Hey Pats fans, how has it been in your city this melinium?

[DisgruntledTunaFan]

Especially with all those championships won just about every year with your teams? How would you describe your neighbors et al? Satisfied? Spoiled? Want more and more?

Just curious-b/c I've been a lifelong resident of Dallas/New Orleans my entire life(DFW from '85-'88 && '06-present, New Orleans from '88 to '06)...so as you can see, while the residents there can be nice, at the same time, you can probably feel alot of emotions like bitterness, frustration, indifference, et al.

Like when the Red Sox won in '04-I asked one of my professors, "Guess who's next to break 'the curse'"? And he responded-"Who? The Saints?? Pfffffffffttttttttttttttttttttt!!!!!!!!!!!! It'll be at least another 125 years before that happens". And, of course, with pretty much everyone from Romo to Dirk Nivinkski to Avery to Wade to Bill P choking in DFW, choking has turned into a common joke here.

 

[LurkingLinebacker]

I think the word that best describes how I feel is privileged. I'd say the feeling definitely started in '04, with the Red Sox winning the World Series. While it certainly was amazing to see the Patriots win 2 superbowls before then, that really made me feel privileged to see what professional Boston-area teams were doing. Being aware of late, older relatives and other people who were devoted to the Red Sox and went a lifetime without seeing a World Series trophy in Boston made me feel that I ought to appreciate what I had seen.

If I was privileged then, the feeling is certainly more so now--with another superbowl win (and possibly another "perfect" super bowl win) and another world series trophy.

I feel privileged and appreciative of what is happening and what has happened in the two sports I love for the two teams I love... because I know it can't last forever. Do I want more? Absolutely, the homer inside me does.... but it can't and won't last forever... for the good of both sports.

 

[DarrylS]

The biggest change for me, is not only is my intense fandom being rewaded many times more than I could have ever imagined is the wearing of the colors. In the past on a Sunday game would go to a stop and shop and about 20-30%would be wearing the colors.. now it is about 60-70%. Yesterday I was in ****'s Sporting goods there were tables filled with t-shirts and sweatshirts.. in Modells about 1/4 of the store is filled with Pats gear.. people are not only buying it, but wearing it all over.. I used to feel somewhat alone in wearing pats stuff, now it is everywhere you look.

Consider in the 90's if you wanted Pats gear you might find one or two items in the Penney's catalog, now it is all over the place.. gas stations, the big box stores.. everywhere.

 

[Handel]

melinium?

10 char.

 

[oldskool138]

Especially with all those championships won just about every year with your teams?

Just about every team? Only half of the teams in the Boston area have had success lately. (less than half if you want to count the Buffalo Bills of soccer, the New England Revolution). The Celts are good but they haven't won anything yet (and with Garnett having an abdominal strain, I expect them to lose a bunch of games while he's on the bench). Only the Sox and Pats have won championships in this decade.

 

[BeantownRox]

Well, until '01 ('02, to be technical) we were pretty well-versed around here in the mentality of losing and absorbing crushing defeats.

We've lost the "lovable losers" and "oh, poor us" cards here, but frankly, I like the trade.

Now to ride the tide as long as we can before the dark times inevitably come again.

 

[patchick]

The biggest change for me, is not only is my intense fandom being rewaded many times more than I could have ever imagined is the wearing of the colors.

So true! You can even go into a drug store and supermarket and be guaranteed of finding a whole rack of Pats merchandise. And I love dropping my kids off at Sunday school on game days and seeing a room full of little Patriot jerseys! (Hmm, maybe this is just Jewish Sunday school phenomenon, since the kids don't have to dress for church? My favorite was the day that was both a Pats game and a World Series game. Picture a big circle of six-year-olds doing the hora, all dressed as Tom Brady and Manny Ramirez.)

 

[Watson's IQ]

Especially with all those championships won just about every year with your teams? How would you describe your neighbors et al? Satisfied? Spoiled? Want more and more?

Well, I moved to DC for college in 2003 and live there still, so all the recent Boston championships except the Pats' first, I have not been in New England. (The good fortune the teams have had after my departure is a decent argument against moving back). Given that, I can speak to the other side of the coin - being a New England fan elsewhere in the country. I would describe it best as "smug sense of satisfaction while trying to avoid the wrath of others." Not that I like to be smug, but given all the co-workers and friends I have who rag on our teams constantly, I have to be able to enjoy it a little.

I go to every Red Sox game in Baltimore each season, and to the Pats games whenever they're in the "area" (was at the MNF game in B-More, for example), and I can firmly assert that even outside of the areas you'd expect to hate Pats fans (NY, Indy, Pitt, etc), we are still not well loved. Of course, being hated because you root for a good team is a million times better than being ignored because you root for a bad one. [Note: When I say "not well loved", I should point out I'm not an obnoxious fan at all. At the Ravens game I sat there in a Patriots sweatshirt, cheering sure but not taunting or anything, and was still harassed. Of course, the looks on their faces as I was leaving made me glad I parked close)

 

[MoLewisrocks]

I think while the majority of true fans are appreciative of the times in which we are living, there has developed quite a fringe of bandwaggoners who are more arrogant and demanding than anything. Most of them were casual fans at best prior to the milenium dawning. Quite a few were still underage as this franchise came of age, and they know nothing but winning.

But for the real fans it's as if a decades long cloud has been lifted. No more mournful loser mentality, a lot less specter of doom - although it will take a generation to stamp out that mentality entirely (which the Sox even moreso than the Pats embued in many from birth) as you can see in our gameday threads, no more slumped shoulders at least on a regular basis. So it's true you see more people wearing the colors beyond gameday. They say you can't have it all, and the Bruins seem to be living proof of that adage, but by and large it's fun to be a sports fan in NE in the new milenium.

 

[fourthandmiles]

It is a nightmare driving in Boston and now they keep having all these parades. Blocking traffic and everything. Those damn Duck Boats!

Don't go thinking Boston has lost its cynical edge.

 

[hambone1818]

I think while the majority of true fans are appreciative of the times in which we are living, there has developed quite a fringe of bandwaggoners who are more arrogant and demanding than anything. Most of them were casual fans at best prior to the milenium dawning. Quite a few were still underage as this franchise came of age, and they know nothing but winning.

But for the real fans it's as if a decades long cloud has been lifted. No more mournful loser mentality, a lot less specter of doom - although it will take a generation to stamp out that mentality entirely (which the Sox even moreso than the Pats embued in many from birth) as you can see in our gameday threads, no more slumped shoulders at least on a regular basis. So it's true you see more people wearing the colors beyond gameday. They say you can't have it all, and the Bruins seem to be living proof of that adage, but by and large it's fun to be a sports fan in NE in the new milenium.

Completely agree; I love being a fan of Boston sports right now because there's nothing like being on top, but it comes with a cost: the fringe, bandwagon fans are extremely obnoxious, know nothing of substance about the teams, and generally give true fans a bad name. I have a bunch of good friends living in Boston who aren't Pats or Sox fans, and they universally hate both teams simply because the fans are so obnoxious. I think you'd find that in any city, but given the dearth of winning teams (and the Red Sox not winning in 86 years) and the passion that people in Boston have for their sports, and you have a recipe for some very, very obnoxious people.

All that said, I wouldn't trade it for the world. The true fans know that this won't last forever, so we talk it all in, appreciate the ride but understand that what goes around comes around, and being a good fan--as opposed to an obnoxious ***hat--is just as important as rooting on your team.

I was in New York, in college, during some trying times as a Boston sports fan--1998-2002, when the Sox consistently lost in heartbreaking fashion, and the Yankees consistently won. So my appreciation for my teams winning is off the charts, but I also know that I don't want to act like the jacka$$ Yankee fans who made my life a living hell for those 4 years.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

I live in New York City, so most of the people around me are just plain jealous of the Patriots and think the Red Sox will soon embark on another 86 year drought between Championships (though there is generally grudging respect for their historic comeback against the Yankees).

The Giants trip to the SB has truly isolated Pats fans in the Apple. Giants fans for the most part like and admire Belichick (and generally had been hoping that he would jump from Foxboro to the Meadowlands when his contract is up) and, since there is little love lost between Giants and Jets fans, it was always possible to have a good conversation with a Giants fan. Now, however, at least for these two weeks, everyone is "the enemy."

 

[Watson's IQ]

I think while the majority of true fans are appreciative of the times in which we are living, there has developed quite a fringe of bandwaggoners who are more arrogant and demanding than anything. Most of them were casual fans at best prior to the milenium dawning. Quite a few were still underage as this franchise came of age, and they know nothing but winning.

But for the real fans it's as if a decades long cloud has been lifted. No more mournful loser mentality, a lot less specter of doom - although it will take a generation to stamp out that mentality entirely (which the Sox even moreso than the Pats embued in many from birth) as you can see in our gameday threads, no more slumped shoulders at least on a regular basis. So it's true you see more people wearing the colors beyond gameday. They say you can't have it all, and the Bruins seem to be living proof of that adage, but by and large it's fun to be a sports fan in NE in the new milenium.

I agree with you that the bandwagoners are obnoxious and give real fans a bad name, but I take umbrage with you suggesting it's a question of age. I'm 22, I was 16 when the Pats won their first title and 19 when the Sox broke the curse. I suppose by your definition I'm not a "real fan" because I didn't have a "decades long cloud" over my head. But I grew up rooting passionately for the Boston teams, and I guarantee you I know more about football and the Patriots than plenty of "fans" twice my age. Look, I agree with you that a lot of the bandwagon types are the "buy an already faded hat, hang out at cask 'n flagon, college-student" types, but it's not impossible to be young and still not be an ill-informed bandwagoner. I agree with your general point, but I resent the implication that just because someone isn't "long-suffering" that they're not a "real fan." I couldn't control when I was born, and for the years I've lived I suffered the requisite amount .

 

[BeantownRox]

I agree with you that the bandwagoners are obnoxious and give real fans a bad name, but I take umbrage with you suggesting it's a question of age. I'm 22, I was 16 when the Pats won their first title and 19 when the Sox broke the curse. I suppose by your definition I'm not a "real fan" because I didn't have a "decades long cloud" over my head. But I grew up rooting passionately for the Boston teams, and I guarantee you I know more about football and the Patriots than plenty of "fans" twice my age. Look, I agree with you that a lot of the bandwagon types are the "buy an already faded hat, hang out at cask 'n flagon, college-student" types, but it's not impossible to be young and still not be an ill-informed bandwagoner. I agree with your general point, but I resent the implication that just because someone isn't "long-suffering" that they're not a "real fan." I couldn't control when I was born, and for the years I've lived I suffered the requisite amount .

Being 24 myself, I certainly agree.

 

[Watson's IQ]

The Giants trip to the SB has truly isolated Pats fans in the Apple. Giants fans for the most part like and admire Belichick (and generally had been hoping that he would jump from Foxboro to the Meadowlands when his contract is up) and, since there is little love lost between Giants and Jets fans, it was always possible to have a good conversation with a Giants fan. Now, however, at least for these two weeks, everyone is "the enemy."

I miss this too. I have several good friends who are Giants fans, and maybe it's just me but they've always seemed more level headed and reasonable than Jets fans (small sample size, of course). Now they're suddenly just as over-the-top about things, I guess being in the Super Bowl will do that.

I particularly agree with you about BB, the Giants fans I know are constantly speculating that BB is the next coach of the Giants every time the job opens up.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

, the Giants fans I know are constantly speculating that BB is the next coach of the Giants every time the job opens up.

and coughlin, deservedly, has that job locked up for a good long time now, so that speculation will go away.

 

[hambone1818]

I miss this too. I have several good friends who are Giants fans, and maybe it's just me but they've always seemed more level headed and reasonable than Jets fans (small sample size, of course). Now they're suddenly just as over-the-top about things, I guess being in the Super Bowl will do that.

I particularly agree with you about BB, the Giants fans I know are constantly speculating that BB is the next coach of the Giants every time the job opens up.

Honestly, though, do you blame them (Giants fans, that is)? They have the opportunity to beat what many consider to be the best football team--the best TEAM--in history. So they believe that the Eli they've seen the past few games is the new Eli; that this 10 game road streak means a ton when in actuality most of the teams they beat were terrible; that Brady really is a little banged up when all reports indicate he should be 100%--or damn close to it--come game time. They WANT to believe their team has a shot, and while I think they're crazy even thinking like that I respect it. Hell, in 2001 I was outwardly confident about the game, saying the Pats played them hard in the regular season and showed they could at least hang with the Rams. But inside I was just hoping the Pats didn't get blown out of the water.

 

[BeantownRox]

I live in New York City, so most of the people around me are just plain jealous of the Patriots and think the Red Sox will soon embark on another 86 year drought between Championships (though there is generally grudging respect for their historic comeback against the Yankees).

The Giants trip to the SB has truly isolated Pats fans in the Apple. Giants fans for the most part like and admire Belichick (and generally had been hoping that he would jump from Foxboro to the Meadowlands when his contract is up) and, since there is little love lost between Giants and Jets fans, it was always possible to have a good conversation with a Giants fan. Now, however, at least for these two weeks, everyone is "the enemy."

My fiancee is a from NJ and a Giants fan, so there'll be a home front to the war this Sunday for me.

 

[Watson's IQ]

and coughlin, deservedly, has that job locked up for a good long time now, so that speculation will go away.

You haven't met many New Yorkers, have you? I'm generalizing a bit based on Yankees fans, but generally the sense of entitlement there is far greater still than it has become in Boston of late. I guess it depends how broadly you define "speculation." Right now, somewhere on a Giants message board, there is someone speculating that Coughlin will retire after the Super Bowl win and BB will "come home" to coach the Giants, and bring Moss and Brady with him. I promise you.

 

[Watson's IQ]

Honestly, though, do you blame them (Giants fans, that is)? They have the opportunity to beat what many consider to be the best football team--the best TEAM--in history. So they believe that the Eli they've seen the past few games is the new Eli; that this 10 game road streak means a ton when in actuality most of the teams they beat were terrible; that Brady really is a little banged up when all reports indicate he should be 100%--or damn close to it--come game time. They WANT to believe their team has a shot, and while I think they're crazy even thinking like that I respect it. Hell, in 2001 I was outwardly confident about the game, saying the Pats played them hard in the regular season and showed they could at least hang with the Rams. But inside I was just hoping the Pats didn't get blown out of the water.

No, I wasn't implying that I blame them at all, I was the exact same way in 2001. No fan wants to admit that their team is most likely going to lose, I wouldn't respect them much if they did. And the way you outlined it is exactly right. Eli's come around, 10 game winning streak on the road, played them tough in week 17, Brady' hurt.. All of these are the things I hear being thrown around. Of course, none of them really have an effect on this game, but I don't blame them for trying to find a glimmer of hope. I would be too in their shoes.