4 layers of disaffection - New England Patriots Forums

Buchanty · 02-11-2008, 03:31 PM

I have been hibernating since the SB. Not in denial, not in anger and not in dismay, although I experienced all three soon afterwards. But it has taken me over a week to realize that I have become disaffected with football. I have been a fan of the Patriot’s since 1983, and have trodden the hard road of defeat too often in the past to recognize that this time it is something different.

So here then are what I have determined to be the four layers of disaffection on what should have been a season to end all seasons.

Number 1 of course is Spygate. But what made this much much worse than it ever needed to be was the levels of hypocrisy, calumny and dishonesty amongst all involved with the NFL including the media. The NFL did not show and seems to have no intention to ever clarify the video crime, as a Pats fan I can only surmise that it is against the rules to video the field (including opposing team’s coaches) from the sidelines. But no clarification came. Nor did they clarify that stealing signals is acceptable, as was proven in the Patriots –Miami game in the previous season. Instead the NFL was content that spygate was a miasma of popular opinion heated and prodded by the mouths of the media. Only a few (Jimmy Johnston) stood up and stated what all the media had to know already but chose to ignore – that the Patriots were never alone in the practice. As a result even the most respectable of publications now uses the term cheaters when describing the Patriots, while the other 31 teams are blameless.

Number 2 is the level of hate leveled against the Patriots by fans of other teams and more disgustingly some journalists (members of the media who should know the reality of signal stealing). All through the season I listened to those advocating “embracing the hate”, and it never felt comfortable. Sport isn’t about hate, it’s about competition, it’s about raising humankind to greater levels of athleticism and achievement. Hate is the very opposite of the ideals of sport. It lowers the human condition, it closes the mind and weakens the spirit. Many times through the season I heard grown men encourage the breaking of legs and kneecaps (yet again including several media personalities). Yes football is a physical game but it should never be uncivilized and should never encourage the willful destruction of players and careers. I recognize that the internet has facilitated the ease with which people can insult and denigrate each other, as well as providing long lasting platforms for vitriol and ill-thought opinion. The Patsfans message board seemed to understand that better than most and tolerated many of the trolls, while excluding the worst from our eyes. I enjoy talking and discussing things with rival fans, but hate excludes empathy and rationalization. Embracing hate only fuels negative passions.

Number 3 is the postseason character assassination of the coach and members of the team. The regular season was majestic, 16-0 the best feeling in the world. The team prevailed against the tough games and came out shining. And then came the dirt! Randy Moss was the first target, and what should have been largely ignored by the media became a crusade for the anti-Pats cheerleaders. The evidence was flimsy beyond belief. Even when the player faced the press without a prepared statement, encouraged by two lawyers of the highest standing, he was not believed and the three ring circus ran for two weeks. And I have every reason to believe that it affected Moss; 2 catches in 2 games had more to do with the court action than the actions of the Jags and Bolts. But it didn’t end then either, because 2 days before the SB we had Specter and Walsh. A threat of congressional hearings and examination by the government filled our screens (on what basis I still cannot determine because it is neither a federal or state crime to steal signals). Not a word from the rest of Congress on this one though…..yet the threat promised to open up the past on the Patriots previous Superbowl triumphs. All this without a scrap of evidenceand the fact that the Spygate misdemeanor covered a rule that was introduced in2006. As I was sitting through all this it occurred to me that I was watching an episode of the Sopranos or any one of the 3 Godfather films. After all what does the Don do when he wants something from someone (and it usually doesn’t matter whether they are family or not)? He threatens them with the loss of something. It was almost as if the NFL was telling the Patriots not to win the SB. I must apologize for this speculative comment, but it does give a sense of the feelings of a fan of the coerced.

Number 4 is the post SB reaction. I can understand that majority of fans of all other teams did not want the Patriots to win (I wanted the Bears last year after all). And I can also understand the loss of attention once thePats failed to win. But to hear fans booing the Patriot representatives at the Pro-Bowl says that sportsmanship is no longer a characteristic of the game. This was meant to be the reward for an unprecedented season (and it still is unprecedented), instead they were reviled like BB, like Moss like the franchise. Somehow the lionization of Eli amplifies the situation. But then again images of the mob and their promotion of the family reminded me of how the NFL treats the Mannings, but praising mediocrity while condemning excellence just eludes my comprehension. I cant even find words to describe Mercury Morris and Shula (sportmen is not one that comes to mind).

I am not sure if I can be as ardent a fan as before. This season has been tainted, not be cheating, but by the irrational, unsportsmanlike actions of football barbarians (and yes they include many of the sport journalists and celebrities).

Finally I do think that the Giants deserved to win and should be praised for an incredible effort. I also think that Patriots should also be praised for making it one of the more memorable games in my lifetime (especially thanks to Welker who tied a SB record in his 1st appearance, and TFB for taking the punishment like a man, still leading a drive in the 4th quarter and most of all for not throwing his O'line under the bus!). I hope that the hate will go away so that I can enjoy future seasons, but somehow I doubt it.

Disco Volante · 02-11-2008, 03:33 PM

Embrace the hate, as long as BB/Brady are leading our team, there will be people who hate.

aluminum seats · 02-11-2008, 04:08 PM

I understand where you're coming from with a lot of this--I think it did start to wear everybody down a little bit by the end of the season. That's one of the reasons the loss was so disheartening--there was a lot of BS to put up with, and we didn't have validation.

But keep in mind we "put up" with a lot of great stuff too. And more to the point, the hate, as misguided as it was and is, largely comes from the Pats success. People don't bother to hate mediocre teams--"Those damn Arizona Cardinals!" They hate the teams that dominate, as the Pats have done. (For the record, I've always liked when there was a dominant team, to measure where my team was.) In some ways, it's not as much fun. But in other ways it's better. Just take a break for awhile--check out free agency, the draft, and come July/August, I bet you'll be ready for football again.

***NoQuarter*** · 02-11-2008, 04:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buchanty

I have been hibernating since the SB. Not in denial, not in anger and not in dismay, although I experienced all three soon afterwards. But it has taken me over a week to realize that I have become disaffected with football. I have been a fan of the Patriot’s since 1983, and have trodden the hard road of defeat too often in the past to recognize that this time it is something different.

So here then are what I have determined to be the four layers of disaffection on what should have been a season to end all seasons.

Number 1 of course is Spygate. But what made this much much worse than it ever needed to be was the levels of hypocrisy, calumny and dishonesty amongst all involved with the NFL including the media. The NFL did not show and seems to have no intention to ever clarify the video crime, as a Pats fan I can only surmise that it is against the rules to video the field (including opposing team’s coaches) from the sidelines. But no clarification came. Nor did they clarify that stealing signals is acceptable, as was proven in the Patriots –Miami game in the previous season. Instead the NFL was content that spygate was a miasma of popular opinion heated and prodded by the mouths of the media. Only a few (Jimmy Johnston) stood up and stated what all the media had to know already but chose to ignore – that the Patriots were never alone in the practice. As a result even the most respectable of publications now uses the term cheaters when describing the Patriots, while the other 31 teams are blameless.

Number 2 is the level of hate leveled against the Patriots by fans of other teams and more disgustingly some journalists (members of the media who should know the reality of signal stealing). All through the season I listened to those advocating “embracing the hate”, and it never felt comfortable. Sport isn’t about hate, it’s about competition, it’s about raising humankind to greater levels of athleticism and achievement. Hate is the very opposite of the ideals of sport. It lowers the human condition, it closes the mind and weakens the spirit. Many times through the season I heard grown men encourage the breaking of legs and kneecaps (yet again including several media personalities). Yes football is a physical game but it should never be uncivilized and should never encourage the willful destruction of players and careers. I recognize that the internet has facilitated the ease with which people can insult and denigrate each other, as well as providing long lasting platforms for vitriol and ill-thought opinion. The Patsfans message board seemed to understand that better than most and tolerated many of the trolls, while excluding the worst from our eyes. I enjoy talking and discussing things with rival fans, but hate excludes empathy and rationalization. Embracing hate only fuels negative passions.

Number 3 is the postseason character assassination of the coach and members of the team. The regular season was majestic, 16-0 the best feeling in the world. The team prevailed against the tough games and came out shining. And then came the dirt! Randy Moss was the first target, and what should have been largely ignored by the media became a crusade for the anti-Pats cheerleaders. The evidence was flimsy beyond belief. Even when the player faced the press without a prepared statement, encouraged by two lawyers of the highest standing, he was not believed and the three ring circus ran for two weeks. And I have every reason to believe that it affected Moss; 2 catches in 2 games had more to do with the court action than the actions of the Jags and Bolts. But it didn’t end then either, because 2 days before the SB we had Specter and Walsh. A threat of congressional hearings and examination by the government filled our screens (on what basis I still cannot determine because it is neither a federal or state crime to steal signals). Not a word from the rest of Congress on this one though…..yet the threat promised to open up the past on the Patriots previous Superbowl triumphs. All this without a scrap of evidenceand the fact that the Spygate misdemeanor covered a rule that was introduced in2006. As I was sitting through all this it occurred to me that I was watching an episode of the Sopranos or any one of the 3 Godfather films. After all what does the Don do when he wants something from someone (and it usually doesn’t matter whether they are family or not)? He threatens them with the loss of something. It was almost as if the NFL was telling the Patriots not to win the SB. I must apologize for this speculative comment, but it does give a sense of the feelings of a fan of the coerced.

Number 4 is the post SB reaction. I can understand that majority of fans of all other teams did not want the Patriots to win (I wanted the Bears last year after all). And I can also understand the loss of attention once thePats failed to win. But to hear fans booing the Patriot representatives at the Pro-Bowl says that sportsmanship is no longer a characteristic of the game. This was meant to be the reward for an unprecedented season (and it still is unprecedented), instead they were reviled like BB, like Moss like the franchise. Somehow the lionization of Eli amplifies the situation. But then again images of the mob and their promotion of the family reminded me of how the NFL treats the Mannings, but praising mediocrity while condemning excellence just eludes my comprehension. I cant even find words to describe Mercury Morris and Shula (sportmen is not one that comes to mind).

I am not sure if I can be as ardent a fan as before. This season has been tainted, not be cheating, but by the irrational, unsportsmanlike actions of football barbarians (and yes they include many of the sport journalists and celebrities).

Finally I do think that the Giants deserved to win and should be praised for an incredible effort. I also think that Patriots should also be praised for making it one of the more memorable games in my lifetime (especially thanks to Welker who tied a SB record in his 1st appearance, and TFB for taking the punishment like a man, still leading a drive in the 4th quarter and most of all for not throwing his O'line under the bus!). I hope that the hate will go away so that I can enjoy future seasons, but somehow I doubt it.

Don't let all the hate etc take away from your enjoyment of the Game. Understand that not ALL oppositions fans hate the pats, I did not, well for 60 minutes I did of course, being a Giants fan.
It was a crazy year in the NFL but your team did accomplish something that has only been done twice before, and that is go the Reg season undefeated.
If you let the media bother you you will get old fast, those frontrunners make up crap to sell stories, heck right before the SB plax gave a score 23-17 Not once did he say WHO scores the 23 but Ralph Vacchiano the hack for the NY Daily News ( A rag if ever there was one) blew it ALL out of proportion and claimed it was a guarentee. The medi blows monkey chunks.
Enjoy the sport let this go and you will be back next year screaming for your team. Good luck

homerpatsfan · 02-11-2008, 04:45 PM

its been quite a transition from underdogs to favorites. by winning every game, i came to expect it ! i'm affraid i've gotten very spoiled, and this has changed my outlook on things. i believe i'm guilty of taking our team for granted. instead of appreciating what has been the greatest season i've ever seen. SHAME ON ME

IndyKen · 02-11-2008, 05:18 PM

Great post, you really summed up my feelings well. I've been a fan since I was a kid back in 1960 - and I've never had such a strange, disheartened, odd, feeling as this one that I have currently. I'm planning on taking a couple months off from the all-things NFL, then see how I feel about April or so. But thanks again for an excellent post.

marcus · 02-11-2008, 06:32 PM

Wow.
An incredibly eloquent and well thought out post.

I share many of your feelings.....

but I wonder if you will feel differently on Opening day next September.

The Patriots have an incredibly loyal group of fans, and your comments make it clear that hanging in there and supporting the team makes the most sense.

PYPER · 02-11-2008, 07:02 PM

Great post. I think you nailed how many of us feel. Great job.

***MoLewisrocks*** · 02-11-2008, 07:22 PM

Bruce Allen over at Patriotsdaily.com wrote a scathing piece on Friday that pretty much echos your feelings. I linked to it and posted some excerpts in another thread earlier today, but it really fits here better.

Quote:

The Most Miserable 18-1 Season in History
By Bruce Allen

Let me first start by saying that this column was going to be written even if the Patriots had won on Sunday night. The only difference is that the column would’ve been entitled “The Most Miserable Perfect Season in History.”

On the field, this Patriots team was a fan’s dream. They were talented, charismatic and had an obvious flair for the dramatic. They had the highest scoring offense of all time, with the superstar quarterback and ridiculously gifted wide receiver each breaking high-profile NFL records in the process. They had a resourceful defense, which while aging, still had experience and guile unmatched by most units across the league.

Yet, in talking to a number of people, this was the least fun that they’ve had following football that they can ever remember.

What made it that way? Certainly not the games. The games - even the blowouts, were all marvelously entertaining.

It was the coverage of this team. Right from training camp, there was always something to pick at and criticize...

It turned out that that was just the beginning. There was Spygate. Then the Patriots were winning by too much and the media complained endlessly that they were running up the scores, humiliating their opponents and that they had no class. Meanwhile, the wins were piling up, one after the other. Teams around the league suddenly figured out that by being the team that handed the Patriots their first loss, they would reap untold reams of media adulation. So they started making games against the Patriots their personal Super Bowl. Teams like the Eagles, Ravens and Jets put everything they could into their games against the Patriots, only to come up short. But since they made the games close, all of a sudden the media was knocking the Patriots because they weren’t winning by enough. Then they might not be able to play in the cold. Then they didn’t have a running game. Then Randy Moss ended up having a restraining order issued against him in Florida. The Patriots were a dirty team that took cheap shots at helpless opponents.

It seemed that almost every day this season there was some drama going on that took away from the football. From the first day of training camp to the last second of the Super Bowl, there the naysayers and finger-waggers were lined up, doing their best to be “objective” in their coverage.

The worst part was that you couldn’t get away from it if you tried.

I think if one word sums up the coverage of the Patriots this season, it is embarrassing.

This season marked a change in a number of ways in which the Patriots have been covered. For one, the Boston Herald went to much more of a tabloid/gossip style of reporting. Fitting because they are a tabloid...

Radio and Television, as well as national websites and publications were what made this a really miserable season. Herr Gregg Easterbook took highly publicized weekly shots at the team in his ESPN.com Page2 column, accusing the Patriots of everything short of being an Al Qaeda splinter cell hell-bent on bringing the free world to its knees. Peter King demanded to know what was the tapes destroyed by the NFL, talked about the Patriots past accomplishments being tainted, and put words in the mouth of an opposing coach (Wade Phillips) about how what the Patriots had done was a “black mark” on the NFL. The other columnists on the national sites lined up to take their shots on seemingly a daily basis... Now mind you, I understand that part of the price that you pay by being on top is that everyone wants to take you down. How fun or interesting is it for people just to praise you all the time anyway…but these articles were more than just that, they were personal. They were nasty, and they popped up almost every day.

On the local radio airwaves we had no shortage of the same type of thing. Dennis and Callahan, (WEEI) The Mike Felger Show, (890 ESPN) even the Patriots own pregame show on WBCN all pounded listeners regularly with stupid, pointless speculation and “concern” and moralizing. Very little actual between-the-lines football was discussed. Things were so bad this season that I felt the need to listen to WEEI’s Big Show to hear their incessant sucking up to the team just to get away from the negativity. Even the Patriots own website had Podcasts with the Patriots Football Weekly writers who made needlessly nasty insults about players and insinuated all sorts of things throughout the season.

It’s amazing to me that all these outlets truly believe that the type of coverage that we saw this season is what the people really want. Yes, none of this was by accident. They really believe that they’re giving the public what they want.

What they did was almost ruin a fantastically entertaining season - a on-field season like none other in NFL history. Even though it ended in bitter disappointment, the accomplishments of the 2007 Patriots will be remembered for decades. Yet, apparently there wasn’t enough going on on the field to keep people busy. They made a circus out the season, sucking out any joy that could be had from watching this marvelous team..."

http://www.patriotsdaily.com/

#12 · 02-11-2008, 07:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buchanty

This season has been tainted, not be cheating, but by the irrational, unsportsmanlike actions of football barbarians (and yes they include many of the sport journalists and celebrities).

Great points. I must say, once Spygate was rehashed I was completely drained of emotion to the point where I had no feelings left in me. The media had taken it all away, and for that I will continue to be bitter, refuse to watch anything or read anything sports related. This is my main source for all of that.

There are only a few places in the media I may take a look at once the season comes...i really can't wait for '08...I'm sure the hating will resume but this time
I refuse to get caught up in the media BS