PATS16N0
Experienced Starter w/First Big Contract
- Joined
- Jan 19, 2012
- Messages
- 6,073
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I wish as fans (supporters) of the New England Patriots we had a `Patriot Way` - a culture of appreciation and loyalty. I believe for some of us we have this but we are, unfortunately, a silent majority (or perhaps minority, I don't know). I'm from Massachusetts, born and raised, and I know exactly where the hostility towards Patriot players comes when we lose. It doesn't come from Patriot fans aka Football first fans - it comes from Boston sports fans.
It's a mentality I really just despise...
After every loss these people are quick to pack the phone lines of local sports radio, eager to spit their venom at the heart and soul of our beloved football team - Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. They did it after an 18-1 season that was for the most part nothing short of magical. They did it after the Ravens loss when Brady was still rehabilitating an injury. They did it last year after the Patriots went 14-2 with a team largely in a state of rebuilding. They did it after the Giants loss in the regular season. They're doing it now.
I wish they would save their venom for the Boston Garden and Fenway Park. If they want to treat their own sports teams heartlessly after a heart breaking loss they should do it there. The Patriots aren't a Boston team, they're a Foxboro team. It deserves a Foxboro approach and mentality, not a Boston one.
Those of us whose love of sports begins and ends with football season are sick of hearing it.
Tom Brady and Bill Belichick are the heart and soul of the New England Patriots - of New England football. It is through them and only through them that all of us can say as sports fans with a certain pride that we have a very special football team. They have given us more magical moments in ten years than most football organizations get in their entire existence. It is through them that we, as Patriot fans, know we are always in the hunt. It is through them that we can say during any game, no matter how much we may be down, that we are not out of the game and it is through them that we can say it with confidence.
Their victories are our victories and therefore we should accept their defeats as our own, too - not accept victory and eagerly throw them all under the bus or call for all of their heads when we lose. They should have our support in either outcome. I think they've earned it.
I normally hate the Colts but this year I have to appreciate their fans. I envy them, even. They have loyalty. They have Peyton Manning and through a sincere sense of loyalty and appreciation they want to stick with him for what he has done for Indy football rather than throw him aside like yesterday's garbage for a hyped rookie praised as the next big thing.
I hope in 5 years we can say the same for ourselves.
When we're deep into the fourth quarter and down by 10 points, Tom Brady and Bill Belichick make us believe.
There is nothing more you can ask out of a coach and a quarterback. That is the greatest aspect of our Patriots and it is one that is not replaceable - it's something I wouldn't trade for one or even two grinded out Superbowl wins with any other pair. That's the beauty of having the New England Patriots and being a Patriot fan - an ever present reason to believe.
We may not always get the outcome we want every football season, but what the Patriots give us better than any other is the journey to that outcome, whatever it may be. Whether we are with friends and family watching the birth of a new Dynasty on television or driving through a snow storm listening to Gil Santos in an excited state of absolute awe as Brady wraps a 6th touchdown pass around the throat of our rivals, the Patriots, Brady and Belichick, give us a journey through the football season better than any other.
Tom Brady and Bill Belichick are not immortal. These years are not going to last forever. We should be enjoying and appreciating the time we have with them, not throwing them to wolves and hyenas every time they come up short.
Football fans all around the nation wish they had a football organization like our own. It would be great if football organizations all around the nation could look to New England and say "I wish we had fans like them."
It's a mentality I really just despise...
After every loss these people are quick to pack the phone lines of local sports radio, eager to spit their venom at the heart and soul of our beloved football team - Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. They did it after an 18-1 season that was for the most part nothing short of magical. They did it after the Ravens loss when Brady was still rehabilitating an injury. They did it last year after the Patriots went 14-2 with a team largely in a state of rebuilding. They did it after the Giants loss in the regular season. They're doing it now.
I wish they would save their venom for the Boston Garden and Fenway Park. If they want to treat their own sports teams heartlessly after a heart breaking loss they should do it there. The Patriots aren't a Boston team, they're a Foxboro team. It deserves a Foxboro approach and mentality, not a Boston one.
Those of us whose love of sports begins and ends with football season are sick of hearing it.
Tom Brady and Bill Belichick are the heart and soul of the New England Patriots - of New England football. It is through them and only through them that all of us can say as sports fans with a certain pride that we have a very special football team. They have given us more magical moments in ten years than most football organizations get in their entire existence. It is through them that we, as Patriot fans, know we are always in the hunt. It is through them that we can say during any game, no matter how much we may be down, that we are not out of the game and it is through them that we can say it with confidence.
Their victories are our victories and therefore we should accept their defeats as our own, too - not accept victory and eagerly throw them all under the bus or call for all of their heads when we lose. They should have our support in either outcome. I think they've earned it.
I normally hate the Colts but this year I have to appreciate their fans. I envy them, even. They have loyalty. They have Peyton Manning and through a sincere sense of loyalty and appreciation they want to stick with him for what he has done for Indy football rather than throw him aside like yesterday's garbage for a hyped rookie praised as the next big thing.
I hope in 5 years we can say the same for ourselves.
When we're deep into the fourth quarter and down by 10 points, Tom Brady and Bill Belichick make us believe.
There is nothing more you can ask out of a coach and a quarterback. That is the greatest aspect of our Patriots and it is one that is not replaceable - it's something I wouldn't trade for one or even two grinded out Superbowl wins with any other pair. That's the beauty of having the New England Patriots and being a Patriot fan - an ever present reason to believe.
We may not always get the outcome we want every football season, but what the Patriots give us better than any other is the journey to that outcome, whatever it may be. Whether we are with friends and family watching the birth of a new Dynasty on television or driving through a snow storm listening to Gil Santos in an excited state of absolute awe as Brady wraps a 6th touchdown pass around the throat of our rivals, the Patriots, Brady and Belichick, give us a journey through the football season better than any other.
Tom Brady and Bill Belichick are not immortal. These years are not going to last forever. We should be enjoying and appreciating the time we have with them, not throwing them to wolves and hyenas every time they come up short.
Football fans all around the nation wish they had a football organization like our own. It would be great if football organizations all around the nation could look to New England and say "I wish we had fans like them."
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