Time to address that age old question again

Rob0729 · Jan 11, 2015

Ok, with the Pats going to their 9th AFC Championship in the Brady/Belichick era and their fourth in a row, I think we should address that debate of would you rather be the Giants or the Pats? In other words would you rather be a team that is vastly inconsistent from year to year and won two Super Bowls in the last decade or a perennial Super Bowl contender, but hasn't won in a decade.

The simple easy answer would be take the Super Bowls, but I don't know if it is that simple. Sure the Giants won the Super Bowl three years ago, but haven't played a meaningful game in January since. In fact, they haven't played a meaningful game in December in the last two years. Do you sacrifice years of having a team to root for that are out of playoff contention in early December for a number of years or do you want a team that is playing meaningful football in January year after year.

I think if I am a Jets fan, I take the Super Bowl and even if it means the team will be sub .500 for the next ten years, but as a Pats' fan, I don't think it is that simple. I think I might rather have the fact the Pats are in the hunt for the Super Bowl year after year.

At some point, this run is going to end and we are going to remember what it was like to know your team is out of playoff contention by Thanksgiving. Some of the younger fans may not even know what that feels like. I will tell them it is pretty crappy. Hopefully, they won't have to experience it in a long time.

Sure I want to the Super Bowl win. Who doesn't? But I think we all take it for granted that year in and year out that this team is playing football in mid to late January. For those who want to trade the Super Bowl ring for years of mediocre teams and missing the playoffs, I think they may regret this thinking after the short term euphoria of winning the Super Bowl wears off and they would have have to suffer through years of bad Patriots football.

I bet many Giants' fans wished their team was like the Pats competing for a Super Bowl right now.

letekro · Jan 11, 2015

Take the super bowls.

PATS16N0 · Jan 11, 2015

Nope. Wouldn't trade what we have for anything.

The Giants are more known for upsetting the Patriots in the Superbowls with flukey plays than actually winning the Superbowls themselves. What does that tell you?

An era built on three Lombardis can come up short and still reign.

Ivan · Jan 11, 2015

My mistake, I just assumed this was the the " How come they didn't play Jimmy Garrapolo " thread.

You did say Old age, right?

Rob0729 · Jan 11, 2015

letekro said:
Take the super bowls.

Tell me if you feel the same way if the Pats win the Super Bowl this year and then go 9-7, 7-9, and 6-10 (missing the playoffs) the next three years like the Giants have. I don't think it is that simple.

Uncle Rico · Jan 11, 2015

I definitely would rather not be the Giants this year.

Brady6 · Jan 11, 2015

Rob0729 said:
Ok, with the Pats going to their 9th AFC Championship in the Brady/Belichick era and their fourth in a row, I think we should address that debate of would you rather be the Giants or the Pats? In other words would you rather be a team that is vastly inconsistent from year to year and won two Super Bowls in the last decade or a perennial Super Bowl contender, but hasn't won in a decade.

The simple easy answer would be take the Super Bowls, but I don't know if it is that simple. Sure the Giants won the Super Bowl three years ago, but haven't played a meaningful game in January since. In fact, they haven't played a meaningful game in December in the last two years. Do you sacrifice years of having a team to root for that are out of playoff contention in early December for a number of years or do you want a team that is playing meaningful football in January year after year.

I think if I am a Jets fan, I take the Super Bowl and even if it means the team will be sub .500 for the next ten years, but as a Pats' fan, I don't think it is that simple. I think I might rather have the fact the Pats are in the hunt for the Super Bowl year after year.

At some point, this run is going to end and we are going to remember what it was like to know your team is out of playoff contention by Thanksgiving. Some of the younger fans may not even know what that feels like. I will tell them it is pretty crappy. Hopefully, they won't have to experience it in a long time.

Sure I want to the Super Bowl win. Who doesn't? But I think we all take it for granted that year in and year out that this team is playing football in mid to late January. For those who want to trade the Super Bowl ring for years of mediocre teams and missing the playoffs, I think they may regret this thinking after the short term euphoria of winning the Super Bowl wears off and they would have have to suffer through years of bad Patriots football.

I bet many Giants' fans wished their team was like the Pats competing for a Super Bowl right now.

I would not trade the last 14 years with any team in the NFL. We as fans have experienced things no other fan base has even come close to experiencing. Sure, some of those experiences have been bad but if you wish for rain, you have to deal with the mud too.

Kdo5 · Jan 11, 2015

PATS16N0 said:
Nope. Wouldn't trade what we have for anything.

The Giants are more known for upsetting the Patriots in the Superbowls with flukey plays than actually winning the Superbowls themselves. What does that tell you?

An era built on three Lombardis can come up short and still reign.

100% agreed. The Giants won two Super Bowls (luckily) against superior teams. Otherwise they have been anywhere from bad to above average. The Patriots have had a long period of consistent success and strong contenders almost every year. Wouldn't trade it for anything.

This will go down as the greatest era in Pats history. Blessed to have watched it all go down.

RobertWeathers · Jan 11, 2015

Rob0729 said:
Ok, with the Pats going to their 9th AFC Championship in the Brady/Belichick era and their fourth in a row, I think we should address that debate of would you rather be the Giants or the Pats? In other words would you rather be a team that is vastly inconsistent from year to year and won two Super Bowls in the last decade or a perennial Super Bowl contender, but hasn't won in a decade.

The simple easy answer would be take the Super Bowls, but I don't know if it is that simple. Sure the Giants won the Super Bowl three years ago, but haven't played a meaningful game in January since. In fact, they haven't played a meaningful game in December in the last two years. Do you sacrifice years of having a team to root for that are out of playoff contention in early December for a number of years or do you want a team that is playing meaningful football in January year after year.

I think if I am a Jets fan, I take the Super Bowl and even if it means the team will be sub .500 for the next ten years, but as a Pats' fan, I don't think it is that simple. I think I might rather have the fact the Pats are in the hunt for the Super Bowl year after year.

At some point, this run is going to end and we are going to remember what it was like to know your team is out of playoff contention by Thanksgiving. Some of the younger fans may not even know what that feels like. I will tell them it is pretty crappy. Hopefully, they won't have to experience it in a long time.

Sure I want to the Super Bowl win. Who doesn't? But I think we all take it for granted that year in and year out that this team is playing football in mid to late January. For those who want to trade the Super Bowl ring for years of mediocre teams and missing the playoffs, I think they may regret this thinking after the short term euphoria of winning the Super Bowl wears off and they would have have to suffer through years of bad Patriots football.

I bet many Giants' fans wished their team was like the Pats competing for a Super Bowl right now.

Its a really good question, Rob. I'll give it a shot.

I'm in my mid-40s and vividly remember the '85 run, the downward slide to NFL irrelevance, Tuna and '96 team, the Carroll-era slide to mediocrity. Prior to BB era, as a Pats fan I was content with making the playoffs and the occasional SB. I remember telling a buddy of mine that if the Pats finished 2001 9-7, I would have been happy with that as it showed progress. That's how low my expectations were.

I would describe myself as a level-headed fan. Not too high. Not too low. I'll pace in front of the TV (like last night) and after a crushing loss I'll slip into my personal routine and move on with life.

I can handle the 18-1 seasons or losing 46-10 in the Super Bowl. The crash is hard, but I wouldn't trade it for a second. What a ride.

I also believe that to win Super Bowls, stars and planets need to line up. What this franchise accomplished in 01-04 I appreciate more and more as each year goes by. It really, really, hard to win a SB let alone 3 in 4 years. What I also believe that some teams just catch lightning in a bottle. You can be 9-7 and win the SB. You can be 13-3 and win. The most important thing is to have a chance and be entertained along the way.

Dealing with hopelessness (see 1989 to 1992) is worse than SB 42 IMO.

I'll ask myself this question...If someone said to me the Pats are guaranteed to win the SB in 2018 but you need to go 3-13 in 2015, 2016, 2017 to accomplish that OR continue down the same path as the last 10 years and always have a chance, I'll take the chance every time. Better to have loved and lost it rather than to have never loved at all.

pwes · Jan 11, 2015

Its not like our Superbowls were 40 years ago. Our last one was just 10. There is no way in hell I would want this team to be like (current) the Giants.

I'm young enough that I really haven't had to deal with the losing side of football. But I am aware that eventually that is going to be a very real possibility. And I don't take anything this team does for granted. When that time comes I'll deal with it but for now even making the playoffs is a huge accomplishment let alone the 4th AFCCG in a row.

Dagg · Jan 11, 2015

I'll take one week of anger over a crushing defeat in afc championship or sb vs being angry ever other week and all off season cause we sucked and we're 6-10.

jmt57 · Jan 11, 2015

Take the Giants and Patriots out of the equation in an attempt to remove some bias.

Would you rather be a fan of a team that is usually contending, and therefore giving yourself some realistic hope for the upcoming season - or a fan of a team with one championship, followed by a long run of not being a contender?

For the former, consider the Broncos (assume for this exercise you are too young to remember the '97-'98 SB teams), or perhaps the Chargers (especially for the Schotty/Norv era teams from '04-'09).

Now contrast that to Tampa Bay, who won it all in 2002 but are 0-2 in the playoffs since then, haven't made the post-season since 2007, and were bad enough this past season to get the number one overall pick in the draft.

pwes · Jan 11, 2015

Watching your team lose 12 games has to be infinitely more agonizing than watching them lose in the conference championship game. IDK how this is even a question.

PATSNUTme · Jan 11, 2015

I thought this was a thread asking if we would have done better with Adam Seward.

But to answer the "age old" question. I would not give up this great run that we have had for anything. Been a Patriots fan since I got home from the Army in 1970, and do remember all those awful years when I was being mocked for being a Patriots by Giants fans.

northernpatriot · Jan 11, 2015

Easy answer. Right now Id rather be the Pats. In 10+ years, Id rather be the Giants. No contest.

However, if this year ends on a high note, all bets are off

Rob0729 · Jan 11, 2015

pwes said:
Watching your team lose 12 games has to be infinitely more agonizing than watching them lose in the conference championship game. IDK how this is even a question.

It is a popular sports talk show type of question. It all depends on which sports show you listen to on how the conversation goes. . Felger and Mazz would pick the Giants and Gresh and Zo would pick the Pats for example.

Personally (since I never really answered my own original question), I want to be playing for something in January and possibly February every year. I have watched the Pats win three Super Bowls (one in person). I would rather get long term satisfaction rather than one hit of euphoria.

Ring 6 · Jan 11, 2015

Put it another way
Would you rather have won the SB in both 07 and 11 and not have made the playoffs instead of loafing in them in 09 10 12 13
No brainier to me. It's all about the rings.
What we do this year could change the equation.

Ring 6 · Jan 11, 2015

Brady6 said:
I would not trade the last 14 years with any team in the NFL. We as fans have experienced things no other fan base has even come close to experiencing. Sure, some of those experiences have been bad but if you wish for rain, you have to deal with the mud too.

It's not the last 14 it's the last 7

BlueThunder · Jan 11, 2015

I have to go with winning the 3 Lombardi's and being in the hunt and playing in Jan/Feb over the past decade + . HANDS DOWN - NO CONTEST

Watching a HOF Coach and QB guide a team thru the season and into the playoffs is something I'll remember til the day I die . I've sat thru those years of waiting to see if the Patriot's game would be televised or blacked out because not enough tickets were sold. Waiting for the last 1500 or 2000 tickets to be bought by some company so the game could be aired on tv instead of listening to the broadcast on the radio.

Enjoy the ride for those who didn't live thru the drought years of the 60's and 70's and even the 80's to an extent.

This kind of football doesn't happen but once in a lifetime.

RelocatedPatFan · Jan 11, 2015

Question is irrelevant to me.

The Patriots have been and always will be my team. Through the bad times and the good.

Time to address that age old question again

PatsFans.com Supporter

Experienced Starter w/First Big Contract

Experienced Starter w/First Big Contract

Hall of Fame Poster

PatsFans.com Supporter

Pro Bowl Player

Pro Bowl Player

Pro Bowl Player

Member of the Seattle 7 & Roadie for Metallica

Experienced Starter w/First Big Contract

Rotational Player and Threatening Starter's Job

Moderator

Experienced Starter w/First Big Contract

Paranoid Homer ex-moderator

On the Roster

PatsFans.com Supporter

PatsFans.com Supporter

PatsFans.com Supporter

PatsFans.com Supporter

Experienced Starter w/First Big Contract

Similar threads