute of the fourth quarter.

Boller's afternoon was as dismal as the weather, as he threw for just 93 yards, completing 15 of 35, was sacked 4 times for 46 yards in losses, and was intercepted once.

And so the Patriots won again, for the 25th time in the last 26 games.

You think the Sox will sign Varitek?