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Ice_Ice_Brady

I heard 10,000 whispering and nobody listening
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My wife asked me yesterday if she should renew NFL Sunday Ticket. We've had it for six years here in California, and my Patriots games are my one real "guilty pleasure" since I've given up all other sports to be a provider and father. I told her to hold off, and I'm really, truly considering not doing it, or really, in any way watching the Patriots any more or even clicking on any NFL-based websites.

As much as I have enjoyed the pride that comes with being a Patriots fan, and I've certainly felt that during these last ten years filled with gut wrenching finishes that finally my catharsis had come with their championship, the Deflategate controversy is literally the most disgusting, nauseating thing I have ever seen. Commentors basically say that Goodell is bad, by oh well, Brady's reputation is ruined forever, too bad.

Why exactly did the NFL want me to be a fan again? To take pride in the accomplishments of the players I root for? To believe that I was actually rooting for something legitimate and real? And then, because of some political grudges and bad blood in the NFL office, they do everything they can to make me embarrassed to be a Patriots fan, dreading going to an annual road game with my wife and family, and ashamed to even talk about anything regarding the NFL to anyone who isn't a Patriots fan.

A wise man once said, better to let 10 guilty men walk free than to convict one innocent man. I feel that an entire fan base has taken the brunt of an alleged misdeed. I fully acknowledge, after watching the baseball scandals and basically every athlete lie when they are caught, that there is a possibility that Brady did something. That said, the steps taken by the league to ensure that the FANBASE, the paying customers of one of the largest and most successful franchises in the NFL, also gets treated fairly (since we are an extension of the team) has been the biggest example of a corporation ****ting on its own customers that I have ever seen. I have paid tens of thousands of dollars for the NFL and the Patriots over my lifetime, and the NFL is giving me the finger, basically mocking me as a fan, telling me that my enjoyment isn't worth a damn because they are going to destroy my favorite player (the same one who they've happily sold merchandise for and marketed for years) so that some a-holes in NY can avoid any type of scrutiny.

Football and the Patriots was supposed to be a relaxing past time. Roger Goodell doesn't give a **** if it now stresses me out or causes me more anxiety to follow the Patriots than to work the every day grind of life.

With every penny that I spend, for the Sunday Ticket or other purchases, a fraction of that purchase goes to Roger Goodell. A fraction goes to Ted Wells. To Mike Kensil. To Jeff Pash. To all of the scum bags in the league office who find it amusing that the "evil" Patriots are being brought down with their corrupt system.

I can't support that. It makes me nauseous. My stomach hurts thinking about it. I don't think I can remain a fan of the NFL, as much as I love the Patriots. How can you pay money to a group of corrupt suits who want nothing more than for you to be ashamed and embarrassed for buying into their product?
 
I dumped mine as soon as it became obvious that this wasn't going to get better. I'll renew when Goodell is out, not before.

Ps. When the guy asked me why, I told him. He was a Bronco's fan, and, get this, he laughed at me.

I told him to f*** off.
 
My wife asked me yesterday if she should renew NFL Sunday Ticket. We've had it for six years here in California, and my Patriots games are my one real "guilty pleasure" since I've given up all other sports to be a provider and father. I told her to hold off, and I'm really, truly considering not doing it, or really, in any way watching the Patriots any more or even clicking on any NFL-based websites.

As much as I have enjoyed the pride that comes with being a Patriots fan, and I've certainly felt that during these last ten years filled with gut wrenching finishes that finally my catharsis had come with their championship, the Deflategate controversy is literally the most disgusting, nauseating thing I have ever seen. Commentors basically say that Goodell is bad, by oh well, Brady's reputation is ruined forever, too bad.

Why exactly did the NFL want me to be a fan again? To take pride in the accomplishments of the players I root for? To believe that I was actually rooting for something legitimate and real? And then, because of some political grudges and bad blood in the NFL office, they do everything they can to make me embarrassed to be a Patriots fan, dreading going to an annual road game with my wife and family, and ashamed to even talk about anything regarding the NFL to anyone who isn't a Patriots fan.

A wise man once said, better to let 10 guilty men walk free than to convict one innocent man. I feel that an entire fan base has taken the brunt of an alleged misdeed. I fully acknowledge, after watching the baseball scandals and basically every athlete lie when they are caught, that there is a possibility that Brady did something. That said, the steps taken by the league to ensure that the FANBASE, the paying customers of one of the largest and most successful franchises in the NFL, also gets treated fairly (since we are an extension of the team) has been the biggest example of a corporation ****ting on its own customers that I have ever seen. I have paid tens of thousands of dollars for the NFL and the Patriots over my lifetime, and the NFL is giving me the finger, basically mocking me as a fan, telling me that my enjoyment isn't worth a damn because they are going to destroy my favorite player (the same one who they've happily sold merchandise for and marketed for years) so that some a-holes in NY can avoid any type of scrutiny.

Football and the Patriots was supposed to be a relaxing past time. Roger Goodell doesn't give a **** if it now stresses me out or causes me more anxiety to follow the Patriots than to work the every day grind of life.

With every penny that I spend, for the Sunday Ticket or other purchases, a fraction of that purchase goes to Roger Goodell. A fraction goes to Ted Wells. To Mike Kensil. To Jeff Pash. To all of the scum bags in the league office who find it amusing that the "evil" Patriots are being brought down with their corrupt system.

I can't support that. It makes me nauseous. My stomach hurts thinking about it. I don't think I can remain a fan of the NFL, as much as I love the Patriots. How can you pay money to a group of corrupt suits who want nothing more than for you to be ashamed and embarrassed for buying into their product?
Why deny yourself the enjoyment of the games as some type of punishment to the league?
You lose something important to you, and they don't even know that you did it.
 
I have decided not to give them any of my money this year. Fortunately for me, I can still watch the games since I live in Connecticut (I realize my viewership indirectly provides the NFL and the team with money). In the wake of Kraft's surrender back in May, I vowed not to attend any games at Gillette this year (I typically go to at least one and sometimes more).

So I sympathize with your predicament. For me, I wouldn't want to give up watching the team I love. The players and coaches didn't do anything wrong, and I will continue to support the team as best I can.
 
My wife asked me yesterday if she should renew NFL Sunday Ticket. We've had it for six years here in California, and my Patriots games are my one real "guilty pleasure" since I've given up all other sports to be a provider and father. I told her to hold off, and I'm really, truly considering not doing it, or really, in any way watching the Patriots any more or even clicking on any NFL-based websites.

As much as I have enjoyed the pride that comes with being a Patriots fan, and I've certainly felt that during these last ten years filled with gut wrenching finishes that finally my catharsis had come with their championship, the Deflategate controversy is literally the most disgusting, nauseating thing I have ever seen. Commentors basically say that Goodell is bad, by oh well, Brady's reputation is ruined forever, too bad.

Why exactly did the NFL want me to be a fan again? To take pride in the accomplishments of the players I root for? To believe that I was actually rooting for something legitimate and real? And then, because of some political grudges and bad blood in the NFL office, they do everything they can to make me embarrassed to be a Patriots fan, dreading going to an annual road game with my wife and family, and ashamed to even talk about anything regarding the NFL to anyone who isn't a Patriots fan.

A wise man once said, better to let 10 guilty men walk free than to convict one innocent man. I feel that an entire fan base has taken the brunt of an alleged misdeed. I fully acknowledge, after watching the baseball scandals and basically every athlete lie when they are caught, that there is a possibility that Brady did something. That said, the steps taken by the league to ensure that the FANBASE, the paying customers of one of the largest and most successful franchises in the NFL, also gets treated fairly (since we are an extension of the team) has been the biggest example of a corporation ****ting on its own customers that I have ever seen. I have paid tens of thousands of dollars for the NFL and the Patriots over my lifetime, and the NFL is giving me the finger, basically mocking me as a fan, telling me that my enjoyment isn't worth a damn because they are going to destroy my favorite player (the same one who they've happily sold merchandise for and marketed for years) so that some a-holes in NY can avoid any type of scrutiny.

Football and the Patriots was supposed to be a relaxing past time. Roger Goodell doesn't give a **** if it now stresses me out or causes me more anxiety to follow the Patriots than to work the every day grind of life.

With every penny that I spend, for the Sunday Ticket or other purchases, a fraction of that purchase goes to Roger Goodell. A fraction goes to Ted Wells. To Mike Kensil. To Jeff Pash. To all of the scum bags in the league office who find it amusing that the "evil" Patriots are being brought down with their corrupt system.

I can't support that. It makes me nauseous. My stomach hurts thinking about it. I don't think I can remain a fan of the NFL, as much as I love the Patriots. How can you pay money to a group of corrupt suits who want nothing more than for you to be ashamed and embarrassed for buying into their product?

I'm also in California. Cancelled Sunday Ticket, and when asked for a reason, simply said "Roger Goodell". I also scheduled a vacation that will require me to miss seeing Pats games for the first time since I think 2005. I'll probably still watch some games, but I won't pay money for the privilege.

I sympathize with where you're coming from, but as long as we keep giving the league our money, they won't care that they screwed us over. The only language they speak is money, and IMO it's worth it to hit them there even if it makes your Sundays less awesome.
 
One thing this whole thing made clear is that the majority of people associated with the NFL including fans, media, and league officials are either stupid or corrupt or both. I definitely don't want to be in that company anymore. The only thing that interests me now is what happens in court
 
My wife asked me yesterday if she should renew NFL Sunday Ticket. We've had it for six years here in California, and my Patriots games are my one real "guilty pleasure" since I've given up all other sports to be a provider and father. I told her to hold off, and I'm really, truly considering not doing it, or really, in any way watching the Patriots any more or even clicking on any NFL-based websites.

As much as I have enjoyed the pride that comes with being a Patriots fan, and I've certainly felt that during these last ten years filled with gut wrenching finishes that finally my catharsis had come with their championship, the Deflategate controversy is literally the most disgusting, nauseating thing I have ever seen. Commentors basically say that Goodell is bad, by oh well, Brady's reputation is ruined forever, too bad.

Why exactly did the NFL want me to be a fan again? To take pride in the accomplishments of the players I root for? To believe that I was actually rooting for something legitimate and real? And then, because of some political grudges and bad blood in the NFL office, they do everything they can to make me embarrassed to be a Patriots fan, dreading going to an annual road game with my wife and family, and ashamed to even talk about anything regarding the NFL to anyone who isn't a Patriots fan.

A wise man once said, better to let 10 guilty men walk free than to convict one innocent man. I feel that an entire fan base has taken the brunt of an alleged misdeed. I fully acknowledge, after watching the baseball scandals and basically every athlete lie when they are caught, that there is a possibility that Brady did something. That said, the steps taken by the league to ensure that the FANBASE, the paying customers of one of the largest and most successful franchises in the NFL, also gets treated fairly (since we are an extension of the team) has been the biggest example of a corporation ****ting on its own customers that I have ever seen. I have paid tens of thousands of dollars for the NFL and the Patriots over my lifetime, and the NFL is giving me the finger, basically mocking me as a fan, telling me that my enjoyment isn't worth a damn because they are going to destroy my favorite player (the same one who they've happily sold merchandise for and marketed for years) so that some a-holes in NY can avoid any type of scrutiny.

Football and the Patriots was supposed to be a relaxing past time. Roger Goodell doesn't give a **** if it now stresses me out or causes me more anxiety to follow the Patriots than to work the every day grind of life.

With every penny that I spend, for the Sunday Ticket or other purchases, a fraction of that purchase goes to Roger Goodell. A fraction goes to Ted Wells. To Mike Kensil. To Jeff Pash. To all of the scum bags in the league office who find it amusing that the "evil" Patriots are being brought down with their corrupt system.

I can't support that. It makes me nauseous. My stomach hurts thinking about it. I don't think I can remain a fan of the NFL, as much as I love the Patriots. How can you pay money to a group of corrupt suits who want nothing more than for you to be ashamed and embarrassed for buying into their product?

Ice I agree with everything you said it sad that it has come to this. I don't watch any other sports or Team except for the Patriots. I just say think about it and dont make any rash decisions you are in the heat of the moment now. Once the real season starts Goodhell like the ****roach he is will go away and be a distant memory...hang in there Ice.
 
The thing that sux is we are in it for football. To watch a fun game. Even with all the BS the game is still there and the game is still great but everything else is dangerously close to ruining it for me and obviously already has ruined it for many around here.

We all just need to ignore all the BS and enjoy football and enjoy that we have the best football team, have had it for over a decade, and it ain't going anywhere anytime soon.
 
I am turning my back on every NFL game until either a) all Patriots penalties (team and Brady) are fully revoked, or b) Goodell/Kensil are fired.

I cannot be part of a league that is inherently corrupt. I already bought my tickets for the Wembley games this coming season, but I'll be selling them on to friends.

I've had enough.
 
I watch the games for the players and coaching (not for the owner and not for the NFL). Sunday Ticket is a necessity in Texas if I want to watch the games, so I will pay for it.

Much like 2007, even if Brady gets suspended and the Pats lose draft picks I will watch to see if the other teams continue to lose to the Pats despite the 'handicaps'. If the Pats can still make the playoffs and do something, and I believe they can, then all the haters can return to irrational attempts to explain why this team can still whup theirs with one arm tied behind its back.

The easiest answer to Spygate was 16-0 and absolute demolition of opponents for much of that run. Spotting the opponents 4 games (even more amusing if the Pats still win without Brady) will salt the wounds of those calling the Pats 'Cheatriots' because they demonstrate they can win with a JV squad, and maybe show a little taste of the bleak future for opponents if Jimmy can play. I still intend to have fun watching whomever is on the field for the Pats.

Denying yourself that as a protest with insufficient impact to move the NFL will do little in the big picture. I expect a weakened Pats team will attract many from the other 31 fans bases who may have believed their team had no shot and would not otherwise have watched. That amounts to a significant net gain for the NFL in viewers, so the loss of a few Pats fans (or all of them) will not hurt the NFL.
 
I won't watch NFLN which I used to watch all the time. I'll miss a lot of the segments but screw them. Bought a new car and wouldn't consider Ford or Toyota as NFL sponsors, Gatorade replaced by Powerade etc. I have also boycotted Patriot sponsors such as Gillette. If Bob actually sticks to his guns this time around I could reverse that but until it's proven out they'll see no dollars of mine either. When the season comes I'll only watch games Tom Brady plays in.

The NFL can <insert profanity to body part here>
 
My wife asked me yesterday if she should renew NFL Sunday Ticket. We've had it for six years here in California, and my Patriots games are my one real "guilty pleasure" since I've given up all other sports to be a provider and father. I told her to hold off, and I'm really, truly considering not doing it, or really, in any way watching the Patriots any more or even clicking on any NFL-based websites.

As much as I have enjoyed the pride that comes with being a Patriots fan, and I've certainly felt that during these last ten years filled with gut wrenching finishes that finally my catharsis had come with their championship, the Deflategate controversy is literally the most disgusting, nauseating thing I have ever seen. Commentors basically say that Goodell is bad, by oh well, Brady's reputation is ruined forever, too bad.

Why exactly did the NFL want me to be a fan again? To take pride in the accomplishments of the players I root for? To believe that I was actually rooting for something legitimate and real? And then, because of some political grudges and bad blood in the NFL office, they do everything they can to make me embarrassed to be a Patriots fan, dreading going to an annual road game with my wife and family, and ashamed to even talk about anything regarding the NFL to anyone who isn't a Patriots fan.

A wise man once said, better to let 10 guilty men walk free than to convict one innocent man. I feel that an entire fan base has taken the brunt of an alleged misdeed. I fully acknowledge, after watching the baseball scandals and basically every athlete lie when they are caught, that there is a possibility that Brady did something. That said, the steps taken by the league to ensure that the FANBASE, the paying customers of one of the largest and most successful franchises in the NFL, also gets treated fairly (since we are an extension of the team) has been the biggest example of a corporation ****ting on its own customers that I have ever seen. I have paid tens of thousands of dollars for the NFL and the Patriots over my lifetime, and the NFL is giving me the finger, basically mocking me as a fan, telling me that my enjoyment isn't worth a damn because they are going to destroy my favorite player (the same one who they've happily sold merchandise for and marketed for years) so that some a-holes in NY can avoid any type of scrutiny.

Football and the Patriots was supposed to be a relaxing past time. Roger Goodell doesn't give a **** if it now stresses me out or causes me more anxiety to follow the Patriots than to work the every day grind of life.

With every penny that I spend, for the Sunday Ticket or other purchases, a fraction of that purchase goes to Roger Goodell. A fraction goes to Ted Wells. To Mike Kensil. To Jeff Pash. To all of the scum bags in the league office who find it amusing that the "evil" Patriots are being brought down with their corrupt system.

I can't support that. It makes me nauseous. My stomach hurts thinking about it. I don't think I can remain a fan of the NFL, as much as I love the Patriots. How can you pay money to a group of corrupt suits who want nothing more than for you to be ashamed and embarrassed for buying into their product?

The Pats' sin is in putting on one of the greatest performances, sustained over a long period of time, that any team in any sport has ever done. The problem is that the Pats are doing it with a head coach, who the Rats thought that they had stolen fair and square, and a HOF QB, who would obviously have been selected by the Rats if BB had stayed.

Add in the fact that the Rats are usually curb stomped twice each year on the way to their inevitable playoff appearance, and that team is from a city that the NYer ego cannot stand being bested by, and you have the situation that NYers find intolerable.

The Rats fans are watching the Pats success and have convinced themselves that this should have been their success, and would have been if the Pats hadn't stolen BB from them. I guess they don't want to remember that the only reason they had BB in the first place is because he followed Bill Parcells to the Rats when they tampered with him and stole him from the Pats.

Now add in the fact that that jealous fan base is from the media capital of the country, and are thus in a position to poison the narrative surrounding the Pats, and then add in Rats fans and former Rats front office personnel being hired by the NFL* front offices and being in a position to directly undermine the Pats and extract their own revenge and we are where we are now.

It is no coincidence that the Rats are never damages by the punishments they deserve to get, but get a hand slap instead.
 
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My wife asked me yesterday if she should renew NFL Sunday Ticket. We've had it for six years here in California, and my Patriots games are my one real "guilty pleasure" since I've given up all other sports to be a provider and father. I told her to hold off, and I'm really, truly considering not doing it, or really, in any way watching the Patriots any more or even clicking on any NFL-based websites.

As much as I have enjoyed the pride that comes with being a Patriots fan, and I've certainly felt that during these last ten years filled with gut wrenching finishes that finally my catharsis had come with their championship, the Deflategate controversy is literally the most disgusting, nauseating thing I have ever seen. Commentors basically say that Goodell is bad, by oh well, Brady's reputation is ruined forever, too bad.

Why exactly did the NFL want me to be a fan again? To take pride in the accomplishments of the players I root for? To believe that I was actually rooting for something legitimate and real? And then, because of some political grudges and bad blood in the NFL office, they do everything they can to make me embarrassed to be a Patriots fan, dreading going to an annual road game with my wife and family, and ashamed to even talk about anything regarding the NFL to anyone who isn't a Patriots fan.

A wise man once said, better to let 10 guilty men walk free than to convict one innocent man. I feel that an entire fan base has taken the brunt of an alleged misdeed. I fully acknowledge, after watching the baseball scandals and basically every athlete lie when they are caught, that there is a possibility that Brady did something. That said, the steps taken by the league to ensure that the FANBASE, the paying customers of one of the largest and most successful franchises in the NFL, also gets treated fairly (since we are an extension of the team) has been the biggest example of a corporation ****ting on its own customers that I have ever seen. I have paid tens of thousands of dollars for the NFL and the Patriots over my lifetime, and the NFL is giving me the finger, basically mocking me as a fan, telling me that my enjoyment isn't worth a damn because they are going to destroy my favorite player (the same one who they've happily sold merchandise for and marketed for years) so that some a-holes in NY can avoid any type of scrutiny.

Football and the Patriots was supposed to be a relaxing past time. Roger Goodell doesn't give a **** if it now stresses me out or causes me more anxiety to follow the Patriots than to work the every day grind of life.

With every penny that I spend, for the Sunday Ticket or other purchases, a fraction of that purchase goes to Roger Goodell. A fraction goes to Ted Wells. To Mike Kensil. To Jeff Pash. To all of the scum bags in the league office who find it amusing that the "evil" Patriots are being brought down with their corrupt system.

I can't support that. It makes me nauseous. My stomach hurts thinking about it. I don't think I can remain a fan of the NFL, as much as I love the Patriots. How can you pay money to a group of corrupt suits who want nothing more than for you to be ashamed and embarrassed for buying into their product?

I dropped NFL Game Rewind. I'll watch the Pats, but probably no other games, but if I do, it will be on free tv.
 
slingbox you say. What does this wonderous slingbox do?

you hook up a slingbox to a cable box and you can control/stream that cable box to wherever you are ....... in the world

I have 5 cable boxes in my house......I the one in my daughters room is always available....she is in college

I'd set it up there and then you could watch anything that comes up on that cable box
 
I'm a Canadian and have been a Patriots fan for 40 years. You can be an avid Patriots fan without spending money. I attend a game every few years with a friend but we make it a road trip and do other things besides going to a Patriots game. Alot of times when I can't watch the game on TV, I watch the play by play on NFL.Com. It's free. You can always find a highlight reel of the best plays in a game on the internet. Best of all, you can come here and get out your frustrations. There are others that feel your pain and support you no matter what you decide.

From Watergate we know that it only takes an enterprising reporter or two to take down corruption.
 
Why deny yourself the enjoyment of the games as some type of punishment to the league?
You lose something important to you, and they don't even know that you did it.

I feel the same as the OP, but I'll reply based on my personal feelings.
I 'consume' the NFL as I consume any other type of entertainment : to get a momentary diversion from the 'real' world. Once I find that the entertainment does not provide that type of diversion anymore, I usually move away from it. Maybe not entirely or all-at-once, but I find myself consuming these things a lot less once I lose some interest.

Right now, I feel a lot less excited about the upcoming season as I usually would at this time of year. A certain indifference. I would count the number of days until the first preseason game, but this year, I don't even know when that is.

Being a Pats fans has provided tremendous highs over the past 15 years, even the last 20+, but if I can't enjoy the ultimate goal that is winning the Super Bowl without having some type of controversy that is taking most of the fun away, then why should I care ? I still care about the team, Belichick, Brady and the players, but the game itself has lost something.

I'm not just blaming deflategate for that; it's really the accumulation of things : cameragate and the ''story'' that broke the day before Super Bowl 42, the concussion lawsuit and seeing some of the players I have rooted for having hard times after their playing days are over (Kevin Turner and Ted Johnson, among others), the Ray Rice fiasco and now the the NFL trying their very best to tarnish the legacy of Tom Brady.

I'm sure I'll watch games this year...but will I watch them all ? I might find myself doing the same I do with hockey : I watch the box score the morning after, and that's good enough for me.
 
I've said I'll never watch the NFL ever again. This was BEFORE Brady's suspension was upheld. I am weakening. I love the Pats too much, and after watching football for 45+ years, it's become too much a part of my life, almost impossible to give up. I'm disgusted with myself for being so weak, but my passion for football is overriding my resolve.
 
I got rid of direct tv entirely and don't view *NFL or espn websites (To bad because I like to read Mike Reiss's articles, but his employer is in bed with the *NFL). I live in Maine so I can watch the games locally for free. You could also do a google search and watch the games online for free. I will begrudgingly go to a few games this year but won't purchase any merchandise from the shop. Tough time to be a pats fan but remember it is never easy being on top.
 
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