Back on April Fools’ Day, when all was right in New England, the Boston Red Sox, optimistic and under new ownership, welcomed the NFL titlist Patriots to throw out the ceremonial first ball en masse. Upon the completion of that celebrated pre-game ritual, the Patriots shook hands with the Red Sox players and retreated back to the mythical land of champions. Unfortunately, like catching a cold from casual contact, the Patriots must have picked up that most dreaded of sports viruses from their hardball brethren that day.

Red Sox Syndrome.

For those unfamiliar with that frightful malady, the symptoms are palpable: the team claims to be properly motivated, but ultimately plays with little or no passion; it has no excuses relating to serious injuries on its roster, and may even be playing an injury-decimated opponent, yet it still finds a way to lose; it lacks mental toughness, frequently incurring inane penalties and committing errors; the players may display an annoying habit of relying on how they and their team look on paper, without actually consistently executing properly and playing to the best of their abilities, all the while waiting for someone else to come in and make the big play; and finally, the team more often than not defeats a weaker opponent handily, but submits substandard efforts when faced with a stern challenge.

These symptoms were hardly in evidence when the Patriots opened their season with three straight wins, but ever since the Chiefs rallied from a two-touchdown deficit late in the game to force overtime in the third game, the Patriots have lost three straight and taken on the summer-long pallor of the Red Sox: not recognizing what is needed to produce quality long-term results, and ultimately taking it out on the media, whom they blame for the negativism.

Only a week ago, this column asked its readership to relax regarding the Patriots’ perceived misfortunes. At that time, New England was coming off two disappointing losses to two quality teams on the road. With a bull’s-eye the size of Madagascar painted on their collective chests, it was understandable that hostile environments combined with potent, ultra-motivated foes could potentially result in a defeat for the defending Super Bowl champs. And that’s just what happened.

But Sunday’s 28-10 debacle at the Razor’s Edge was a different kettle of fish. The Patriots were meeting another above-average opponent in the Green Bay Packers, and that could not be denied. Yet the Packers were riddled with injuries on the defensive front — with two starting defensive ends and four more defensive backs relegated to press-box seats — and were coming off a short week of preparation following an emotional Monday-night road victory over their archrivals, the Chicago Bears. With New England coming back home after its disappointing two-game road trip — and also returning several of its walking wounded (including Troy Brown) to the roster — all signs pointed to a Patriots victory, and oddsmakers made the home team an eight-point favorite.

Instead, New England submitted probably its worst effort of the Belichick era and stunk up the joint on every front. Offense? We take offense. Quarterback Tom Brady was 24-of-44 for 183 yards, with three interceptions canceling out his lone TD pass. Nine different receivers cost passes, but because of the mind-boggling lack of yardage after the catch, the 24 Brady completions averaged only 7.6 yards per grab. Defense? Indefensible. The Patriots defense has now become the league’s worst red-zone defender, and allowed Packers legend Brett Favre and his offense to march down the field at will, as Favre took advantage of numerous New England blunders and threw zero INTs en route to a three-touchdown passing day. Special teams? Nothing special, again. Anyone remember the last time that a punt or kickoff was returned (sans penalty) for any significant yardage? Me neither. Kevin Faulk and Patrick Pass at least aren’t fumbling, but they’re not doing anything special either. Throw in a mind-boggling 126 yards over the course of 12 penalties overall, and you have another prescription for rainy-day disaster.

Those who saw the match remember the game-turning play: a screen pass into the left flat by Brady to Faulk, and with the pass high and a little behind him, Faulk had the ball glance off his hands and fall behind him. With no whistle declaring the play dead (because the back judge had ruled it a lateral, and thereby a fumble), three Patriots stood around with the ball at their feet before an alert Packer (and two belated Patriots) decided to pounce on the loose football. On the next play, Favre hit Ahman Green (136 yards rushing along with three catches) for an eight-yard TD strike. All of a sudden, you go from a Patriots drive amid a 7-3 deficit to a 14-3 hole (and nearly worse) at halftime.

An aside: I assume that particular play had been practiced. During the run-throughs, didn’t it ever come to mind that the throw might be parallel, or behind the receiver coming out of the backfield, and therefore that a missed connection could result in a live ball? Did this ever get dissected or discussed? Wel-l-l-l-l-l, we’re waiting!

Okay, back to our program.

The Packers staged a lengthy 12-play drive to open the second half, then after a missed field goal, the Patriots went three-and-out. With the absence of a sustained rest for the New England D, Green Bay proceeded to launch a seven-play, 94-yard drive to build a 21-3 lead. Brady led the boys in blue on a seven-play march immediately thereafter, but another costly pick led to yet another lengthy Packers scoring drive, and for all intents and purposes, this Green Bay triumph was packed away.

Back in April, when hopes were so high for our area teams, little did we know that the Red Sox infection was spreading. We all know what happened to the Sox the rest of the season, and they perfected the symptoms without finding the cure all summer long. The deadly syndrome proliferated quietly and without notice among the other area teams, and three weeks after that star-spangled Opening Day gala at Fenway, the Bruins, the top seed in the East, went belly-up to the eighth seed in the first round, losing two of three at home. A month later, the Celtics — who had dazzled their fandom with a playoff berth and two rounds of actual post-season victories — saw a 2-1 best-of-seven series lead in the Eastern Finals get swept away by three straight losses to New Jersey, including two at home. And the Patriots’ soccer brethren were hardly immune, either: the Revolution got off to a 4-10-1 start in the glistening new stadium, seemingly destined for another dismal season.

Is there a cure for Red Sox Syndrome? Well, the Revs got well just in a time to go on a 6-0-1 tear to finish the regular season; after two playoff series victories, they have improbably advanced to the MLS Cup title game on Sunday.

So there is hope.

After all, the Patriots, now 3-3 heading into their bye week, will see a Denver team in two weeks that lost a heartbreaker to the Dolphins Sunday night and will be coming to Foxborough off a tough road game in KC, and could be vulnerable. But that’s what we said about Green Bay, isn’t it?

Tough visits to Buffalo, Chicago (Champaign, actually), and Oakland immediately follow for our hometown gridiron heroes, so Dr. Belichick and his band of practitioners need to get to work quickly on solving the mysterious malady that has infected their minions. Dr. Grady Little never did that for his patients, and that’s why they’ll be quarantined at home, watching the wild-card Halos participate in their first Fall Classic this weekend. The Bruins’ uninspired 5-1 Opening Night loss to the talent-deprived Minnesota Wild indicate that the Black & Gold may still be carrying the virus, though their FleetCenter cohabitants, the Celtics, appear to be showing signs of a healthy turnaround.

In the meantime, winning is always the cure for what ails you, and a Revolution MLS championship could provide a needed tonic for a New England sports nation clamoring for an antidote to Red Sox Syndrome. And while there’s little hope for a cure for the squad that created the eponymous ailment in the first place, the Patriots’ brain trust need only spend the next two weeks reminding their sickly patients that healthy doses of pride and focus are the first two steps on the road to recovery.

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Taking a brief respite from the media negativism of which I’m obviously a co-conspirator, allow me to give you a head’s up about a beautiful new coffee-table book that charts the road to New England’s first-even NFL title. Titled Patriots United: The New England Patriots World Championship Season (Team Power Publishing), this beautiful 224-page book, chock full of meaningful photos (over 400 in all) and magical tales, is finally available in bookstores in time for the holiday season. The 10-by-12-inch book is written by Bryan Morry, the editor of the team’s Patriots Football Weekly publication, and puts you in the spirit right away by displaying a title-page photo spread of the team emerging from behind the Green Monster–size flag on the aforementioned Opening Day celebration at Fenway last April. Following an introduction by the Boston Globe’s Will McDonough, the book outlines the team’s beginnings (chapter one); how the team was put together (two); the 2001 training camp (three); September 11 and its effect on the team and NFL (four); Brady and his beginnings (five); the emergence of the team as the season progressed (six); the drive to the playoffs (seven, eight); the Snow Game (nine); the AFC Championship (10); the Big One in New Orleans (11); and the regional ecstasy and month-long celebrations that followed the Patriots’ unexpected title. Lots of terrific behind-the-scenes and never-before-seen footage, along with close-up game photos, enhance the engaging tale, and the book provides a fitting testament to the unlikeliest of Cinderella stories. Though not cheap ($49.95 list), Patriots United is a work that all Patriots fans will long treasure and cherish, and I’m confident that you’ll agree that it’s well worth the 50 smackers. Along with the requisite NFL Films championship video/DVD, this enduring photo archive is the perfect way to look back and re-ignite the fond memories Pats fans have for that squad, especially during any dark days when history does not seem to be repeating itself. With that in mind, the outstanding Patriots United provides all the more reason to reinvigorate yourself and relive the fairytale while the memory of that championship season is still fresh and heartwarming.

Because in this town, God knows when the likes of it will come again.

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