I'll be the first to admit that, though I never hated Brady, I was "jealous" of his success that year and badly wanted Drew to go back in once the doctors cleared him. By the end of the season that had started to wane, though it still seemed odd to have Tom at QB for a while. (Ironically it reminds me of last year, watching Cassel fill in for Tom; like it's the Patriots, but it's not the Patriots. Kinda like when those two replacement cousins filled in on
The Dukes of Hazzard. Except different.)
And during the day or two after the AFCCG when it was unclear which of them would start in the Super Bowl, I was totally rooting for Drew. For years by then I had been dreaming of the day Drew would win a Super Bowl. Now that chance was close, but this little punk usurper was going to get all the glory instead.
I'll also admit that while watching the SB I was yelling at the TV for BB to pull Tom and put Drew in, because it seemed like Tom just couldn't throw the long ball, at least not like Tom could. For a while there I was afraid that was going to cost the Pats the game.
Finally, for a brief time after Drew was traded to Buffalo, I considered defecting and becoming a Bills fan. I didn't like how BB had treated him. But before too long I came to my senses and realized that I couldn't just root for Drew, because he wasn't going to play forever. It wasn't him I loved, but the fact that he played for the Patriots. And if I was going to switch teams just because I didn't agree with some of their personnel moves, I was never going to have a permanent team, because every team does things their fans don't agree with. This sentiment was largely confirmed the next fall when I saw Drew and the Bills play the Vikings in Minnesota - yeah it was still Drew Bledsoe, but without the Flying Elvis on his helmet, it just wasn't the same anymore.
That's why I laugh at these imbeciles who threaten not to be Packers fans because of the whole Favre drama. I've been down that road.