Are you content with being a Colts fan?

[Rob0729]

What the hell do you think the fans we're talking about here have been doing? It's Brady v. Manning and Patriots v. Jets/Colts. Hell, Fair Catch Fryar gave us a perfect example of that in this very thread:



It's the same pathetic syndrome.

Not at all. Talking about the future is not the same thing. If we were constantly bragging about how Brady was so much better than Manning in this past season, that would the Colts fans. They look at already achieved individual achievements like Manning winning the MVP as the same as Super Bowl wins.

Most fans on this board are happy for Brady that he won, but feel it is empty without a Super Bowl ring. It has been a month since the Pats have been eliminated. It has been a week and half since the Super Bowl. If you want to comiserate about the past, have fun. I am over it. I want to look towards the upcoming offseason (if there is one) and next season (if there is one).

Being positive about the future especially compared to your AFC rivals is not the same thing.

 

[sbpatfan]

If all you care about is the Superbowl why even watch the regular season?

 

[signbabybrady]

Right now the Patriots are constantly losing every time they enter the playoffs.

Yes but the person in question (Tom Brady) has long proven the kind of winner he is and I see absolutely nothing wrong with using a season that his team did not win it all to show his talents.

This isn't about hype it's about results not past accolades.

There are individual results and team results and as far as this season goes TB missed his ultimate goal and did not get team results he is looking for but he clearly put up individual results that I am sure he is proud of. He may be more proud of the SB years but I am sure he doesnt ignore every year of his career except the 3.

It is a team game individuals mean nothing.

I find this funny coming from you as your name is TB=TD not NE=SB.

I think as we all have gotten spoiled some us act dumber and dumber based on this and completely ignoring the individualy in this sport because your team goal was not met is pretty dumb and I dont see where the fun is in doing it.

I think a determination needs to be made. The most fun in an offseason I have ever had was following the SB wins but that doesnt mean I am going to ignore football and the individuals on my team until next season starts. I enjoy breaking down the performance of the individuals and comparing them to others and I am not some preSB whinny Colts fan for doing so. If I prop a player up as being the absolute best ever in the history of the NFL before he wins a title then maybe I am acting a little like a Colt fan otherwise I am just acting normal and grasping for what little can be enjoyed from a unfortuanately unsuccessful season.

 

[TB=TD]

If all you care about is the Superbowl why even watch the regular season?

To get to the playoffs.

 

[DarrylStingley]

Yeah, we have become a lot like the Colts. Great regular seasons followed by playoffs when our QB plays appreciably worse. 2009 doesn't count because that year just sucked in so many ways.

But 2007 and 2010 were straight out of the Colts' playbook.

Makes me sad.

 

[sbpatfan]

To get to the playoffs.

You're a fan, not a player.

 

[Deus Irae]

It is what a month after the loss. We went through about 2-3 weeks of biatching.

It's to be expected, until the draft shows up or other big news finally clears the minds of the fans. Blame Belichick and his policy of silence for some of this. If BB were coming out after the seasons and giving breakdowns of the team and coaches, there would be more analysis and less ranting.

However, we're stuck with "Meriweather sucks!" because the team doesn't leave the fans with nothing else. There are certainly arguments on both sides of the "info, please!" issue.

So you are saying that there are 27 other teams who are even more pathetic than the Patriots? You do realize that only four teams in that timeframe have actually won a Super Bowl and one of those years Brady missed the entire season and the Pats in that year were the first team in like 20 years to not get into the playoffs with an 11 win season?

I'm saying that circumstances dictate expectations, and rightly so.

And the Pats could win more. To expect more is one thing. To think the odds are very good that it was going to happen is another. Unless you thought players like Harrison, Bruschi, Vrabel, McGinest, etc. were going to play like guys in the mid to late 20s forever.

The odds WERE very good that it was going to happen. 2007 is a perfect illustration of that.

Sorry, but the fact the Pats are still legitimate Super Bowl contenders right now is nothing short of amazing. The Pats could have won the Super Bowl in the 2007 if not for any one of three different plays on the Giants last drive (which just goes to show how the margin for error is so small in the NFL).

Calling a team that's missed the playoffs once, and been bounced in its first playoff game twice, in the past 3 seasons a "legitimate Super Bowl contender" is a stretch. Anything's possible when you get in the playoffs, and that's the best you can say about the team right now, until they win another playoff game.

The reality is the Pats were very lucky to win the three in four years. If it wasn't for the tuck rule, they wouldn't have even gotten very close in the 2001 season. Winning Super Bowls are never a given.

You're better than this, Rob. In 2001, they were the best team in the AFC after week 4. In both 2003 and 2004, they went 14-2, and showed that the records weren't flukes throughout the playoffs. As for the tuck rule, if you want to play games.... had the officials called the blow to Brady's helmet, the tuck rule would have been irrelevant.

If you expected it was a given that the Pats would have won their fourth Super Bowl by now, you have only yourself to blame for your disapointment. There is no guarantees in football.

The team's failure to win that 4th Super Bowl is a legitimate reason to question what's been happening since 2004. You'd be saying the same thing if this discussion was about any team but the Patriots.

 

[Deus Irae]

Not at all. Talking about the future is not the same thing. If we were constantly bragging about how Brady was so much better than Manning in this past season, that would the Colts fans. They look at already achieved individual achievements like Manning winning the MVP as the same as Super Bowl wins.

Most fans on this board are happy for Brady that he won, but feel it is empty without a Super Bowl ring. It has been a month since the Pats have been eliminated. It has been a week and half since the Super Bowl. If you want to comiserate about the past, have fun. I am over it. I want to look towards the upcoming offseason (if there is one) and next season (if there is one).

Being positive about the future especially compared to your AFC rivals is not the same thing.

Being positive about the future of your team in a relatively dispassionate analysis thread is one thing. Cracking out the "at least we're not the Colts!" and the "I know the Jets beat the Patriots, and that they've been to the AFCCG 2 years in a row, but they haven't won anything, so who cares?" stuff in response to people pointing out the issues with the Patriots is another.

 

[Lansdowne]

To get to the playoffs.

Why not just wait until the playoffs then, if those are the only games that matter to you?

At our core, we should be football fans. By that extension, we want our football team, the Patriots, to win. We watch them play for our entertainment. We invest our time and money to see the world's greatest athletes compete against each other in a game we all love to watch (otherwise, well, we wouldn't be watching).

That was the simple, bare bones mentality that those of us who remember life before Belichick lived by. It would be really awesome if we won the Super Bowl, but we support this team no matter what.

This franchise is a damn good one, it's at its best its ever been. But it wasn't always this good, and it won't always be this good down the line. I think that's what the "half full" crowd is talking about. It's extremely difficult to win the Super Bowl, and to see the Patriots, as well run a franchise as any in sports today, not win any in the last six years, just drives that point home even more. It's okay to expect better from this team because they expect better from themselves too, but the self-entitlement needs to stop. It's just a joyless, miserable way of thinking. Half-full is bitter, but not as bitter as completely empty.

 

[signbabybrady]

Calling a team that's missed the playoffs once, and been bounced in its first playoff game twice, in the past 3 seasons a "legitimate Super Bowl contender" is a stretch. Anything's possible when you get in the playoffs, and that's the best you can say about the team right now, until they win another playoff game.

You are kidding right you really think it is a stretch?

I would fully say that just making the playoffs a few years in row makes you a Super Bowl contender. I think that the Falcons are a Super Bowl contender next year just the same as the Patriots. Now while I may be stretching when I think the Patriots are the favorites to win it all next year but contenders no stretch there. I would say that any team that makes the playoffs is a contender for the SB in that year maybe the Seahawks werent but by that logic if a team proved it pretty much perenially makes the playoffs than by default they are perenial SB contenders.

 

[TB=TD]

You're a fan, not a player.

Fans want to get there as well.

 

[signbabybrady]

Why not just wait until the playoffs then, if those are the only games that matter to you?

At our core, we should be football fans. By that extension, we want our football team, the Patriots, to win. We watch them play for our entertainment. We invest our time and money to see the world's greatest athletes compete against each other in a game we all love to watch (otherwise, well, we wouldn't be watching).

That was the simple, bare bones mentality that those of us who remember life before Belichick lived by. It would be really awesome if we won the Super Bowl, but we support this team no matter what.

This franchise is a damn good one, it's at its best its ever been. But it wasn't always this good, and it won't always be this good down the line. I think that's what the "half full" crowd is talking about. It's extremely difficult to win the Super Bowl, and to see the Patriots, as well run a franchise as any in sports today, not win any in the last six years, just drives that point home even more. It's okay to expect better from this team because they expect better from themselves too, but the self-entitlement needs to stop. It's just a joyless, miserable way of thinking. Half-full is bitter, but not as bitter as completely empty.

I am getting funny looks all over the office right now because I am standing and applauding. Couldnt have said it better myself. I for one hope they win the SB every year and when they are as good as they have been this past decade it hurts when they dont but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy the little things that made 2010 a very enjoyable season just not ultimately enjoyable.


oh, PS I am not a fan of the glass is half full term because IMO the glass is much more than half full right now. It may not be overflowing like the 4 year stretch but that cup is so far from empty that using the term half is foolish.

 

[SanAngeloState]

Enjoying regular season accomplishments from your QB that gain no merit by years end? In Indy they would of loved this season(OPOTY, MVP) reguardless of it's monumental failure. Give me rings and Trent Dilfur for all I care.

couldn't agree more...I get all excited during the season, people at work congratulate me on the pats' epic victories....then they fall to pieces. Nice.

 

[TB=TD]

I am getting funny looks all over the office right now because I am standing and applauding. Couldnt have said it better myself. I for one hope they win the SB every year and when they are as good as they have been this past decade it hurts when they dont but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy the little things that made 2010 a very enjoyable season just not ultimately enjoyable.


oh, PS I am not a fan of the glass is half full term because IMO the glass is much more than half full right now. It may not be overflowing like the 4 year stretch but that cup is so far from empty that using the term half is foolish.

They can't even get out of the First round anymore. Where is this unbashed optimism coming from?

 

[chicowalker]

I think most real fans recognize it's not black and white. Few fans care much about stats and awards without the SB wins (that goes for many Colts fans, too, I'm sure). And few fans are like as*hole Yankees fans who brag that the only thing that matters is winning it all.

If you can't get enjoyment from anything less than a championship, you've got to be pretty miserable following any team.

 

[part-timer]

To get to the playoffs.

According to your argument, Regular season does not matter, play offs don't matter, IF your team is in the super bowl it is worth watching if not there is next season. But if winning the super bowl is all that matters then the team you are a fan of changes every year. Then you should be a green bay fan for now, because they are the only team that measures up to your standards. It is also very evedent that you were not a fan of the Pats before 01 because they never matched your requirements for a team worthy of your fandom. There for if you are no more than a fair weather fan or who is ever hot fan then your oppinion does not matter to any Pat fan. Any fan of any team will appreciate the possitive aspects of their team along with the need to recognise and analyze the negitives needed to be addressed to improve the team. Ever few days we have a number of NONFANS who have a driving need to get some form of attention by attacking fans on this board. Usualy this is an indication of a lack of needed recognition within their REAL lives as opposed to their VIRTUAL lives on the net. An indicitive indicator of this NO. of and frquency of posts on the board can be veiwed as excesive free time in their REAL lives. Might I suggest revieling and defending your true favorite team and show how it matches up to the Pats record if you are capible of that. If not and all you are capible is negitive attacks on the posters on this forum you prove my previous assesment of your REAL lives and only seem that much more pathetic and relient on your tough VIRTUAL preformance. When that gets blown up and you must face reality what do you have left.

 

[TB=TD]

According to your argument, Regular season does not matter, play offs don't matter, IF your team is in the super bowl it is worth watching if not there is next season. But if winning the super bowl is all that matters then the team you are a fan of changes every year. Then you should be a green bay fan for now, because they are the only team that measures up to your standards. It is also very evedent that you were not a fan of the Pats before 01 because they never matched your requirements for a team worthy of your fandom. There for if you are no more than a fair weather fan or who is ever hot fan then your oppinion does not matter to any Pat fan. Any fan of any team will appreciate the possitive aspects of their team along with the need to recognise and analyze the negitives needed to be addressed to improve the team. Ever few days we have a number of NONFANS who have a driving need to get some form of attention by attacking fans on this board. Usualy this is an indication of a lack of needed recognition within their REAL lives as opposed to their VIRTUAL lives on the net. An indicitive indicator of this NO. of and frquency of posts on the board can be veiwed as excesive free time in their REAL lives. Might I suggest revieling and defending your true favorite team and show how it matches up to the Pats record if you are capible of that. If not and all you are capible is negitive attacks on the posters on this forum you prove my previous assesment of your REAL lives and only seem that much more pathetic and relient on your tough VIRTUAL preformance. When that gets blown up and you must face reality what do you have left.

Oh no, now my life has been exposed by E-Dr Phil. Are you trying to be serious?

 

[signbabybrady]

They can't even get out of the First round anymore. Where is this unbashed optimism coming from?

its called logic. Sure it is hard to see where that optimism comes from when we look at 01-4. But if you ignore those years and pretend they didnt happen.

Just look at the last four years and we have made the playoffs 3 times and made a SB once. The one year we missed the playoffs we were 11-5. That to me is more than enough reason to be optimistic. This would very much so appease most fan bases. This would likely land a head coach a long term extension and a much better than average coaching salary. This in 4 years would hold its own against a guy like Jeff Fisher who made a 15+ year career out of it.

No dont get me wrong I am not saying that this is what I want but its close, it would seem to be the right track, and certainly enough for me to be optimistic about. I mean shoot I remember being optimistic about the Patriots when Drew lost his first playoff game to the Browns then coached by BB and thinking this team might be heading somewhere and a few years later they were in the SB and they lost the big one and the optimism continued despite not making it back until Tom took over the optimisim waivered in 99 and 2000 and that is how it should be after several seasons where the team did progressively worse.

And here is where the debate gets interesting because yes since 07 you could argue we have gotten progressively worse though 14-2 and one done is better than 10-6 and one and done. I see the last 3 years as more status quo than progressively worse and hopefully we start climbing again and now we can get back to the glass because half full to me was in 94 now we are looking at more like 3/4 full and I refuse to believe the glass isnt filling up. When you consider the young talent, BB, Brady, and the draft picks this year I dont see why you would question my optimism but hey if you want think its over go right ahead and enjoy yourself.

 

[Ron Sellers]

They can't even get out of the First round anymore. Where is this unbashed optimism coming from?

Past performance does not guarantee future results. What happened previously has no affect on what will happen next year. With your logic apparently the only optimistic fan base should be Green Bay's, because they ended with a win; the 31 other team's seasons ended with either a loss or missing the playoffs.

You may also want to look back and see how many teams have repeated since the salary cap-free agency era began. A team like the Patriots has more reason for optimism than the Packers do if you're just going to go off of historical trends.

Being disappointed in how the season ended and being optimistic with the team's chances in 2011 are two mutually exclusive things.

I am curious how you think this forum should be acting? Should we have fifty threads a day titled "Gawd damn (fill in the blank) sucks, get rid of him!"?

Seriously, if I don't know why somebody as angry and pessimistic as you even watches football and follows a team; it's got to be the most unenjoyable thing in the world based on your view. Why torture yourself with something that's going to get you that upset? There are 31 other teams in the league; there's no way they are going to win as often as you seem to demand and expect them to win it all.

 

[fair catch fryar]

What the hell do you think the fans we're talking about here have been doing? It's Brady v. Manning and Patriots v. Jets/Colts. Hell, Fair Catch Fryar gave us a perfect example of that in this very thread:



It's the same pathetic syndrome.

What the **** are you talking about? All I did was say that I thought that this had no comparison to being a Colt's fan and while I was disappointed in the Pats loss to the Jets, I am still happy for Brady winning the MVP. What is wrong with that? What I find pathetic is your attempt to reach 20,000 posts by arguing with anyone and everyone that doesn't want to agree with you. If I say the sky is blue, I'd be willing to bet you would find an argument in that.