Bavaros on the Super Bowl

There's that Boston/New York rivalry thing, and the fact that for a few days, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady had the most famous boot in America, and then all of a sudden he was MIA. But amid all the Super Bowl hype, there's been very little talk about the actual game. Who wants to deal with those insignificant details when Gisele Bundchen is a subplot?

But there is a game, and the Patriot and Giant players know it better than anybody else. Even ex-players would like to chime in - specifically a couple who have intimate knowledge of both organizations. They are also brothers who cut their teeth on the game locally while suiting up for Danvers High School.

Mark Bavaro, now 44 and living in Boxford, was an All-Pro tight end for the New York Giants, with whom he won two Super Bowl rings. Tom Coughlin, the current Giants head coach, was a receivers coach when Mark was employed by the football Giants. Bill Belichick, the current head coach of the Patriots, gave him a chance to resume his career after a one-year hiatus when Belichick took over as head coach of the Cleveland Browns. Belichick knew all about Mark when he was the Giants defensive coordinator.

Mark's brother, David, who's now 40 and a teacher at Malden Catholic, played two years for the Patriots in 1993 and 1994 - a period he considers the start of the current dynasty, because Bill Parcells - the architect of the Giants championship run in the '80s - was the Pats' head honcho, and Bob Kraft bought the team after the 1993 season.

Mark is going to sit back and enjoy the game, and hope that the best team wins. "I'm a part of the Giants alumni right now; I don't play for them anymore," he said. "I have a lot of close friends on the Patriots, and I like the fact that these two teams are in it."

<u>Pats first among the alumni</u>

As an alumnus, Mark tries to keep in touch with the Giants through their alumni club, which was established just last year. "[The alumni club] is really not up and running as of yet, and it's certainly not like the one that the Pats have," added Mark.

David is a dues-paying member of the Pats alumni club that provides game tickets to the past players who want them.

"The Krafts allowed this to happen with the creation of NEPAC (New England Patriots Alumni Club). They are great in remembering the past players, even me," David said. "I was a meat and potatoes guy, but there's also great and talented guys associated with it."

David basically played on the special teams for the Pats, but he did start at linebacker in five games during the 1994 playoff season, and his claim to fame is that they won all of them.

"We made the playoffs that year playing Belichick's Cleveland Browns. We belonged in the playoffs, and that game went down to the wire, before [quarterback Drew] Bledsoe threw an interception," David said. "It was an honor and a privilege to be a part of something great."

The Patriots are just one Super Bowl XLII win away from a 19-0 perfect season that would arguably catapult them to best-team-ever status.

The Giants, on the other hand, had to get to the big game the hard way, winning 10 straight road games, including an overtime epic against Green Bay for the National Football Conference title.

Giants field goal kicker Lawrence Tynes missed two previously that game, but his 47-yard overtime boot caught Mark's admiration, because of the circumstances.

"It was really cold, and the ball was harder, and for that kick to go that far and that accurate in that environment was a tremendous achievement," said Mark.

<u>Your number's up</u>

Veteran players eventually retire, but for the most part their uniforms remain active, and ironically Kevin Boss, a Mark Bavaro clone, is currently the bearer of his No. 89.

"I never saw him play up until the last few games, but for what I've seen I like him. He's a quiet, hard-nosed kid who doesn't drop any balls," said Mark. "It's also weird that he got his start pretty much the same way I got mine. He had to replace Jeremy Shockey, who broke his leg, and I took over for Zeke Mowatt, who blew out his knee during the 1985 season."

<u>Perfect timing</u>

The Patriots are going for perfection, and for Mark Bavaro the timing couldn't be better.

"It's a phenomenal achievement, but the league, the way it's setup right now, is conducive for it," he said. "It's a mediocre league, and the Pats are just heads and shoulders above everybody else. In the past, there was always a group of good teams, and Belichick knows how to take advantage of everything in the league today. He's a man coaching among boys, and sometimes it's embarrassing watching the games.

"The salary cap affords only so many great players for teams, and Bill (Belichick), being a genius he is, can exploit it. He knows how to find the hidden jewels," Bavaro said. "They'd see something in a player, and then figure out how he could fit into the system. The ideal Patriots candidate is selfless, smart, willing to follow instruction and doesn't expect all of the glory, and they also believe in the coach, because they want to win championships.

"Other teams are not willing to take a chance on such players at the risk of feeling foolish, but the Pats are confident at what they are bringing in," Mark continued. "I love the Pats, because they're never the same team. They remind me of the (San Francisco) 49ers. The 49ers were always in search of new talent. They were never happy, never content. They were always looking for better value, just like the Patriots, while still maintaining a championship team."

<u>Spies among us</u>