I have grown-up an Indianapolis Colts fan, a supporter of a team not always known for their successes until the present. Often known for either their upset loss in Super Bowl III or their midnight flee from Baltimore, the Colts have grown into a true franchise with one of the best owners and best coaches in the National Football League today. But I must confess that in the course of this decade, I have been captivated by another franchise I believe to be more prestigious: the New England Patriots.

Now that I’ve said that, I can picture the horror and disgust on every Colts fan’s face reading this because the rivalry between the two teams needs no explanation. Both are at the peak of their franchise histories, both have great coaches, great quarterbacks and great mental preparation. But being the near-Naval Academy Midshipman that I am, I’ll side with the Pats.

Let’s start with Bill Belichick, who is the son of a former U.S. Naval Academy football coach and scout, a graduate of Wesleyan in economics and a championship coach. He is certainly the patriarch of the Patriot family and has combined his affinity for film analysis and his calculating mind to create a motivational coaching style that has yielded a 14-3 New England playoff record, four Super Bowl appearances in seven years (3-1 record) and the unfaltering respect and love of his players. And yes, I used the ‘L’ word. It only took him two years to form a championship team in 2001 that would begin the dynasty of the 21st century’s first decade, and he did it with a quarterback drafted as the 199th pick in 2000.

Which leads me to Tom Brady, what can I say? Honestly, who is this guy? As far as football prestige and history, he’s no Peyton Manning, who went first overall in the 1998 draft. Peyton’s the son of Archie (great NFL quarterback) and brother of Eli (improving NFL quarterback), a sure-Hall of Famer and certainly a great actor. But you can’t deny the statistics, and while Peyton has the better career numbers, Brady has the records. Brady has the season TD record (50), highest game completion percentage (92.9 percent), highest QB rating in a game (158.3) and a season (117.2), least season INTs (eight) and most consecutive post-season wins (10), just to name a few. Plus, Brady has the advantage in the most important stat of all: three Super Bowl victories in seven years, while Peyton has one ring in 10 seasons.

In 1994 Don Shula said, “Sure, luck means a lot in football. Not having a good quarterback is bad luck.”

I couldn’t agree more, but the best part about this quote is the irony behind it as the 2007 Patriots were on the verge of joining the Shula-coached 1972 Dolphins as the only two undefeated teams in NFL history.

Besides Belichick and Brady, another important reason I’m a Patriots fan is for how they handle themselves and the media off the field. Plato once said that “you can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.” To say that Belichick and the Patriots don’t talk much would be an understatement.

Belichick can certainly be taken as standoffish and rude, but those are simply residue of a one-mindedness instilled within him by his father. At the Naval Academy, no one person or side of the football is greater than the team. And that means taking things one game at time, taking baby steps so as not to stretch the team beyond its breaking point.

Needless to say, the Pats enjoy hushing those who do talk against their family: LaDainian Tomlinson (Chargers RB) – “The rule with the Patriots is ‘if you ain’t cheatin’, you ain’t tryin’.’”; Anthony Smith (Steelers DB) – “I guarantee a victory.”; Igor Olshansky (Chargers DE) – “New England better be ready… Who? New England? ...they’re more worried than we are… they know what’s up.”

Obviously, all of them fell to the Pats’ season’s 18-1 record. Super Bowl Sunday held the answer as to whether or not the Giants would do so twice this season.

I know I’m outnumbered and behind enemy lines in Indiana, but if the Bears’ fans to the north can survive after their loss at the hands of the Colts in Super Bowl XLI, I can certainly survive a few verbal beatings while my favorite team continues their seasonal accomplishments and Super Bowl victories.

And this Super Bowl Sunday while most are cheering for “back-to-back Manning Super Bowl wins” or are against the Pats because “they’re a bunch of cheaters,” I’ll be ignoring the Colts fanatics and continue being a Patriots fan, Tom Brady jersey and all.