Sometimes in sports, there is reason for optimism, even when it’s hard to say exactly why that reason exists. The palpable swing in momentum after a big dunk in basketball which signals a change in the game even though your team is still way down on the scoreboard. The jarring hit that looks like any other tackle on the stat sheet but electrifies an entire team on the field. The walk that, on the surface, means little but seems to hint at a general loss of control or composure by a normally dominant pitcher.

Little things have a way of becoming big things in sports — that’s just the way it is, and while personally, I’m not superstitious, I do worship at the church of momentum. It’s a good thing really. It keeps us on our toes, ready for anything, ready for the turnaround that, while rare, is occasionally so forceful it’s impossible to forget.

Think Sox-Yankees in ‘04. Think Warriors-Mavs last year, from the moment you realized Dirk couldn’t do anything. Think Stanford-USC and the goal line stand at the end of the first half which made you think that maybe there really was a chance.

And that’s why it’s so hard to admit that, unless Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and Randy Moss are all abducted by aliens in the coming days, the Patriots basically have this NFL season wrapped up.

I generally hate making sports predictions because I can usually see the other side of the argument. But there really isn’t another side here, unless you’re willing to build it from thin air. I mean, sure, the Jaguars have a monstrous defensive line. And sure, they have the running game to slug it out in the snow. So, maybe, if they play Sunday’s game in a blizzard so fierce that Brady can’t see any receivers further than ten yards downfield, the Jaguars might have a chance.

But any argument against the Patriots winning this weekend, or the one after that, or even the Super Bowl kind of leaves you feeling like you’re trying a little too hard, doesn’t it? Like you came up with a fantasy just to hold off the inevitable realization that this team is going to be crowned the best ever by national pundits nationwide in just a few short weeks. And I’m guessing that unless you’re from New England, that makes you kind of sick to think about, right?

Well, I’m here to tell you that it’s okay. Sure, you’ll be called a “hater” by some for turning against the favorites and refusing to believe the hyped-up label of “greatest of all time” after the fact. But there may never have been a situation in sports that has called for being a hater as much as what we face now in the NFL.

As football fans, we have only recently witnessed the death of the so-called era of parity. You remember — the days when it was routine to see a team go from last to first in a matter of months, not decades. When year after inexplicable year, we saw strange new Super Bowl matchups: Rams vs. Titans, Buccaneers vs. Raiders and Ravens vs. Giants all come to mind.

Indeed, parity itself, which had been the league’s goal in introducing new free agency rules in the late 90’s, became somewhat tiresome. What was called exciting, unpredictable football by some was lambasted as league-wide mediocrity by others.

Well, those others shouldn’t have much to complain about now because, more than ever, the NFL has become a league of haves and have-nots.

Of course there have been dynasties in the past — some of which probably could rival this Patriots team. But those dynasties always seemed to be opposed by others. The 49ers had to deal with the Cowboys, the Steelers with the Raiders and the Packers of Vince Lombardi with the Tom Landry’s Cowboys.

Now? It’s the Patriots and everyone else. The Indianapolis Colts are a very, very good team. The Packers and Cowboys are solid newcomers in the NFC. And the Jaguars and Giants, though somewhat one-dimensional, both do what they do very well indeed.

But there is only one truly great team in the league today. And that’s a shame, really, because it has put a whole new kind of inevitability into the NFL. Which is why I really hope I see that hit, fumble or long pass on Saturday which makes me believe anything can happen once again. But I doubt it will.

So if you feel the need, don’t feel too bad about “hating on the Patriots.” It’s not their fault no one else could keep up, but that doesn’t mean we have to like it.