When Did You . . . become a fan of the Patriots ?

upstater1 said:

1976, I was 8 years old.
Heartbreak.

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Yeah. It took over a quarter of a century to balance the scales from that, but it still hurts.

I've often wondered whether Walt Coleman was thinking of Ben Dreith when he made that decision. I mean, "Roughing the Passer" has to be part of the lore that all NFL officials absorb from day one on the job.

"I became a fan in '95 when Parcells and Meggett arrived."

Parcells arrived in '93. I know because that's when I started watching football and becoming a Pats fan.

Froob said:

But, why would you want to?

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Just for past perspective. I had forgotten a lot of what happened in it. With our defense it was a miracle we made it that far.

Born (1962) and raised as a Jet's fan in Queens NY.

1974, saw the NFL Films segment on "Little" Mack Herron, started liking him AND the Patriots. Became a full time fan in 1975, first Patriot's jersey bought for me by my Mom as a Christmas gift in 1976, #18 Randy Vataha. Can't imagine how hard that was to get back in 1976 in NY. I always tell that story to NYers who think I jumped on the bandwagon. I tell them I went through 26 years of relative mediocrity until they won it all.

My mom is awesome, best Jet's fan I know, loves football, watches EVERY playoff game even though the Jets are usually out of the playoffs. Roots hard for my Pats as long as they aren't playing the Jets because she loves me so much. I love her equally as much, but find it impossible to root for the Jets. I guess I'm not nearly as good a son as she is a Mom.

01 super bowl. Had no idea what I was watching, was 11 at the time. And as a female had no interest in sports. Just sat down with my dad that day and decided I'd watch with him cause I had nothing else to do. He swore up and down the Rams were going to win so Being contrarian I started rooting for the other team. And the rest is history. Been following every since.

Birth...grew up and live 15' from stadium... First game I remember was 82 or 83 road game Vs Houston and Earl Campbell watched it at ground round w my father on divorced dad Sunday... First game was Vs Houston in 89 I think, flutie was qbs.. Had seas tix from 93 to maybe 11 or 12...no cahpetbaggah here

FCB02062 said:

Birth...grew up and live 15' from stadium... First game I remember was 82 or 83 road game Vs Houston and Earl Campbell watched it at ground round w my father on divorced dad Sunday... First game was Vs Houston in 89 I think, flutie was qbs.. Had seas tix from 93 to maybe 11 or 12...no cahpetbaggah here

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Was it the same Ground Round BB took Rodney too?

I got really into the NFL after spending hours in Madden rosters when I was about 9. I remember the first season I really followed was 2004, so I've gotten to really enjoy 2 Super Bowl wins (and don't really remember how I felt about 01/03 at the time). But growing up in Massachusetts during the TB/BB era sure is lucky.

Froob said:

Why would you do that to yourself?.... I don't understand why you would ever re-watch those SB losses.

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I turn the channel whenever there's a replay of any part of XLII because it's just too painful to relive any part of a game that we lost on a fluke play and would have meant 19--0.

But, I can tolerate watching parts of XLVI (I'd never watch the whole game) because we lost it straight up on Welker's drop and what even the most ardent Pats fan has to admit was brilliant execution between Eli and Manningham...that was a great play even though it broke my heart.

signbabybrady said:

Was it the same Ground Round BB took Rodney too?

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No this was the Ground Round in Norwood, which is now Jake & Joe's. I'm pretty sure Belichick took Harrison to the Ground Round in Walpole, which is now Applebee's I think....
Back then most of the Pats home games weren't on TV, so you'd get big crowds of people at the Ground Round for the road games. They used to show them on a projector screen....

Tunescribe said:

Worst thread title of 2016. I suggest you change it to: When did you become a Pats fan?

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It's so us bandwagon fans can answer too. When did you become a pats bandwagon fan? See

I knew what football was but didn't care for it when I was young. The only player I knew about was Joe Montana. I knew he was a 4 time champion, saw it in a magazine. Thought he was from Montana.

In 2002 my brother was watching the 2001 Super bowl. He was talking about how the Rams had the best offense. Being a defense guy when I play sports, I asked who has the best defense. He said the Patriots. Looking at it now, I'm not sure how true that is, or not? Rams had a good defense too? That's beside the point, anyways. So I was going for the Patriots. I don't really remember the game from memory. Probably because it was the in the middle of the night for me. Patriots back in the Superbowl in the 2003 season and I'm cheering for them again. Missed the 2004 Superbowl. I still didn't really watch football regularly. The last time I remember watching a Patriots game was in 2007. I watched pats games that I was able to get on tv since. By 2010 I was making sure I watch every Patriots game. I think the only game I missed since 2010 was the 2010 Browns game and 2014 Chiefs game. I cheered for the Patriots early on because they were a winning team, but later on I started to cheer for and appreciate Bill Belichick. The way he does everything meshes with the way I'd do things too. He's the GOAT!

Yeah I'm a bandwagon fan, but I don't live in the US. Besides, who am I supposed to cheer for, The Browns? Yeah! GO BROWNS! OH yeah! I'm gonna celebrate perpetual mediocrity! I'm really feeling it!

1960Pats said:

It all started for me in the late 50's. The NFL was on TV then and since we lived here in the northeast, we were fed the Giants games. However, as soon as I saw Jim Brown play I immediately became a Cleveland Browns fan.

Once I started paying attention I saw how the NFL was trying to squash the AFL and I started to become bitter about that. I also hated the way the NFL avoided the AFL on the field. By the time the mid 60's rolled around I looked at the NFL as an enemy.

When the NFL finally decided to recognize the AFL and play us on the field it was during the Lombardi era of the Packers, and they won both of the first two superbowls. Then the Jets and Chiefs came back the next two years and shut those NFLers up for good. I don't remember ever feeling so great after a non Pats game victory before or since.

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1960 was my year.
Thanks for saving me from typing the exact same things.
Hated having the Giants shoved down our TV throats so rooted for Jim Brown & the Cleveland Browns.
Was jacked & pumped as a sophomore in HS when Boston got a team.
Went to games at Fenway Park sitting in the bleachers, read End Zone for $2 Friday nights.
Was at Harvard Stadium when the Houston Oilers smoked us. Walked down from the stands and off the field right next to the players. I'm 5' 9" but many Patriots were not tall like Tony Romeo our TE ,while the Houston players were much taller.
Don't ban me Ian, but I rooted for Namath & the Jets to beat the hated NFL/NFC Colts in SB III. I've done something 90% 0f Jets fans haven't...seen them in and win a SB!
Ben Dreith's RTP call crushed my SB hopes in '76. The Tuck Rule call was the Universe set right.
Was a "Brady's Lady" from summer camp 2001 on arguing against the "Bledsoe Krishna" establishment.

This fair weather fan expects to quit watching the NYJFL in disgust after Brady & Belichick leave.

I first watched the Patriots in the Super Bowl in 1986 (I was five)...my father was dejected the whole night. My mother was a Giants fan, so as a child, I watched and followed both.

Then, my father took me to the Oilers game in 1991. We won and I was hooked as a Pats fan for life.

I had sympathies for the Giants until SB42...now? **** those guys. If anything, I've got some sympathies for the Saints.

Also, my father grew up a Giants fan in the 40s and 50s because that's who was on tv here (and Vince Lombardi, and Italian, was a coach). He became a Pats fan when they started in 1960 - used to watch em practice in East Boston or Chelsea (I can't remember). He made me a fan and as a little kid I was amazed at how he could tell me the call before the ref announced the penalty!

Little aside, my father also grew up a Notre Dame fan because when he was little their quarterback was Angelo Bertelli, and many Italian kids became Notre Dame fans. For the same reason, there were a bunch of Yankee fans in East Boston because the Yankees had more Italians than the Red Sox....

My father had grown up a Giants fan, because that was the team in this area before the Patriots, and he would watch them on TV. But once the Pats came around, they became our team and have been ever since. I can't say a definite year, but it was at some point in the mid-sixties I'd guess. I remember Babe Parilli and thinking what an awesome name he had.

Grew up in Maine and on the Cape and born into a New England sports fan. First watched the Pats when we moved to the Cape and finally got cable in the late 70's.

My very first American friend -- I met him in Germany when I was 17 -- was a Fordham frat boy from Rahway, New Jersey and, need I say it, a Jets fan. He explained to me all about Joe Willy. I started noticing football in the 70s (M.A.S.H., Heaven Can Wait, Semi-Tough) but didn't understand much till I spent a year in Cambridge, MA in 81.

By that time, I'd several American friends who were fans of more successful teams (Cowboys, Raiders, Rams). But I didn't want to jump on any bandwagons, and no one could accuse me of that if I rooted for the Pats -- 2-14, first pick in the draft, choosing the immortal Ken Sims. So the Pats it was.

I've got to admit, though, that, though the Pats were "my team", from then on, I didn't fully identify with the Pats while the Sullivans were the owners. The Raymond Berry run to the Superbowl was great, as was the time with Parcells. Still, I figured that the Pats were a team that would basically suck but would occasionally have bubbles of hope that would burst before any real success. It took the Krafts to change that.

I started following the Patriots in 1959 as soon as Billy Sullivan received the final AFL franchise.
It was fun watching the front office people and the players being assembled. Saban went thru a very
large amount of players that first year.
I got to attend the very first game on 9/9/1960. Parking spots were so scarce that my uncle and I had
to walk as fast as possible up Commonwealth Avenue from Kenmore Square to Boston University Field.
It was difficult attending games because they were held on my bowling night on Friday. The Patriots
did not play on Sunday to avoid the Giants on TV.
Until 1973, I attended Patriot's games on a sporadic basis. The exception was 1970. That year the person
who worked for me gave me tickets to 7 games. He had bought one season ticket along with several drinking buddies. He had no intention of attending the games so I got lucky. One game, I had to shovel the snow
off my seat at Harvard Stadium with a piece of cardboard.
From 1973 to 1975, I had season tickets. They cost $80 for the season for two end zone tickets. I let
the tickets expire when I moved to Maine in 1976.
When I retired in 2002 at the age of 70 I did two things, bought a computer and signed up for season
tickets. I saw some good games thru ticket exchange.
A few years ago at the age of 79, my season tickets came thru. This will be my 5th year with the tickets.

Broke my cherry on the Patriots when I was born in 59' ...

Comparing now to then you were almost forced to grow up with an additional team ... an NFC team as they were the 4:00 games and the Patriots were never on TV ... we followed them in the paper and on the TV news. Reading the Herald and Globe back then one did not complain ... they were a godsend to follow local sports ... I would have been stuck with the Providence Journal/Bulletin without them.

The Giants dominated the 1:00 games in my area and though I didn't hate them I also could not root for anyteam from NY/NJ. So i grew up a Patriots fan and Vikings fan (Purple People Eaters) then dropped the Vikings in favor of the Oilers (loved Earl Campbell and White Shoes Johnson) and then Kraft/Bledsoe/Parcells/Belichick /Brady happened ... what a ride.

I grew up with parents who were not sports fans at all, and most of my extended family weren't true fans either. Oddly enough I became an obsessed Celtics an up through 7th grade.

My uncle then introduced me to football (only because he was gambling on the game) and I was hooked. It was Bledsoe's rookie year and I have been an obsessed Pats fan and NFL fan ever since. I don't even care about basketball anymore.