Anyone else sick of hearing how "spoiled" Pats fans are?

[BionicPatriot]

What you don't take into consideration is that the Pats were a terrible team owned by an owner doing everything in his power to move the team to St Louis. When we got a real owner, the facts speak for themselves.

Pretty much, but people will still be stupid and carry on about that. I mean, every sucky team sells out all the time. Look at Miami, Atlanta, Oakland, etc.

 

[Pats726]

I won't try to give an exact number, but it's definitely a large group. As for whether it represents the average Patriot fan, I think that is somewhat generational. Fans who lived through Lisa Olsen, Rod Rust, McPerson, Parcells and his shenanigans during SB week and the drama that was BB's joining the team are probably far more grounded in just how pathetic this team has frequently been and how much turmoil it's gone through. Those who never had to endure the pre-Parcells/Belechick days likely look at things with a much greater sense of entitlement.

I do not how many there are, but I do agree there is a sizable number over the last 8 years. Why is that important?? Other fans as said who lived through even some of the turmoil of the team have more of a perspective of how really GREAT these years have been. And I do think those fans that have lived through any of those dark years truly can understand and appreciate this team a bit better. Why?? It is like looking at those who run in a long marathon and asking those who have run in the sun, on flat ground with a bit of wind against them aboiut their experience. Of course it is positive and great, but come to a rainy day or a real large hill and the perspective changes considerably. Can't at all be the same for those who have seen it all. That is why most definitely, many are spoiled.

 

[jmt57]

I have a slightly different perspective on this debate. It may not apply to everybody, but it does hold true for a lot of people I know. As a kid growing up in the 60's I followed the "Big 4" - Bruins, Celtic, Red Sox and Pats. After '67 the Red Sox went from drawing less than a million people per year to Red Sox Nation. IMO it's not because they won the World Series, it was because they were worth watching; they've been contenders every year for 40 years in a row! Everybody loved the Bruins in the Orr - Espo years and that was the hottest ticket in town then. A few years later and the same held true for the Larry Bird Celtic teams. Now Gillette and Fenway are sold out after Pats and Red Sox championships. At age 10 the Red Sox were my favorite team; four years later it was the Bruins. I was a fan of the Pats the whole time too but it was natural for me to follow the championship teams first.

So does that make people who had passionately followed the Bruins in the 70's and now do the same for the Patriots more than any other area team a bandwagon fan? Absolutely not! The reason for that is that almost all Patriot (and Bruin, Celtic and Red Sox) fans are Boston sports fans! Through out my whole life I have followed all these teams, with varying degrees of intensity which was directly correlated to their success. It's normal, it's natural - it's not being a bandwagoner! Why would I post on message boards when the Celtics were awful last year; so others could let me know how bad my favorite team was?

To me a bandwagon fan is one that does not follow a team at all and then does again, once they start winning. Yes, there are some in New England, and they should be put in their place. However, in my opinion, most Boston sports fans have followed the Pats for a long time, through thick and thin.

Now those that claim they wanted the Giants to win because the Patriots cheated, a few weeks after they wanted the Pats to win so Seau coul get a ring, after rooting for the Pats to win to shut up Mercury Morris, once it was apparent the good-guy Colts were not going to repeat and the Cowboys were no longer interesting after their loss and Jessica was no longer seeing Tony but maybe Brett and the Packers were worth investing in green and gold garments . . . well yeah, that's a fair weather fan that should be neutered.

 

[patsin°°]

I ignore it. But is does get to me sometimes

 

[blackglass3]

Most "negative nancies" come about on a team that actually loses games. Go back and read the game threads from last season, or the postgame analysis of some of the players. For crying out loud, any time an opposing team got a first down, the chorus of "we suck... player X can't play" got started.

This is, unfortunatley, completely accurate. National Sports Advisor pops into my head. That guy just b!tched and b!thced every week. We had the Maroney is made of GLASS thread. The Meriweather is a BUST thread...it was sickening.

 

[Jimke]

Of course, Patriots fans are spoiled rotten. I waited 42 years to

see the Pats win a championship. Before that a 50-50 season was

O.K. with me. Now that the Pats have won three Superbowls,

anything less than a Superbowl winning season is disappointing. Last

year's Superbowl loss was the worst disappointment of all. I had

hoped to see the Patriots obtain football immortality by having a

perfect season.

 

[castlelong1]

Please, 2001 was the year the Pats were basically resurrected. Of course, the team experienced more fan growth then. Don't be naive.

Was the team consistently selling out in those other years and among the league leaders in merchandise sales?

But to be fair, I think I became a real fan in the 1985 season. However, I don't remember many following me.

Start the poll. Why are you responding to me? Do you think answerers will lie?

Heck, I got to do it for you, and I don't think it is relevant.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

I don't think that real Patriots fans are spoiled. By real fans, I mean those that have been with the team through the bad years and the good years and who appreciate what we have, as the OP observed.

I do, however, think that there are bandwagon fans who became "fans" in 2001, who think that they are entitled to a Patriots trip to the SB every year, who don't appreciate how remarkable the Brady-Belichick-Pioli years have been and who don't comprehend what it is to support a team when it is down as well as when it is up. Those "fans," if we can call them that, are indeed like the rich kid who thinks that everybody gets a Pony at Christmas and are indeed "spoiled," but they really don't count in my opinion and I tend to tune them out when they post.

 

[richpats]

If anyone looks at our last 2 losses and says we are "spoiled" then I don't know what to say.

 

[Deus Irae]

If anyone looks at our last 2 losses and says we are "spoiled" then I don't know what to say.

3 Super Bowl victories, 4 Super Bowl appearances, and 5 AFCCG appearances to go along with a 16-0 regular season and a combined regular season record of 86-26 (.768) all since 2001, and you're pulling the "last two losses" complaint out of your pocket. You don't need to say anything more: Whining about the losses given a 7 year run like that says it all.

 

[richpats]

3 Super Bowl victories, 4 Super Bowl appearances, and 5 AFCCG appearances to go along with a 16-0 regular season and a combined regular season record of 86-26 (.768) all since 2001, and you're pulling the "last two losses" complaint out of your pocket. You don't need to say anything more: Whining about the losses given a 7 year run like that says it all.

You must be a follower of Bill Simmons' "5-year rule" in which a fan can't complain about his team until 5 years after they last won a championship. Newsflash- each season stands on its own. If the Pats meltdown like they have the last 3 postseasons, it really sucks. And now they are starting to meltdown in epic fashion. Yeah, I know, they can't win it every year but I haven't seen a team suffer collapses like they have in consecutive seasons.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

You must be a follower of Bill Simmons' "5-year rule" in which a fan can't complain about his team until 5 years after they last won a championship. Newsflash- each season stands on its own. If the Pats meltdown like they have the last 3 postseasons, it really sucks. And now they are starting to meltdown in epic fashion. Yeah, I know, they can't win it every year but I haven't seen a team suffer collapses like they have in consecutive seasons.

That's because nobody else's team has had the opportunity to...

Those of you who rail against the characterization the loudest are prime examples of how true it really is.

In the last 5 years there are only 8 teams from among the 32 that make up the entire league who have gotten to the Superbowl, and 3 of those were from NE. That is something to be proud of. Instead many here have become increasingly arrogant and entitled, and demanding that the status this team had vaulted them to as NFL fans be maintained, or else. Sticking with the Christmas pony analogy, they are like spoiled rich children whose parents had to scale back on Christmas presents because their portfolios took a hit and the graceless little pricks are now claiming their loser parents ruined Christmas. And speaking of Christmas, one of my favorite clips from the 3 games to glory series was the fan at the week 16 game at old Shaefer waving the sign that said "All I want for Christmas is a home playoff game"...

The hard part for the rest of us in dealing with these spoiled brat fans is, because we follow the same team, you can't root for the little jerks to get what they really deserve for the next decade of Christmases...but you can certainly understand why among those who root for other teams that is what so many are just dying to see unfold.

 

[Tunescribe]

That's because nobody else's team has had the opportunity to...

Those of you who rail against the characterization the loudest are prime examples of how true it really is.

In the last 5 years there are only 8 teams from among the 32 that make up the entire league who have gotten to the Superbowl, and 3 of those were from NE. That is something to be proud of. Instead many here have become increasingly arrogant and entitled, and demanding that the status this team had vaulted them to as NFL fans be maintained, or else. Sticking with the Christmas pony analogy, they are like spoiled rich children whose parents had to scale back on Christmas presents because their portfolios took a hit and the graceless little pricks are now claiming their loser parents ruined Christmas. And speaking of Christmas, one of my favorite clips from the 3 games to glory series was the fan at the week 16 game at old Shaefer waving the sign that said "All I want for Christmas is a home playoff game"...

The hard part for the rest of us in dealing with these spoiled brat fans is, because we follow the same team, you can't root for the little jerks to get what they really deserve for the next decade of Christmases...but you can certainly understand why among those who root for other teams that is what so many are just dying to see unfold.

Agreed. Besides, I anticipate there will be plenty of LEGITIMATE opportunity for complaining after BB and Brady are gone.

 

[Deus Irae]

You must be a follower of Bill Simmons' "5-year rule" in which a fan can't complain about his team until 5 years after they last won a championship. Newsflash- each season stands on its own. If the Pats meltdown like they have the last 3 postseasons, it really sucks. And now they are starting to meltdown in epic fashion. Yeah, I know, they can't win it every year but I haven't seen a team suffer collapses like they have in consecutive seasons.

Kindly list all the many NFL teams that have made the playoffs in all of the past 3 seasons. Also, if you could just list all the other teams that have gone 16-0 during the regular season during that span, that would really go a long way towards making your point.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

3 Super Bowl victories, 4 Super Bowl appearances, and 5 AFCCG appearances to go along with a 16-0 regular season and a combined regular season record of 86-26 (.768) all since 2001, and you're pulling the "last two losses" complaint out of your pocket. You don't need to say anything more: Whining about the losses given a 7 year run like that says it all.

Part of the definition of being "spoiled" is not realizing that one is spoiled, so your argument is a waste of breath and blogging. People who whine because of those losses don't really appreciate what it takes to get to a Conference Championship Game or the Super Bowl (this doesn't mean that the losses still don't hurt--and hurt a lot--but we have to be able to put them in some perspective).

There are many great players who have never competed in a Conference Championship Game or a Super Bowl, let alone gotten to nine of them in seven seasons. There are fans of great NFL franchises who stick by their team decade in and decade out--like the Philadelphia Eagles--who haven't seen their team win a title in 48 years and have made only two trips to the SuperBowl in the intervening nearly half century. The Jests--whom I love to mock and deride because of their current leadership and their truly obnoxious fans--are still an important NFL franchise which hasn't even been to an SB since 1969. The Bears (may a curse be forever upon their house!) and Chiefs have only been to two SuperBowls and won just one apiece.

So, unless people "get" what it means to accomplish what the Patriots have accomplished in the last seven seasons, they are probably never going to get it now.

 

[Sivy]

I think Pats fans have paid their dues having to endure the past season witht he unrelentless media criticism. not to mention the pats historically will be known as a disappointing season being undefeated to lose the SB

untill they become known as the team that went undefeated, lost in the superbowl, then the next season went udefeated and one the superbowl.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

You must be a follower of Bill Simmons' "5-year rule" in which a fan can't complain about his team until 5 years after they last won a championship. Newsflash- each season stands on its own. If the Pats meltdown like they have the last 3 postseasons, it really sucks. And now they are starting to meltdown in epic fashion. Yeah, I know, they can't win it every year but I haven't seen a team suffer collapses like they have in consecutive seasons.

there's a difference between taking a loss hard and attacking your team in whining tones for weeks on end. Calling the loss to the Giants a "meltdown in epic fashion" is just absurd.

This year, the Pats gave up a TD in the final two minutes to a team that got a little lucky (the guy caught the ball on his freaking head!) and wanted it just a little more than they did (Eli willed his way out of that sack and threw up a Hail Mary). Blowing a 17 point lead in the final four minutes of that game would have qualified as an epic meltdown, giving up one TD under those circumstances doesn't even come close.

Last year, they just plain ran out of gas after building a good lead, when the impact of the flu and a lopsided offense couldn't overcome what we all hate to admit was the play of a HOF QB and his Receiver(s).

 

[richpats]

In the last 5 years there are only 8 teams from among the 32 that make up the entire league who have gotten to the Superbowl, and 3 of those were from NE. That is something to be proud of. Instead many here have become increasingly arrogant and entitled, and demanding that the status this team had vaulted them to as NFL fans be maintained, or else. Sticking with the Christmas pony analogy, they are like spoiled rich children whose parents had to scale back on Christmas presents because their portfolios took a hit and the graceless little pricks are now claiming their loser parents ruined Christmas. And speaking of Christmas, one of my favorite clips from the 3 games to glory series was the fan at the week 16 game at old Shaefer waving the sign that said "All I want for Christmas is a home playoff game"...

One could say that anyone who rationalizes a loss by pointing at past success is indeed spoiled themselves.

Sorry, I don't look at blowing an 18-point lead with the "we beat them twice before in the playoffs so it was our time to lose" mentality. I'm more concerned about what the team needs to do to improve and I'm sure Belichick thinks the same way.

I'm realistic with my expectations for this team. Going into the SD playoff game in '06, the last thing I expected was a victory. They managed to pull that one out, and for the '06 AFC title game I thought we had an even chance. But with a 21-3 lead, the expectations are naturally raised.

After that loss, I said to myself, "maybe the Pats won't get another title with Brady/Belichick". Ok, then they go 18-0 into the Super Bowl. Again, expectations raised, simply based upon exceeding the original expectations.

Put simply, the Pats over the last 2 seasons have been a team great enough to almost do the impossible (i.e. win it all with Caldwell as #1 WR, or go 19-0). As great as that has been, the main goal has not been achieved.

 

[Deus Irae]

One could say that anyone who rationalizes a loss by pointing at past success is indeed spoiled themselves.

Only if one is ignorant of the definition of spoiled.

 

[richpats]

Only if one is ignorant of the definition of spoiled.

If you let past history of achieving a goal rationalize the failure of achieving that goal again, then that is being spoiled. If the Pats had no Lombardi's of their own, would blowing an 18-point lead or a perfect season be harder to digest? Absolutely.

My mindset is different from some others - they see the "Brady/Belichick era". I see the (insert season) Patriots. I look at all of these teams differently. Brady and Belichick even say that each season the Patriots have a different identity.