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This '30 for 30: The Two Bills' Looks Like Straight-Up Patriots Porn

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Annnddd … I’m finished. I’ll need a minute or two of refractory period before I recover enough to properly talk about what I just witness but … OK. I’m back.

Clean up in aisle Thornton. Say what you want about what ESPN has become and I’ll agree with you. But when they do something right, there is nobody in the sports TV business than can touch them. And by and large 30 for 30 is great. But this The Two Bills special looks like it’s next level. Threat Level Midnight. Like they’ve taken the two most interesting subjects in the history of NFL Network’s A Football Life and mashed them up into one masterpiece.

There are just so many layers to the story between these two guys, I can’t imagine how nobody has done this before. Their days with the Giants when they won two titles based in large part by Belichick being the cerebral, emotionless Spock to Parcells’ scenery-chewing Captain Kirk. The utter contempt Parcells showed for him. Like that great moment when Belichick called for a blitz Parcells didn’t agree with and the play worked. So Parcells screamed into his headset for all the coaches to hear “Yeah, you’re a genius, everyone knows it. But that’s why you failed as a head coach — that’s why you’ll never be a head coach. Some genius.”

Parcells retiring and Belichick taking the head job at Cleveland. Only for Parcells to unretire to coach the Patriots and the two of them meet in the playoffs, where Belichick coached rings around him. Belichick coming to work for him in New England and following him to the Jets. Only to stick it to Parcells and the Jets with the greatest, most surreal press conference of all time. Not to mention the games that followed, like a 12-0 win over Parcells’ 2003 Cowboys team or Tony Sparano springing the Wildcat on the Patriots when Parcells was running their football ops in one of the worst losses the Pats have had in the dynasty era.

You’ll have to forgive me. Most of this is in the first book I wrote (perfect for everyone on your Christmas list!)and the rest of it is the one I’m working on now. So I’m maybe a little more aroused than I should be. But regardless of if you’ve been researching this stuff, if you’ve got an appreciation football, or greatness, or strong personalities, or simply life, The Two Bills will be two tissue porn.

@jerrythornton1