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I have just finished scanning over a dozen NFL team message boards in search of proof of a theory I have.
My theory was that the better the team, the more their fans were Patriots Haters. I guess I just fealt it was common sense that the teams that would most stand to benefit from a Patriots demise would have the fans that were most jealous of the Patriots.
I realize I'm probably not presenting ground-breaking news here to all my "wicked smaht" fellow Patriots fans. But I must tell you that my little exercise was quite revealing.
The board that had the most Patriots hating threads is IndyStar. If you go to their board, I must tell you that they eventually dump every "Patriots" topic into a thread called "Grendel's Asylum" which now contains about 500 or more posts and continues to be one of the most acitve threads on their board.
My little excursion around the league boards resulted in the confirmation of my theory. The SteelerFever.com ranked second in the proliferation of Patriots hating themed threads. Steeler fans continue to act as though the 70's Steelers and their 5 super bowl victories somehow make them the most "Elite fans" in the league. Although they don't have as many Patriots hating threads, their level of dispise and arrogance towards the Patriots is far worse than the fans on IndyStar.
The third worst fan board was the Dallas Cowboys relative to the number of posts directed at the Patriots. Their tone is strangely like a combination of the Steeler and Colts board members. They are not quite as arrogant as Steelers fans, but they are also speaking more confidently than the Indy fans. It's almost as if they feel they are "Destined" to meet with the Patriots in the super bowl..."if" either of us gets there!
But here is the kicker!! Early in the year, the Chargers fans board may even have been the #1 Patriots Haters board. but since their team has not performed nearly up to the level of their fans' expectations, you'll be hard-pressed to find a single Patriots Hating thread on their board.
I also scanned through the Packers, Jaguars, Saints, Raiders, Bears, Chiefs, Rams, 49er's & Lions fans boards and saw very, very few Patriots Hating threads. In fact, I read more complimentary and conciliatory threads regarding our Patriots than anything else.
The net/net is my test satisfied and confirmed my curiousity that jealousy & envy are the #1 factors motivating Patriots hatred around the league. So when Colts, Steeler and Cowboy fans come here telling us we are hated as much around the league as we are amongst their own fan base, we can confidently rest assured if their team wasn't in the hunt, they wouldn't be so concerned with us and their hatred would be minimal.
I realize I'm probably not telling Patriots fans anything they didn't already suspect. But I thought you might find this interesting.
My theory was that the better the team, the more their fans were Patriots Haters. I guess I just fealt it was common sense that the teams that would most stand to benefit from a Patriots demise would have the fans that were most jealous of the Patriots.
I realize I'm probably not presenting ground-breaking news here to all my "wicked smaht" fellow Patriots fans. But I must tell you that my little exercise was quite revealing.
The board that had the most Patriots hating threads is IndyStar. If you go to their board, I must tell you that they eventually dump every "Patriots" topic into a thread called "Grendel's Asylum" which now contains about 500 or more posts and continues to be one of the most acitve threads on their board.
My little excursion around the league boards resulted in the confirmation of my theory. The SteelerFever.com ranked second in the proliferation of Patriots hating themed threads. Steeler fans continue to act as though the 70's Steelers and their 5 super bowl victories somehow make them the most "Elite fans" in the league. Although they don't have as many Patriots hating threads, their level of dispise and arrogance towards the Patriots is far worse than the fans on IndyStar.
The third worst fan board was the Dallas Cowboys relative to the number of posts directed at the Patriots. Their tone is strangely like a combination of the Steeler and Colts board members. They are not quite as arrogant as Steelers fans, but they are also speaking more confidently than the Indy fans. It's almost as if they feel they are "Destined" to meet with the Patriots in the super bowl..."if" either of us gets there!
But here is the kicker!! Early in the year, the Chargers fans board may even have been the #1 Patriots Haters board. but since their team has not performed nearly up to the level of their fans' expectations, you'll be hard-pressed to find a single Patriots Hating thread on their board.
I also scanned through the Packers, Jaguars, Saints, Raiders, Bears, Chiefs, Rams, 49er's & Lions fans boards and saw very, very few Patriots Hating threads. In fact, I read more complimentary and conciliatory threads regarding our Patriots than anything else.
The net/net is my test satisfied and confirmed my curiousity that jealousy & envy are the #1 factors motivating Patriots hatred around the league. So when Colts, Steeler and Cowboy fans come here telling us we are hated as much around the league as we are amongst their own fan base, we can confidently rest assured if their team wasn't in the hunt, they wouldn't be so concerned with us and their hatred would be minimal.
I realize I'm probably not telling Patriots fans anything they didn't already suspect. But I thought you might find this interesting.
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