LEWISTON – Billy Joel’s infamous ballad “Piano Man” played softly in the background as the last remaining Patriots fans sat stunned and numbed at The Cage in Lewiston after their team’s unexpected upset Sunday night.

Super Bowl XLII was supposed to be a defining deed – not the demolition of a dynasty.

“When Manning completed that touchdown pass, it was dead silent in here,” said bar owner Denis Webber. “We all thought we were going to pull this one out. It just hurts … the big exclamation point on the dynasty.”

Like everyone pulling for the perfect Patriots season, Webber and other fans gathered Sunday night to cheer New England’s sweethearts on to a 19-0 season record. No one anticipated that the New York Giants had other plans.

“They just outplayed us. I’ve never seen that much pressure on Brady all year,” said life-long fan Don Bouthot, 47, of Lewiston. “They had a fairytale season, a predictable playoff season…”

“And an unpredictable end to their season,” added his friend and fellow Patriots fan, Ron Chamberland, 41, also of Lewiston.

The two were among the handful of fans left after the final disappointing drive. According to Webber, about 25 people made a beeline for the door as the final seconds ticked off the clock and fans started to rush the field with 1 second remaining.

Chamberland had his own theory about what went wrong: “Brady wasn’t himself. I think he was nervous because his girlfriend was there.”

For fans like Bouthot and Chamberland, the toughest part of all was watching the elusive perfect season record slip through their grasp. One question will haunt the football world and be debated around water coolers for weeks – did the Pats beat the 1972 record held by the Miami Dolphins, even without the Vince Lombardi Trophy?

“It erases the whole thing in my eyes,” said Chamberland. “It scars the whole season. They were a great team. They had a great season. But they didn’t finish the job.”

“No. It depends on how you look at it,” challenged Bouthot, adding that the Patriots won more games in regular season than the Dolphins.

And thus the great debate begins.