What will this region ever do someday when the inevitible downturn comes?

[Lifer]

After 18 years the 49er dynasty had to come to an end. So did Pittsburghs.
Finally in the 80's the Cowboys went downhill.
it happens.

What will this crowd do when someday the Patriots go through lean years again.

I will tell you. They wont be able to handle it. They cant handle one loss!

The bandwagon fans will go and we will find out if this franchise really is beloved or if we will go back to TV blackouts and 40,000 crowds.

As someone who has been a fan for over 30 years and was a fan when they were 1-15 and listened to home games on the radio, this younger crowd is pathetic. Absolutely no knowledge or perspective of the NFL.

there i feel better.....

I am a seasoned Patriot fan and I approve this message

 

[mgteich]

The bandwagon fans will go back to their first love, baseball.

 

[godef]

After 18 years the 49er dynasty had to come to an end. So did Pittsburghs.
Finally in the 80's the Cowboys went downhill.
it happens.

What will this crowd do when someday the Patriots go through lean years again.

I will tell you. They wont be able to handle it. They cant handle one loss!

The bandwagon fans will go and we will find out if this franchise really is beloved or if we will go back to TV blackouts and 40,000 crowds.

As someone who has been a fan for over 30 years and was a fan when they were 1-15 and listened to home games on the radio, this younger crowd is pathetic. Absolutely no knowledge or perspective of the NFL.

there i feel better.....

I am a seasoned Patriot fan and I approve this message

Yup. I was just thinking "Good thing Brady is coming back next year". Presumably.

I think the current best hope for the post-Brady years is O'Connell. Of course, who knows what might ever become available through FA or future drafts. But odds are, the Pats will not find another possibly-greatest-QB-of-all-time. That was like winning the lottery.

 

[BrianPat]

They'll what they did before Parcell's showed up, endure

 

[Captn]

After 18 years the 49er dynasty had to come to an end. So did Pittsburghs.
Finally in the 80's the Cowboys went downhill.
it happens.

What will this crowd do when someday the Patriots go through lean years again.

I will tell you. They wont be able to handle it. They cant handle one loss!

The bandwagon fans will go and we will find out if this franchise really is beloved or if we will go back to TV blackouts and 40,000 crowds.

As someone who has been a fan for over 30 years and was a fan when they were 1-15 and listened to home games on the radio, this younger crowd is pathetic. Absolutely no knowledge or perspective of the NFL.

there i feel better.....

I am a seasoned Patriot fan and I approve this message

I agree with you 1000% :disagreement:

 

[NovaScotiaPatsFan]

Well, I've been around since 96 when we sucked. Haven't experienced the reaaaaaaly sucky years like some of you but still. I ain't goin anywhere.

But I do see your point, people are flippin cuz we lost a game. If we lost to the 49ers or the Rams or something I'd be a bit more concerned, but the Fish seem to have our number sometimes, just like Denver, etc.

Just live with it and move on I say.

 

[Lifer]

Well, I've been around since 96 when we sucked. Haven't experienced the reaaaaaaly sucky years like some of you but still. I ain't goin anywhere.

But I do see your point, people are flippin cuz we lost a game. If we lost to the 49ers or the Rams or something I'd be a bit more concerned, but the Fish seem to have our number sometimes, just like Denver, etc.

Just live with it and move on I say.

No, No they were a Super Bowl team in 1996. They didnt "suck"

Suck" is 2-12 in 1970 followed by 6-8, 3-11,5-9, 7-7, 3-11 or 2-14 in 1981 or the late 80's and early 90's 5-11, 1-15, 6-10, 2-14

a stretch like that would kill these people.

 

[NYCPatsFan]

No, No they were a Super Bowl team in 1996. They didnt "suck"

Suck" is 2-12 in 1970 followed by 6-8, 3-11,5-9, 7-7, 3-11 or 2-14 in 1981 or the late 80's and early 90's 5-11, 1-15, 6-10, 2-14

a stretch like that would kill these people.

man...hats off to your perseverance and love for the team! You are a true Patriot Fan!

 

[Jimke]

I think you may catch an inkling of this right now. With the loss

of Tom Brady, the possibility of a losing season is a reality.

The Pats have one win over a bad team, another over a badly coached

team, and were blasted by the worst team in football.

This past weekend over 200 tickets were available on Ticket Exchange.

See how many tickets go up for grabs if the Pats have a losing streak.

 

[Tunescribe]

They'll what they did before Parcell's showed up, endure

This team will obviously go through cycles, but I think the ownership that the Patriots have will always do the right thing. Jonathan Kraft, the heir apparent, is a pretty bright guy. I expect this team to always be in the mix under current ownership, the occasional lean year notwithstanding. It always starts with the organization, from the top.

 

[NovaScotiaPatsFan]

You know there were years in between 1996 and 2001 right?

And anyway I goofed I meant 94, because I followed the Pats for a couple of years before we went to the SB against Green Bay and Desmond Howard... I got in to football right around the time that Joe Montana played for the Chiefs. I didn't know anything about football back then (not much has changed hey oh!) but I knew who he was so I watched the chiefs off and on, but then the Pats were on all the time here because all the American networks we get here in Nova Scotia are from Boston. So I got in and enjoyed Drew Bledsoe and Ben Coates and Sam Gash et al.

But, I do stick with my team. I mean for God's sake I'm still a Jays fan even though the freakin Devil Rays (and it'll always be the Devil Rays, not the freakin Rays... Stupid busy body religious nuts) have managed to do in 1 year what freakin JP Richardi hasn't been able to do in like 7. I'm still a Bulls fan even though they blew last year, and then wasted the number one pick, I'm still an Avalanche fan even though they sucked last year. I'm still a Alouette fan even though they keep chokin in the Grey Cup like the Buffalo Bills.

I'm of the opinion you can't truely enjoy the good times as a fan unless you suffer through the bad times. I remember when Adam put that thing through in N'yawlins and thinking "Holy mother of God we won. WTF!?!?" I remember the fog bowl game against Pittsburgh and all the crap surrounding Bill Parcells leading up to the Super Bowl which pissed me off.

But anyway, I'm not goin anywhere.

 

[CheekyDave]

I only go back to '76, not the early 60's. but my sense is that the fans will always be here. You adjust. When you are fantastic, you know some day you won't be. When you suck, you hope some day you won't.
This has truly been an incredible run, I am grateful for it, if it ends, I won't complain, but be happy I had a chance to even see it.

 

[NovaScotiaPatsFan]

It sucks for me in a way because it's happening so early in my life, I hope I get to see another great Pats run before I die. (I'm talking after when BB and TFB are gone)

 

[NEPatriot]

when it comes, i will stop watching football and participating in this forum because there won't be any positive thing to discuss.

 

[Jackson 2]

As long as this ownership group and coaching staff remains in place, there will be no long-term drought. An occasional lean year, perhaps, but it won't last long. Just my opinion.

 

[Krebjeff]

I'd still rather have bandwagon fans than Tampa Bay Rays fans...

************, their team is in the midst of a pennant race and they can barely sell out a game.

Although going to Fenway Park now is like being in the center of some rich north shore city where everyone wears life is good t shirts.

Sports are a form of entertainment and the Patriots have been pretty entertaining the past few years... It is like your favorite band becoming ultra popular then playing a really bad concert, then breaking up only to return for a really successful reunion tour. Just look at the Celtics.


Hell, I'm only old enough to remember Drew Bledsoe being drafted only to stage dive onto some poor girl at an Everclear concert.

 

[Pats726]

After 18 years the 49er dynasty had to come to an end. So did Pittsburghs.
Finally in the 80's the Cowboys went downhill.
it happens.

What will this crowd do when someday the Patriots go through lean years again.

I will tell you. They wont be able to handle it. They cant handle one loss!

The bandwagon fans will go and we will find out if this franchise really is beloved or if we will go back to TV blackouts and 40,000 crowds.

As someone who has been a fan for over 30 years and was a fan when they were 1-15 and listened to home games on the radio, this younger crowd is pathetic. Absolutely no knowledge or perspective of the NFL.

there i feel better.....

I am a seasoned Patriot fan and I approve this message

I agree..if a bump in the road vasued the panic..when it's a lot longer..there will be many many less around..GONE!! No staying power..no perspective..Agreed!!

 

[ctpatsfan77]

I'd still rather have bandwagon fans than Tampa Bay Rays fans...

************, their team is in the midst of a pennant race and they can barely sell out a game.

Although going to Fenway Park now is like being in the center of some rich north shore city where everyone wears life is good t shirts.

Sports are a form of entertainment and the Patriots have been pretty entertaining the past few years... It is like your favorite band becoming ultra popular then playing a really bad concert, then breaking up only to return for a really successful reunion tour. Just look at the Celtics.


Hell, I'm only old enough to remember Drew Bledsoe being drafted only to stage dive onto some poor girl at an Everclear concert.

#1 draft picks stage diving = EPIC FAIL

 

[muzz]

The same thing it always did before they became really good.....

That'd be hope that 1 day they will be really good.

 

[AzPatsFan]

There will be bad times. I remember Mike Holovak struggling to win and also conserve used bubblegum and string. I remember being respectable with non NFL players, until the team collapsed in 1966. I remember 4-10 seasons, and losing seasons from '66 well in to the mid 70s.

I also remember a roster virtually devoid of any NFL caliber players. Rebuilding then, really was worse than what faced an expansion club.

Even if this team goes down, it will not be for long. There is very little age on the Offense, Faulk, and Moss. And the Defense is now pretty young; save for Tedy, Rodney and maybe Vrabes. There simply isn'
t much to rebuild.

The F.O. has stockpiled draft picks, and another double draft this offseason wil give us a #1, 2 #2s, 2 #3s, and probably 2#4s. That should be more than enough to secure an ILB, OLB, OL, and perhaps a 3rd down HB. That is assuming that Tedy, Rodney, and Kevin's replacements are not already on the roster, in the form of Guyton, Tank, and Lamont.

But I still think this team wil do well this year. Cassel appears to me to be a talented QB; with a big arm, size, mobility, patience, and knowledge of the playbook. He just needs some more snaps and expereince and he will get them.