New England Patriots. Super Bowl champs. Still true, ain’t it? Nice. I guess we should be glad that no international judges — or even NFL national-media types — got to determine that outcome.

I have to tip my cap to a couple of Boston Globe columnists, though, who unreservedly predicted that the Patriots would win the big game. Dan Shaughnessy, in his column that ran the Tuesday prior to the Super Bowl, ended that day’s entry with the following:

"Now it’s St. Louis and Boston again, in New Orleans, for the championship of the football galaxy. The Patriots don’t like talk of karma, destiny, and larger forces calling the shots. But these Patriots are like those ’67 Sox — prime-time’s feel-good program of the winter season.

"And they are going to win the Super Bowl.

"No clowning around this time."

When I read, "And they are going to win the Super Bowl" that Tuesday, it gave me a chill. Could it really happen? That was the first moment when I actually considered the prospect, and what it would be like in this town if it came true. I shuddered at the thought, and that was in a good way.

Then Super Bowl Sunday dawned with Michael Holley’s glorious column, which began:

"I will witness a Super Bowl upset tonight. I will sit next to people who will scramble to put Patriots-Rams into its proper context....

"They will run around the Superdome, searching for Joe Willie Namath. They will ask him which win packs more historical punch, Patriots over Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI or Jets over Colts in Super Bowl III....

"Whatever Namath says will be OK, because the larger point is that the Patriots are going to be champions of their sport. Let the kids stay up late so they can see it all."

And then later in the column:

"Grab [the Rams] a few times. Push them around. They can be beaten.

"Oh, yes. I will witness a Super Bowl upset tonight."

Both men made bold picks that would have been easy to poke fun at if the game had turned out differently, but they had the rock-solid confidence that many of us in retrospect wished that we’d had, and they put their hopes and beliefs in print for all to see. Holley, in particular, must be delighted that he quickly changed his mind about relocating to Chicago during his brief stint with the Tribune, and re-joined the Globe in time to see this improbable event.

One last thing about the Pats: back in late 1999, Sports Illustrated ran a short blurb in its "The Buzz" column about then–Jets assistant coach Bill Belichick. Under the heading "Coach in Waiting," it read:

"If you don’t think Jets defensive mastermind Bill Belichick will be on the short list of teams shopping for a coach in the off-season, just look at how AFC East quarterbacks have fared of late against his unit. The Colts’ Peyton Manning had his two lowest-rated games of 1999 against the Jets. The Bills’ Doug Flutie says New York’s defense is the toughest he faces. The Patriots’ Drew Bledsoe is 1-4 in his last five games against the Jets. The Dolphins’ Dan Marino has a 51.9 rating in his last three games against New York. So what if Belichick needs a Dale Carnegie course. He’s the smartest assistant in the league. Period."

The Krafts spent a first-round pick wresting Belichick away from the Jets during that off-season, and the rest, as they say, is history. And at this point, it wouldn’t be stretching it to update the column to read, "He’s the smartest coach in the league. Period." At least until this wonderful feeling wears off.

The Super Bowl champion New England Patriots — it has a nice ring to it. And until you get ’em, have a great off-season, gentlemen, and good luck, Drew.

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Just 45 days till my favorite Beer Gal, Jeanine, pours me that first frosty $5 brew of the season from her perch below section 37 in the Fenway bleachers.

Sporting Eye runs Mondays and Fridays on BostonPhoenix.com, and Christopher Young can be reached at cyoung[a]phx.com.