My $0.02 on the crowd

[CheerforTom]

Hopefully we can get each thread on the first page to be a different person's view on booing a professional football team in today's world. Maybe someone can offer some insight on how they felt as a fan to hear someone boo their team. Then we can get different quotes from that fan's friends and family on the subject, how they reacted to the incident, how it affected their performance at work, etc.

Like I said, I'm totally with you on this one. Things changed when Hobbs called people out, which is why he shouldn't have done it. Let people do what they want.

 

[PatsDeb]

Really? Guess they don't cover it that closely via the ol' electronic media. Which crappy performance were they booing when we were 16-0? Or were they booing in 12-4 years or 14-2 years? It's weird. I can hear the boos over the air in Philly games, and apparently the players thought being booed and (mea culpa) seeing fans leave early were out-of-character events.

Why so much comment on the booing if it happens at all Pats games? Why didn't it ever show up in electronic coverage? Do they boo at some frequency below or above the ability of television to transfer, like a dog-whistle boo or something?

Or seriouly, everybody chime in and tell me I'm wrong, and people are booing all the time and I'm just not that observant. I'll drop it. It seemed like this particular week's behavior caught everyone's attention, and isn't business as usual.

How about it guys - do Pats fans always boo when things don't go their way?

You guessed it - it has definitely been the dog whistle boo all these years in Foxboro.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

Can you read? I have stated that Pats fans have booed many times in the past. Why Sunday was any different is beyond me.

Ooooh sarcasm. Man, that's cutting. Yeah I can read. Like I said, weird that it can't be picked up through electronic media.

Obviously 1 or 2 guys ain't the same thing as the whole stadium. I'm thinking that's the root of the disagreement, rather than my own illiteracy.

By the way, your other thread about just cavalierly buying a ticket and seeing a game, even locally there, is absurd for a lot of people who care most. I popped for over 200 per seat for the Ravens/Pats last year. I understand there's this big deal anti-scalping policy at Gilette, but you're still talking about face-value that's over what a lot of guys can spare especially if they have families.

So here's the thing - NFL games are on TV. If you've got disposeable income to get to the game you may as well be aware that you can look like an ass to those who can't be there for reason of geography or economics.

Like I said not too get too preachy - I personally felt like crap for not staying the whole 60 minutes. As for the cash, it cost me well more than your little outlay for the tix alone to make the pilgrammage. But the booing and general buttholery wasn't really for me. Good to hear others here saying it might not have been representative. Hearing fans say "oh that's just what you do when you're losing, you throw a hissy fit and boo and loudly opine that the season's over" and the like, well that just makes me think I need to stop lecturing people who say Pats fans are fair weather fans. That's exactly what we looked like. And like I said, we left early too, so it's not like I think I'm above it all.

PFnV

 

[Gainzo]

Ooooh sarcasm. Man, that's cutting. Yeah I can read. Like I said, weird that it can't be picked up through electronic media.

Obviously 1 or 2 guys ain't the same thing as the whole stadium. I'm thinking that's the root of the disagreement, rather than my own illiteracy.

By the way, your other thread about just cavalierly buying a ticket and seeing a game, even locally there, is absurd for a lot of people who care most. I popped for over 200 per seat for the Ravens/Pats last year. I understand there's this big deal anti-scalping policy at Gilette, but you're still talking about face-value that's over what a lot of guys can spare especially if they have families.

So here's the thing - NFL games are on TV. If you've got disposeable income to get to the game you may as well be aware that you can look like an ass to those who can't be there for reason of geography or economics.

Like I said not too get too preachy - I personally felt like crap for not staying the whole 60 minutes. As for the cash, it cost me well more than your little outlay for the tix alone to make the pilgrammage. But the booing and general buttholery wasn't really for me. Good to hear others here saying it might not have been representative. Hearing fans say "oh that's just what you do when you're losing, you throw a hissy fit and boo and loudly opine that the season's over" and the like, well that just makes me think I need to stop lecturing people who say Pats fans are fair weather fans. That's exactly what we looked like. And like I said, we left early too, so it's not like I think I'm above it all.

PFnV

I have had season tickets since 1992 (I was a college student back then) and have been going to games since 1987.

My "little" outlay? If you can come up with 5 grand in March then all the World to you.

I sold my tickets this year, do you want them next year? Make sure you give me the money in March of 2009.

 

[billdog3484]

I always disagree with booing, but that is your right when you pay $$ to get in the stadium. i would like to think that we have loyalty to the greatest pro franchise in sports over the last 10 years. we lost the best player in the league, what did any of you guys expect?

 

[CheerforTom]

we lost the best player in the league, what did any of you guys expect?

Our defense not to be affected by it?

 

[GrogansArmy]

I personally felt there should have been a standing ovation at the end of the game, kind of like at the end of the chargers game the week after spygate broke out last year for BB.

I was hoping we would show our team and players how happy and proud we are of them that they accomplished 21 regular wins in a row. It had to end at some point... I just wish the team knew that most of us really do appreciate what they have accomplished.

Instead of celebrating the end of the longest regular season win streak in football history, we're booing the team.

Shameful. Absolutely shameful. Oh and I'm sure some of you are thinking I'm acting 'holier than thou', but I'm sorry I just really cannot understand how people can boo a feat that has never been accomplished before.

 

[Patslifer]

I think that fans have a right to act however they want. I think that fans also need to recognize that they contribute to the identity of their team.
The fans that booed the Pats as they lost to end a 21 game winning streak embarrassed the rest of the fans of this team, because they spoke nationally for all of us.
The message they sent: EVERYTHING THIS TEAM HAS DONE IS FORGOTTEN BY THE FANS AS SOON AS THEY PLAY POORLY.
Thats it end of story. Booing a team indicates disgust with them. If the entire fan base of the New England Patriots is justified to be disgusted by anything that happens in one day after what the team has done over the last 7 years, then I am disgusted to be part of it.
It was immature, disrespectful, and thankless.

This is Andy. Andy cry's when people boo a football team that is playing with no heart and getting smashed by the worst team in football.

Hey Andy - HARDEN THE F@CK UP!

 

[PatsFanInVa]

I have had season tickets since 1992 (I was a college student back then) and have been going to games since 1987.

My "little" outlay? If you can come up with 5 grand in March then all the World to you.

I sold my tickets this year, do you want them next year? Make sure you give me the money in March of 2009.

Yep, well, I'll gladly say right up front, at no point in my education did I have 5 grand to pay for season tickets. I might be able to swing it now, but not at 1000 mile trips to and from. So we've established you've got some cash and live closer. You win. Booing is fine.

Unless, of course, it has something to do with anything other than money. Personally I don't get the connection.

PFnV

 

[Gainzo]

Yep, well, I'll gladly say right up front, at no point in my education did I have 5 grand to pay for season tickets. I might be able to swing it now, but not at 1000 mile trips to and from. So we've established you've got some cash and live closer. You win. Booing is fine.

Unless, of course, it has something to do with anything other than money. Personally I don't get the connection.

PFnV

Once again you missed the point. When I bought my season tickets in 1992 they were $27 each and parking was $10. Fast forward to 2008.......Tickets are $169 each and parking is $40.

I worked at UPS while I was in College and could easily afford the $540 (2 seats) a year for Pats tix.

I'm sorry the fans booed. Get over it.

 

[Wildo7]

Booing your own team is stupid under any circumstances, which is why the dumbest people out there are the quickest to boo. It accomplishes nothing, and the meathead logic used to justify it proves that only stupid people boo their own team:

"I pay the salary of the players with my own money so I have a right to communicate my displeasure with them."

This argument is so ******ed it makes my blood boil. First of all, the amount of entertainment time the average drunken moron at Gillette has gotten for free, especially from a team like the Pats, far outweighs the amount you spend on a ticket. You don't "pay the players salaries" you play an insignificant role in a system that is mutually beneficial to both the players and the viewing audience. The players get paid huge salaries because they are uniquely talented athletes who have the ability to perform for a very high number of people with great physical risk.

The jealous venom towards these athletes under the guise of "we own them" is downright pathetic. You see it in almost every thread on this board, "pro athletes making millions of dollars shouldn't be doing x, y and z" and "I don't feel sorry for millionaire athletes who get paid to play a game." Fans expect players to sacrifice everything for them because they sit their fat asses on the couch every Sunday and soak in the commercials, therefore they own them. If this makes me an elitist I don't really care since it's the truth, but the average fan is just dumb and bitter and it came out in the worst way this Sunday.


What does booing accomplish, other than making you look like a complete asshole? Do the players not know they are losing? Do they think the fans are happy they are losing? Is booing going to make them feel pressured into performing better? Can you name me an ownership group that sold a franchise or improved it because the fans booed a lot? These are questions that the average fan doesn't bother to think about because, well, they are just stupid. The OP hit the nail on the head; the fans on Sunday represented part of the mosaic that is this incredibly successful franchise, and they let everyone down by being spoiled mob-mentality idiots. And the fact that other fanbases are just as pathetic doesn't excuse it. It's embarrassing.

 

[Wildo7]

This is Andy. Andy cry's when people boo a football team that is playing with no heart and getting smashed by the worst team in football.

Hey Andy - HARDEN THE F@CK UP!

He's not "crying" numbnuts, he's calling you out because you're a colossal dumbass.

Wow, aren't you tough, you get drunk and yell at football players. Way to "harden up" whatever the **** that means.

 

[Robdude]

Booing your own team is stupid under any circumstances, which is why the dumbest people out there are the quickest to boo. It accomplishes nothing, and the meathead logic used to justify it proves that only stupid people boo their own team:

"I pay the salary of the players with my own money so I have a right to communicate my displeasure with them."

This argument is so ******ed it makes my blood boil. First of all, the amount of entertainment time the average drunken moron at Gillette has gotten for free, especially from a team like the Pats, far outweighs the amount you spend on a ticket. You don't "pay the players salaries" you play an insignificant role in a system that is mutually beneficial to both the players and the viewing audience. The players get paid huge salaries because they are uniquely talented athletes who have the ability to perform for a very high number of people with great physical risk.

The jealous venom towards these athletes under the guise of "we own them" is downright pathetic. You see it in almost every thread on this board, "pro athletes making millions of dollars shouldn't be doing x, y and z" and "I don't feel sorry for millionaire athletes who get paid to play a game." Fans expect players to sacrifice everything for them because they sit their fat asses on the couch every Sunday and soak in the commercials, therefore they own them. If this makes me an elitist I don't really care since it's the truth, but the average fan is just dumb and bitter and it came out in the worst way this Sunday.


What does booing accomplish, other than making you look like a complete asshole? Do the players not know they are losing? Do they think the fans are happy they are losing? Is booing going to make them feel pressured into performing better? Can you name me an ownership group that sold a franchise or improved it because the fans booed a lot? These are questions that the average fan doesn't bother to think about because, well, they are just stupid. The OP hit the nail on the head; the fans on Sunday represented part of the mosaic that is this incredibly successful franchise, and they let everyone down by being spoiled mob-mentality idiots. And the fact that other fanbases are just as pathetic doesn't excuse it. It's embarrassing.

Hard words but I agree with everything you have said here. Players are people just like the rest of us. It does not matter how much they get paid booing them cannot have a good result.

 

[JAYHAWKS34]

I think that fans have a right to act however they want. I think that fans also need to recognize that they contribute to the identity of their team.
The fans that booed the Pats as they lost to end a 21 game winning streak embarrassed the rest of the fans of this team, because they spoke nationally for all of us.
The message they sent: EVERYTHING THIS TEAM HAS DONE IS FORGOTTEN BY THE FANS AS SOON AS THEY PLAY POORLY.
Thats it end of story. Booing a team indicates disgust with them. If the entire fan base of the New England Patriots is justified to be disgusted by anything that happens in one day after what the team has done over the last 7 years, then I am disgusted to be part of it.
It was immature, disrespectful, and thankless.

It's New England nobody cares what they did yesterday its all about today.. what have you done for me lately

 

[denverpatsfan]

I think people here are overreacting a bit. Primarily since the national media continues to pile it on any chance they get. They are in effect dancing on the Patriots grave right now. Using the fans actions to make the franchise look as bad as possible.

I know that other teams fans leave early too and do occasionally boo their home team. But that is not being mentioned by the media because it doesn't support it's attack on the Pats.

I don't agree with the boo birds but they have every right to do so. If you shell out the money for a ticket you have every right to express your displeasure with the team. Especially since it was perhaps the WORST effort in the history of the new stadium.

Also maybe they could have given the team a mulligan since they has played so well for so long there was bound to be a let down at some point.

AJ, did you applaud the crowd for their support of MC when he entered the game in week 1??

For the record I did leave early. First time EVER in 20-years of going to games. I knew the game was out of reach and didn't feel like staying. So let the scolding begin.

 

[CheerforTom]

"I pay the salary of the players with my own money so I have a right to communicate my displeasure with them."

This argument is so ******ed it makes my blood boil. First of all, the amount of entertainment time the average drunken moron at Gillette has gotten for free, especially from a team like the Pats, far outweighs the amount you spend on a ticket. You don't "pay the players salaries" you play an insignificant role in a system that is mutually beneficial to both the players and the viewing audience. The players get paid huge salaries because they are uniquely talented athletes who have the ability to perform for a very high number of people with great physical risk.

1) Excuse me? What entertainment to we get at Gillette for free? The last time I checked I paid over $200 for my tickets the last two games I've gone to (one of which was not last Sunday). What exactly do you think we're paying for if not to watch a performance? Do you think we're renting a seat for a little while to enjoy and look at and the game is a nice free show in the meantime?

2) This "you don't pay the players" thing is getting ridiculous. What's even more ridiculous is that some of you call the idea that. The fans provide both the economic and emotional reason for the players to be able to play the game. Saying they get paid because they're talented is the why, not the how. Being talented doesn't magically produce money. If they didn't have revenue from a) people buying tickets, b) people buying merchandise and c) people watching on TV, where exactly are these millions of dollars coming from? Are you under the impression Robert Kraft pays all the players personally? Would the players play the game if there was no crowd in the stands? Insignificant. Come on, man.

It's amazing to me what some of you think that we owe to the glorious NFL for providing us with this amazing gift. We all enjoy what we pay for and we're all glad it's there, but it could not exist without us and thus needs us far more than we need it. Keep letting that blood boil though.

 

[Wildo7]

1) Excuse me? What entertainment to we get at Gillette for free? The last time I checked I paid over $200 for my tickets the last two games I've gone to (one of which was not last Sunday). What exactly do you think we're paying for if not to watch a performance? Do you think we're renting a seat for a little while to enjoy and look at and the game is a nice free show in the meantime?

2) This "you don't pay the players" thing is getting ridiculous. What's even more ridiculous is that some of you call the idea that. The fans provide both the economic and emotional reason for the players to be able to play the game. Saying they get paid because they're talented is the why, not the how. Being talented doesn't magically produce money. If they didn't have revenue from a) people buying tickets, b) people buying merchandise and c) people watching on TV, where exactly are these millions of dollars coming from? Are you under the impression Robert Kraft pays all the players personally? Would the players play the game if there was no crowd in the stands? Insignificant. Come on, man.

It's amazing to me what some of you think that we owe to the glorious NFL for providing us with this amazing gift. We all enjoy what we pay for and we're all glad it's there, but it could not exist without us and thus needs us far more than we need it. Keep letting that blood boil though.

You twisted my words. I said the average fan at Gillette has gotten free entertainment, I didn't say they got free entertainment at Gillette. The NFL gives free entertainment to millions of fans. They don't owe you ****.

 

[Nunchucks]

So that cable bill I get every month isn't real? I don't pay for TV at all....

 

[Wildo7]

So that cable bill I get every month isn't real? I don't pay for TV at all....

CBS and Fox are free.

Comic Book Guy: Last night's Itchy & Scratchy was, without a doubt, the worst episode ever. Rest assured that I was on internet within minutes registering my disgust throughout the world.
Bart Simpson: Hey, I know it wasn't great, but what right do you have to complain?
Comic Book Guy: As a loyal viewer, I feel they owe me.
Bart Simpson: What? They've given you thousands of hours of entertainment for free. What could they possibly owe you? I mean, if anything, you owe them.
Comic Book Guy: Worst episode ever.

 

[JaxPats]

No, they should have acted like grownups, not immature scumbags.

I agree, but you should have added non true-fans as well. It is never ok to boo your team. EVER!!! Everyone and every business has a bad day, but they don't get disrepected as in Sundays antics by a bunch of classless dolts who have an attention span of 6 seconds.