E-Mail This Article to a Friend Hats off to the world champs BY CHRISTOPHER YOUNG

The method in which it was won was a little less exciting, the celebration was a little more muted, and the on-field championship caps were the ugliest yet. Still, it was time to toast yet another pro title in New England, and the Patriots’ 24-21victory over the Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX provided yet another soothing tonic to the region’s ridiculously spoiled sports aficionados.

But make no mistake: in the coming years, the faction of nationwide fans rooting for the Patriots will diminish significantly, and the warm-and-fuzzy "team" element under which the current squad thrives will eventually be dismissed as too robotic, boring, and, well, effective. Maybe even a little bit lucky, too. Without question, this Patriots team has now crossed the threshold to become the dominant franchise of this young century. But with its third championship in four years, the organization is no longer destiny’s darlings or even the current edition of "America’s Team." They are now viewed as the Steelers of the ’70s, the Cowboys of the early ’90s, and (gasp!) perhaps even the Yankees of the late ’90s. Translation: it’s time for someone else to have a chance. As a result, our nation’s collective rooting interest next season will irrevocably turn toward the Pats’ opponents — each and every week — and particularly during the playoffs (should New England qualify in hopes of extending its nine-game post-season unbeaten streak). People have taken note that whereas the team used to be totally focused on the job (i.e., the upcoming game) at hand, this year’s visit to Jacksonville found various Patriots participating in ESPN’s Game Day festivities, reading the Top 10 list on Late Show with David Letterman, and yukking it up in well-choreographed skits for The Tonight Show (filmed at last Tuesday’s Media Day). Add to that David Givens’s and Mike Vrabel’s taunting wing-flapping motions, displayed after their TD catches on Sunday, which sullied the "class" aspect of the team. You expect those kinds of things from the Randy Mosses and Terrell Owenses of the NFL, but not from the humility-laden world champs.

So maybe America’s football-lovin’ fans don’t love the Patriots as much anymore. But that doesn’t take anything away from the Pats’ efforts on Sunday, during the entire playoff run, or during their remarkable 32-2 stretch that has served as the predominant story in the league over the past 16 months. With ruthless efficiency, they handed the Colts and the Steelers their lunches en route to this year’s Super Bowl, and on Sunday they fought off a surprisingly feisty but ultimately mistake-prone Philly team to capture the Kraft family’s third Lombardi Trophy.

Adam Vinatieri didn’t get to see his handsome mug on the front page of newspapers everywhere Monday morning, and QB Tom Brady didn’t solidify his Hall of Fame credentials with a third title-game MVP award, but New England captured another three-point Super Bowl crown and the grudging admiration of the sports world by knocking off the only decent team left in the NFL that it hadn’t beaten this season (and the collective record of the three teams that the Pats beat in the playoffs was 44-7). Brady threw for only 236 yards, and running back Corey Dillon gained only 75 yards on the ground, but Philadelphia did just enough things wrong along the way — whether it was the four turnovers, the poor clock management, or the failure to exploit the Pats’ inexperienced secondary — to give the Patriots (only one turnover) just enough breathing room to capitalize.

And while one could point to the fact that New England has now won five of those nine straight playoff victories by a field goal, one could also argue that if not for some dubious officiating in Sunday’s Super Bowl, the margin of victory would have been that much greater. For instance, Owens’s 30-yard pick-up on the Eagles’ first significant drive should never have counted because of a blatant pick set by mouthy WR Freddie Mitchell; Brady’s "fumble" (which stalled a second-quarter drive deep in the red zone) was nothing of the sort, since as soon as he fell on the ball, the whistle should have blown (instead, a scrum ensued and an Eagle came out with the pigskin); and the illegal-contact penalty called on Patriot linebacker Roman Phifer (negating an Asante Samuel INT) was actually a matter of the Eagles receiver running right into Phifer during the course of his route, then claiming to the back judge that his progress had been curtailed.

The refs unquestionably had a bad day, as demonstrated by the fact that all three challenged calls were reversed. The officiating team was caught helpless and clueless during several other controversial plays as well. Yet ultimately the best team won, even though the Patriots lost DB Eugene Wilson early (as he joined cornerbacks Ty Law and Ty Poole on the sidelines), and Owens had a spectacular day catching the ball for Philly despite being just seven weeks removed from ankle surgery. The Patriots also won despite uncharacteristic penalties and getting absolutely nothing from wide-out David Patten and tight end Christian Fauria (save for an onside-kick recovery at the end, which, unfortunately for Philly, resulted because the Eagles never needed to employ the onside kick this season during its unchallenged rampage through the NFC).

While title-sated New England sports fans revel in the euphoria of yet another regional championship — on top of the Red Sox, don’t forget Boston College is number one in college hockey, and its hoops squad is 20-0 and in the top five nationally — Patriots coach Bill Belichick will undoubtedly be faced with his toughest hurdle in the coming season, as he will look to continue his squad’s amazing run of success without the capable advice of coordinators Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel. The roster likely won’t change much — except for Law, who will probably be cut unless he reduces his 2005 salary-cap numbers — but the brain trust will, and its effect on the team’s achievements cannot be minimized.

But those are all concerns for another day. For fans of the baseball and football champs, it’s yet another reward for putting up with the annual rigors of New England’s winters. And like the seemingly never-ending cold and snowfall we endure around here, the Patriots may not always be universally embraced, but their force and fury sure as hell have to be respected — now, and for years to come.

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