How has "Spygate" affected you as a Patriots fan?

[ctpatsfan77]

Well said, I feel the same way. It's like you can't focus on the team and football because there's always this annoying "but" attached to everything they do. What's most disheartening for me is how inaccurate and unfair 90 percent of the criticism has been and that the Kraft public relations staff hasn't done much to address it.

To be fair to Kraft, any attempt to go on the offensive would almost certainly just be adding fuel to the fire.

I chose "Us against the world"--whereas before, I just wanted the Pats to win, now I want to see them utterly annihilate any team they play; I found the Redskins game particularly satisfying in that respect.

 

[Disco Volante]

It pisses me off royally and I wish Kraft would fight back.

+

I'm a stronger fan than ever, it's us against the world.

 

[fgssand]

Just wondering how this "spygate" nonsense has affected folks here. I'm personally weary of all the negativity continually heaped on the team because of this crap and wish it would just go away. I have a friend, however, who has been so turned off by it that he isn't even following the team this offseason. What do you think?

Great poll there Tune.....

I want this all to be put into the proper perspective (we broke a rule - but all teams gather scouting information AKA steal signals, many just as we did).

I want the money followed (Comcast v NFL Network).

I want Spector outed as Comcast's puppet Steagle fan.

I want TomASSe to apologize.

 

[Zeke_Mowatt]

To be fair to Kraft, any attempt to go on the offensive would almost certainly just be adding fuel to the fire.

I chose "Us against the world"--whereas before, I just wanted the Pats to win, now I want to see them utterly annihilate any team they play; I found the Redskins game particularly satisfying in that respect.

I agree 100%...the superbowl bummed me out most because of the f-u factor for the rest of the league and even more so the other teams fans. I love 'em win or lose, but the STFU factor of those annihilations after the "spying" stopped was priceless. I was at the game in Buffalo when we went to town and "ran it up" and I loved every vindictive minute of it. I only hope we rub it in more this year and shut them down harder on D. At this point, the morons are going to hate us anyway, might as well give them a great reason to hate us (beating the pi$$ out of them every game) rather than a stupid reason to hate us!

 

[HSanders]

I voted for No. 2, not because it has really changed my opinion of the Pats - I still love them dearly and will follow them with as much passion as ever. However, I was disappointed in BB that he would put the Pats in this position, and I am disgusted with the way this has stayed front & center for almost a year now. Following pro football is a means of escape and enjoyment for me. The heavy-handed mishandling of things by Roger Goodell, plus the gleeful piling on and on and on and on... by the media has really been a downer for me. It has, as the poll says, seriously affected my enjoyment of the Pats (much more so than the SB loss, which I got over after a few months). I wish it would all just go away, but it seems it never will as long as BB is associated with the Pats. That is a shame, for the fans, the players and the organization.

Well said, I feel the same way. It's like you can't focus on the team and football because there's always this annoying "but" attached to everything they do. What's most disheartening for me is how inaccurate and unfair 90 percent of the criticism has been and that the Kraft public relations staff hasn't done much to address it.

I agree almost 100% with these two posters (I don't agree about the SB, I am still not "over" it and probably never will be).
I admit when it first came out and there wasn't any perspective except the evil cheating aspect and no word yet from other coaches talking about what all has been going on for awile for competitive advantage, I was shocked and a bit numb. But as more info came out, I realized how silly it would be to think that they actually could have "cheated" their way to SB wins with what they did. That's what upset me, the thought that the team I loved might not have stood for what I thought it did and might have come by its championships dishonestly.
But I am NOT saying that they shouldn't have been punished in some way, they were found to have subverted a rule, so I can't complain that they were punished per se. The amount of the punishment had to be extra harsh I guess to serve as a deterrent.

 

[Sean Pa Patriot]

It ticks me off, because the drive by media is arse wholes... and they just want to pounce on the pats..

 

[jmt57]

To me it has done a few things. It has caused me to take off the "homer" glasses and look at things as a football fan rather than a Patriot fan. It made me look deeper in to an issue that I normally would not have. If I was Seahawks fan or a Saints fan, I would have checked out espn or si and my team's web site, but doubtfully have gone any further.

What I have discovered, by doing just that, has been very disturbing and frustrating to me. The amount of mis-information and slanted news stories is appalling. It is laughable how the same story can create two polar opposite headlines depending on what source is reporting that news.

While the rest of the world takes the bait and moans about the decline of western civilization due this transgression, we the public have been duped. Reporters portray themselves as Woodward and Bernstein, and their employers attempt to come across as bastions of truth with no interest in profits but are solely interested in truth, justice, and the american way.

What is actually going in is anything but that. While I expect slanted political news stories in a two-newspaper town, or when I compare msnbc to fox, that is okay. With sports, I had come to expect espn to have journalistic integrity. Sports fans were going to tune in regardless of what was or what was not going on. But spygate seemed to become the equivalent to crack cocaine to them - and their listeners. After one taste they wanted more and could never get enough.

If there was no story, repeat an old one. Make it breaking news even if somebody else in the next cubicle had reported it three months ago. Deliver rumors with a stern face and solemn voice as though they were facts. And be sure to make this look as if it was the biggest story of the century at all times. In case enough were not interested, tug at your viewers heart strings by intimating that your favorite team may have been cheated out of a championship. And if that doesn't work, repeat the same story 1400 times with slightly different words from any one of your 142 reporters.

In other words - just like politics and big business - it's all about the money. It's not who wins or loses, but who has the highest ratings. Spygate is big ratings, and the fact that turning a story into profits rather than reporting on the product of NFL football has jaded and discouraged me deeply.

 

[loosebearing]

Sports needs GOOD vs EVIL The DOMINANT vs The WEAK

The last time a Boston sports team was in this position was the Celtics of Russell.

BEFORE spygate - the media and other teams were pissed that the Patriots "stole" Randy Moss. Their anger was outright or masked partly by hoping he would disrupt the team.

Spygate just completed the Mossgate.

My opinion: JUST BLOW THEM ALL OUT BABY. Everyone already hates the Pats so they might as well run up the score all season long instead of worrying about how much they should win by.

The Evil Empire - I like the arrogance of it.

 

[rabthepat]

As an isolated issue I could live with it. Circle the wagons and take on the world.

But when you add up "AFCC Loss to Indy" + "Spy Gate" + "SB 42 Debacle" + "Poor Handling of Spy Gate" = Diminished Bill Belichick in my eyes.

IMHO, "Spy Gate" will last as long as Bill is the coach of the Pats. It's like when you think of Richard Nixon what comes to mind? Watergate!!

 

[loosebearing]

As an isolated issue I could live with it. Circle the wagons and take on the world.

But when you add up "AFCC Loss to Indy" + "Spy Gate" + "SB 42 Debacle" + "Poor Handling of Spy Gate" = Diminished Bill Belichick in my eyes.

IMHO, "Spy Gate" will last as long as Bill is the coach of the Pats. It's like when you think of Richard Nixon what comes to mind? Watergate!!

Mr Negative

you forgot the playoff loss to Denver

13 - 3 any idea of what that represents? Playoff record since 2001. What a horrible coach.

Nixon will always be remembered for Watergate because that was his Waterloo. (his farewell)

Belichick can still create and write history.

 

[SpiderFox53]

None of the choices fit what this has done to me.

It hasn't affected my love for all things Patriots, but it has seriously affected the way I watch TV. I haven't touched a four letter word channel since late last year and I probably never will again. I always thought most of the talking heads basically had no clue as to what they were talking about. Then all this happened and left no doubt.

 

[DarrylS]

This has only strengthened my resolve as a pats fan... there is about 3 years of bulletin board material, and now it is us against the rest of the NFL.. I hope we demolish the Colts and all of their sanctimonious fans...

 

[wistahpatsfan]

The only real affect could have came about if Walsh actually had any real evidence about the so-called Rams walk-through.

Other than that, I didn't care since people refused to undertstand the rule and believe Goodell's comment's on the matter.

Only problem that I do have is the punishment for the infraction.

Looking forward to a new season but a different outcome!

It pisses me off big-time. The media has made a mountain out of a molehill and made themselves the story sometimes - especially that POS Peter King and Collinsworth who really gave this a huge push in the beginning. Without ESPN, this was a non-story and Walsh would have been doing weddings and flea markets.

Kraft should have gone out in front and squashed this, but I think even he had no idea what a fiasco this was going to be.

This is nothing compared to how pissed-off I was after the Giants ran through the O-line in the Super Bowl. I couldn't go near TV or radio for a month. Pats really need to take care of business this year. I wouldn't want to play them.

 

[fair catch fryar]

It has made me realize how pathetic and ignorant other parts of the country are, but it would take a whole lot more to effect my fan loyalty to the New England Patriots. In fact, while I enjoy being a fan of one of the most successful franchises in NFL history, part of me yearns for the days when people like myself, could afford going to a couple games a year and enjoy the company of die-hards like many on this board tend to be. Alas, I do prefer winning and being able to laugh at the likes of Jets and Dolphin fans.

 

[italian pat patriot]

It pisses me off royally and I wish Kraft would fight back.

+

I'm a stronger fan than ever, it's us against the world.

this is my feeling too

 

[PatriotsReign]

I would bet a serious amount of money that 6 out of the 7 who voted that "spygate has seriously affacted their ability to watch the Pats" are opposing fan trolls. It just wouldn't make any sense for a Patriots fan to feel that way.

 

[Tunescribe]

I would bet a serious amount of money that 6 out of the 7 who voted that "spygate has seriously affacted their ability to watch the Pats" are opposing fan trolls. It just wouldn't make any sense for a Patriots fan to feel that way.

I can understand it, because at times (very briefly) I've felt that way myself. It's not affected ability to watch the Pats as much as enjoying what should be a pleasurable pastime, but instead is dogged by controversy and negativity coming from all sides. I've found myself forced to divert my attention to wading through and warding off the crap just so I can enjoy the football aspect of this team. The mental effort that goes into defending the Patriots against all the hatred and unfairness can be cumbersome and frustrating when all you really want to do is enjoy some football.

 

[PatriotsReign]

I can understand it, because at times (very briefly) I've felt that way myself. It's not affected ability to watch the Pats as much as enjoying what should be a pleasurable pastime, but instead is dogged by controversy and negativity coming from all sides. I've found myself forced to divert my attention to wading through and warding off the crap just so I can enjoy the football aspect of this team. The mental effort that goes into defending the Patriots against all the hatred and unfairness can be cumbersome and frustrating when all you really want to do is enjoy some football.

YES...that's why I voted "It's become a nuisance"

It doesn't affect the act of actually WATCHING a game, it's the Patriot "experience" that has been difficult to enjoy.

Although I must admit, it has also made my loyalty stronger.

 

[Keegs]

I used to think 80% of the people on this planet are morons.

Now i think 99% are morons.

 

[PatriotsReign]

I used to think 80% of the people on this planet are morons.

Now i think 99% are morons.

Ah, c'mon Keegs...it's never that bad.

just remember, any day above ground is a good day.