I care, b/c it's a pain in the butt, and fundamentally unfair. That much I'm on-board with.
I don't care to the extent that it will diminish my fanhood.
I was never a big spender into the Kraft coffers, so those who are vowing to drop their season tickets, meh, they can do what they want. Someone will buy them. I actually think Kraft went beyond what he had to do to get peace with Goodell, which was just plain sad to me. He either bungled the team reaction at the front end, at the back end, or both. I don't really have a
need for more Pats gear... I'm another fatass with a couple Brady jerseys. I might buy another standout's jersey closer to my O-linish/Linebackerish-on-a-good-day build... if he's just signed a long-term deal... but I'm in no hurry.
I don't care about "asterisk talk," because I know where the asterisk goes on these ridiculously excessive penalties: The NFL*.
I care because the playing field is tilted frequently in the off-season to stop the Patriots from excelling.
Let me give you some insights from being down in this area for this run.
For SB 36, I was in a bar, and the place was going wild for the Patriots. It was "America's team," the storybook ending, blah blah blah. The next year I was in another bar for the Raiders/Bucs, and decided ahead of time to root for the Bucs based on Pats/Raiders animosity at the time. Big fan-bases for both teams, no "everybody loves _____."
Then came the eye-opener... When we played Carolina and Philly, people actively wanted us to lose... just based on the fact that we win too much. Since 2007, ***eddaboutit... you have to go to Murphy's to get a pro-Pats crowd for any game. I mainly watch at home.
My point of view is that 95% of the country's football-watchers hate the Pats. Just like everybody used to hate the Yankees.
Oh well, right?
And when they talk in the future about the "great dynasties," I think there is a good chance that it will be pointed out that asterisks or not, the Patriots might just be the greatest, because the League* took actions both through structural changes, and through ad-hoc thumb-on-scale actions, to defeat the Patriots on behalf of the other 31 teams.
Nobody else might be able to do this in the era of salary cap/free agency. Evah. (Possibly... and being oldish, maybe this is just the last dynasty in
my lifetime.)
So would I prefer that the NFL* stop trying to change the competitive balance with this kind of chicanery? Of course. Will other fans see it for what it is? Some yes, most no.
Do I care what
other fans think? Hell no. They'll all get their turns to see their team be at the top for a year, per the NFL's apparent wishes, one day. That usually calms 'em down.
However, if the football gods have a sense of humor, Indy will be cursed forever, just as the JEST have been in the past and I hope are in the future.