ESPN- Though it has been nine years since the Patriots nearly achieved an undefeated season, the team just now has gotten around to trademarking "Perfect Season" and "19-0." The Patriots have gone through the process with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and, in December, trademarked the two slogans through their parent company, The Kraft Group, online records show.
On Jan. 17, 2008, three days before the Patriots beat the Chargers to go to 18-0 and advance to the Super Bowl, The Kraft Group filed for trademarks in preparation for merchandising the Patriots' perfect season subject to winning the Super Bowl. The company filed to trademark "Road To Perfection," "19-0" and "Perfect Season." More thought was apparently given to the other two trademarks -- "Perfect Season" and "19-0" -- as The Kraft Group filed for the maximum of five extensions to provide the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office with the necessary documentation over the next eight years. Having to prove that they deserved the right to the phrase, the Patriots apparently licensed "Perfect Season" to the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association, which produced a DVD of the 2015 state football championship game between Xaverian Brothers and Central Catholic high schools. Xaverian prevailed, winning its 24th straight game (spanning two seasons). The championship games were hosted at Gillette Stadium, home of the Pats. There are going to be a lot of people who find it ridiculously disingenuous that the New England Patriots trademarked two accomplishments that they failed to attain. Some of the more persistent Pats' haters might even say they "cheated" the system by using meaningless high school games as a rationale to eventually get their approval pushed through. There are a couple things that all those people have in common... 1) They are absolutely correct. 2) They have never had their heart ripped clean out of their chest by a rumbling, bumbling, stumbling mouth-breather when his utility wide receiver's extra grippy helmet set fire to a flawless page of the NFL history book juuuuuust before it was about to get published. The Patriots didn't go "19-0" and they are never going to have a "Perfect Season", but when it comes to putting those two phrases on hats and t-shirts? Neither will anybody else. Regardless of my personal feelings toward the franchise in question, I can appreciate that undying level of spite for a loss that will forever stick in their craw no matter how many Super Bowls they win. If anything, those that find themselves annoyed by this news should take solace in the fact that it's proof positive that at least once a year Bob Kraft wakes up in a cold sweat after having a nightmare of Eli Manning defying his awkward, prepubescent-Forrest Gump-esque lack of athleticism, slipping about six sacks, and putting an end to his franchise's dream season.
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