The Super Bowl brought us a magnificent football game, an old-style trench war. This big game brought us new heroes to rave about.

This week we celebrate Eli Manning’s emergence as a Super Bowl hero. This week we celebrate David Tyree’s catch.

This week, we crown Michael Strahan as one of the NFL’s all-time great defensive linemen. This week, we herald Tom Coughlin’s brilliant coaching performance.

But in New England, the fans weep. The enormity of the team’s loss is still sinking in.

“In the end, the new Patriots reminded us of the old Red Sox. Ouch,” wrote Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy. “Now there will be no more talk about ‘greatest ever.’ No making fun of Mercury Morris and the still-one-and-only undefeated 1972 Miami Dolphins. No more comparisons to the dynasties of Green Bay, Chicago, Pittsburgh, or San Francisco. The muscle-flexing 18-1 Patriots don’t even go down as the best New England team of all time.”

ESPN.com columnist Bill Simmons wonders why he didn’t see this disaster coming. After all, the Patriots brought it upon themselves.

“Has there ever been a better performance by the Karma Gods than Super Bowl XLII?” he wrote. “On one side, you have the Patriots cheating in Week 1, going into ‘Eff-You’ mode and running up scores for the next two months . . . and just when it seemed like there wouldn’t be any real repercussions, they suffered the double-whammy of (Tom) Brady’s ankle sprain and Spygate blowing up again days before the final game.

“On the other side, you have the G-Men nobly playing their starters in Week 17 and giving everyone such a wonderful and unexpected sporting event . . . and they’re rewarded with four straight wins, a Super Bowl title and one of the most famous upset victories in the history of professional sports. Hmmmmmmm.”

MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE

Questions to ponder while the Missouri Tigers get back to the gym in search of their three-point shooting touch:

• After Bob Knight made a career out of browbeating players and questioning their toughness, isn’t it a bit odd to see him walk out on his team?
• Is he tired, or just tired of losing ground in the Big 12?
• Will Pat Knight be able to attract better players to Texas Tech than his father did? Or are the Red Raiders about to fall back into college basketball obscurity?

QUIPS ‘R US

Here is what some of America’s leading sports pundits have been writing:

Scott Ostler, San Francisco Chronicle: “They’re knocking back Maalox shooters and overturning golf carts in Perfectville. Don Shula and the ‘72 Dolphins boys probably fell asleep at halftime Sunday night, but they were giddy when they got the news this morning, just before BINGO, that the Patriots had been stopped one game short of perfection.”

Norman Chad, syndicated columnist: “When Plaxico Burress said the score would be 23-17, I actually thought he was talking about a WNBA game.”

Greg Cote, Miami Herald: “Patriots linebacker Pierre Woods was bragging to teammates that he put 87 octane gas in his car instead of 93 because it’s a rental. ‘To save two bucks,’ marveled Tom Brady. Love it when pro athletes are found to be even cheaper than the rest of us.”

Mark Kiszla, Denver Post: “The last thing the NFL needed was for the Patriots to be declared the greatest football team of all time during an era when spectacular athletic achievements from Barry Bonds’ home run record to a Tour de France cycling triumph by Floyd Landis are met by skeptical eyes. Instead, this Super Bowl leaves us as warm and fuzzy as a family hug. And the NFL got its dynasty story line. But who would’ve guessed it would be a family dynasty, with Eli and Peyton Manning taking sibling rivalry to new heights by winning a championship in back-to-back seasons?”

Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times: “Have you seen his postgame commercial? Usually these things are corny, but for Eli Manning, it works. ‘I living the dream, I’m going to Disneyland,’ he shouts into the camera. It works because, having just watched him, we are already there.”

Dwight Perry, Seattle Times: “The buzz about an undefeated season. A playboy quarterback making tabloid headlines. And continuing allegations of shocking off-field improprieties amid speculation this could be the greatest pro football team in history. But enough about the 2004 USC Trojans.”

MEGAPHONE

“I would only make deals to help our future. Anything else is suicide. Anything else and you are the New York Knicks. Now if you want to do that and take on big contracts and long-term deals to potentially hit a home run, that’s not the direction I would go.”

Los Angeles Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy.