How much more heartbreak can we patriot fans take?

[Patspsycho]

Can a moderator nuke this thread?

It's actually the best thread in the forum right now, with a Bills fan and a Chargers fan putting things into perspective for us.

 

[Leemo]

This was nothing compared to 2007.

100% agree with that. We played ok last night, nothing special, the same as the giants. Neither team played as well as they could. We dropped too many important balls and didn't recover fumbles, where as the giants did. Thats all the difference was.

Bring on next season! If we can get to the superbowl with some of the terrible players we had on defence this year then if we improve in free agency and the draft. We should be back in the superbowl next season. We have some great players on defence we just need to get rid of the dead wood. I'd love to somehow get rid of arrington and molden

 

[IcyPatriot]

Ever since 2006 we pats fans have been through soo much

2005 the mile high playoff loss
2006 the colt collapse
2007 the superbowl
2008 the loss of brady
2009 the raven massacre
2010 the defense couldn't stop a nosebleed
AND now this superbowl

I don't know how much more this we can take only to start it again next season.

All time worst member name ever ... a cool guy with no spine ...

 

[reflexblue]

Ever since 2006 we pats fans have been through soo much

2005 the mile high playoff loss
2006 the colt collapse
2007 the superbowl
2008 the loss of brady
2009 the raven massacre
2010 the defense couldn't stop a nosebleed
AND now this superbowl

I don't know how much more this we can take only to start it again next season.

Are you Crazy, in ten years this team has gone to 5 SB's its Won 3 ....thats a winning percentage of 660% I believe. No other team has ever down this, this team unlike others very rarely has a down year which means our pickins at the draft table are the scraps. I never thought this was a SB caliber team especially mid season. Did you think in October this team was capable of going to, and almost winning the SB? You aren't so Cool Guy.

 

[fair catch fryar]

you guys have 3 rings

you wouldn't know heartbreak if it smacked you in your face

Wrong, because you have no clue. You wouldn't know heartbreak like a true New England sports fan. With all the success we've experienced has also come a lot more heartbreak than you'll ever know. Especially being from a a typical fair-weather fan base like the San Diego Chargers.

 

[DarrylS]

Ever since 2006 we pats fans have been through soo much

2005 the mile high playoff loss
2006 the colt collapse
2007 the superbowl
2008 the loss of brady
2009 the raven massacre
2010 the defense couldn't stop a nosebleed
AND now this superbowl

I don't know how much more this we can take only to start it again next season.

You forgot the heartbreak of the 85 & 96 Superbowls.. oh the misery.

There are 30 other teams in the NFL who whole like to take as much as we have.

This is football, a game, and have to be mindful of folks with real issues that devastate their lives and familes.. this is small potatotes to them.

Right now I am completely depressed, but starting with the draft my fanaticism will come back and by TC will have completely renewed enthusiasm and hope.

 

[SEA_Pat]

Whenever I feel a bit sad about not winning, I remember what it was like as a Pats fan to get to ONE Super Bowl between 1972 and 1997 - and then we got to play the Patsy against one of the all-time great teams in a game when it was over in five minutes.

This is why we old-timers often refer to the guys who complain continuously as "The Entitled", those whose time as Pats fans has been one of unparalleled excellence and almost continuous playoff runs. Just you wait until Brady retires, and the inevitable slide back into mediocrity occurs. Will you still be fans then? I've been there, and I'll still be there. It gives me perspective, and lets me accept tough losses like this with equanimity.

 

[DonBlackmon55]

I just cant take itthe way we've lost last 6 years in playoffs and SB. SB losses to Bears and Packers were not as bad since we were blown out and really those teams had "happy to make it" mentality, not much else was expected, if they won then great.

I don't mind losing, but the excruciating way our teams have lost just feels like someone tore your heat out and stomped on it......so many "if's", whether it was the AFCCG vs Colts in 2007, or this loss again to Giants in SB.Compound it with the way as a kid watching how Sox lost to Mets, then 2003. Celtics loss in game 7 to Lakers.

On the other hand the local teams have brought home 7 championships in last decade...7-3 is not bad,but i never thought the 2 losses there would be the Pats.

I don't know, just need to step away from sports and Pats for 2-3months. Hopefully the mediots now want to tear down Manning for his success and leave Brady alone. We're in the last quarter of the Brady era, maybe they can pull an Elway and win another one to ease the pain of these losses, but as they say way too many things have to go in your favor. We could easily be back and win next year, or we could easily watch the last 3-4 years of Brady play out in mediocrity with more playoff losses.




This Giants team had so much luck with them that have never seen anything like it. Every fumble bounced their way. Packers, 49er's, Pats all had case of the drops, and literally handed them the games.

 

[grux]

Heartbreak? LOL. I have been a Pats fan since around 1982 (10 years old). New England was very close to losing this team until Bob Kraft over spent to keep them in New England. Tom Brady has been to 5 Superbowls in his 10 year career. Bill Belichick has built and coached incredible teams in the era of free agency. THIS TEAM OWES US NOTHING. The owners, players, coaches etc give us everything they have every year. Fans need to take a step back and look at the big picture.

 

[fair catch fryar]

Heartbreak? LOL. I have been a Pats fan since around 1982 (10 years old). New England was very close to losing this team until Bob Kraft over spent to keep them in New England. Tom Brady has been to 5 Superbowls in his 10 year career. Bill Belichick has built and coached incredible teams in the era of free agency. THIS TEAM OWES US NOTHING. The owners, players, coaches etc give us everything they have every year. Fans need to take a step back and look at the big picture.

I hear you and appreciate the sentiment, but this loss was heartbreaking.

 

[PATSNUTme]

you guys have 3 rings

you wouldn't know heartbreak if it smacked you in your face

I feel as bad as anyone about this loss.

But prospective tells me that we are very lucky to be Patriots fans over the past 11 years. And it's not over, for us.

some fans are new and can't remember the bad old days. It's not their fault, they can't help it when they were born. But they can learn from post like yours and some of the older Patriots fans on this board.

 

[mcgraw_wv]

Obviously we need to stop playing well and miss the playoffs for a generation in order to weed out all the fair weather fans. Only the true fans should be able to enjoy wins, and not get down on losses.

My dad's was a season ticket holder for the Steve Grogan era, he wqas upset last night... should he not have been because he's spoiled???

Some "fans" on here crack me up... I bet you yell things like "Stay off my grass!!!" a lot too...

 

[LoganMankinsPancakeBlocks]

It's better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all.

In the last 10 years, we've been to 5 SB's, won 3 of them and had a perfect regular season. We are very fortunate to be in the SB mix every single season and when that happens, you are going to have a number of heart breaking losses. It sucks to have nights like last night but it sure beats having a horribly run team where your season is over before it even starts.

 

[MassPats38]

you guys have 3 rings

you wouldn't know heartbreak if it smacked you in your face

Good persepctive, jcdavey, as usual. I doubt it takes for many here.

There are teams that haven't sniffed a Super Bowl. Poor us. We lost a competitive championship game with only an AFC Championship to show for it. Many on this board said the team was one and done in the playoffs, so I hope that those crying about heartbreak did not hold the team in low regard throughout the season. The Pats exceeded their expectations by far by fighting for the title, so there is nothing to cry about. Those fans should be thrilled.

The Pats were blown out in one title game at the end of the 1985 season. The games ending 1996, 2007 and yesterday were competitive games to the end, with yesterday's loss resulting from a few fumbles skipping the Giants' way, a tough pass that skipped off Welker's hand, and a "hail Mary" that bounced just a little too low. 2001, 2003 and 2004 were similar games that ended with the Pats winning the game, largely because plays like that went the Pats' way.

Be disappointed now. I certainly am given the outcome. But at the same time realize titles are not given to the Pats by making the title game. That seems to be the bizarre position of many resulting from winning 3 Super Bowls by 3 points in games that easily could have been lost. There are 30 teams who watch the game, so pity them first.

Be thankful you have a horse in the race at the end of the season. Be thankful the Pats were in it to the very end. Realize in 1985 we would have killed to see a playoff win. In 1996, the Pats had no shot against the Packers (nobody pictured the Pats beating the Donkeys in the playoffs) but we loved it when the game went to a 6-point deficit in the 4th before Desmond Howard killed us. Every other game has been close, with a "win some, lose some" outcome typical of the team-oriented, "any given Sunday" mantra of the NFL.

I am not thrilled right now, but I know the Pats, unlike most other NFL teams, will be back in the hunt next year. That is why this team is great, and I will keep watching it year after year. Know that the 'heartbreak' you might be feeling comes from visions of greatness that few other teams inspire in a fan base.

 

[crowell33]

Obviously we need to stop playing well and miss the playoffs for a generation in order to weed out all the fair weather fans. Only the true fans should be able to enjoy wins, and not get down on losses.

My dad's was a season ticket holder for the Steve Grogan era, he wqas upset last night... should he not have been because he's spoiled???

Some "fans" on here crack me up... I bet you yell things like "Stay off my grass!!!" a lot too...

Great post. Agree 100%. There will always be fans that take great pride in "being loyal" through the losing. These are the same guys who after 86 years of Red Sox losing, whined and cried about all of the corporate ticket holders and "pink hatters" who had moved into Fenway, after 2004, instead of enjoying the winning.

 

[condon84]

We had a hell of a season. 5 Superbowls in 11 years, winning 3 of them. We are in the midst of the best Patriot run of our lifetime. It will NEVER be this good again.

Heartbreak? That happens when a close family member or friend passes away. This is sports and the beauty of it is that there's always next year. Let's keep things in perspective.

 

[ensoul]

Try being a Bills, Jets or Browns fans. It sucks they lost and I am upset but the memories I have of 2001,2003 and 2004 are memories I will carry with me to the grave.

 

[Steve102]

Heartbreak? 1-15 in the Victor Kiam Era, with Zeke Mowat shaking his junk at a reporter for the Herald. Pre-Kraft: one home playoff game back in 1978. Irving Fryar's steak knife incident. Darryl Stingley.

yes, the loss sucks, but really? Five out of the last 10 Super Bowls have had the Pats in them. Plus '96. There are fans all over the NFL who would like our heartbreak. You'll be reminiscing how great these days were after Belichick, Brady, and Robert Kraft are gone.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Just think about what real heartbreak is.....heartbreak is knowing your team is eliminated from the playoffs year after year by mid November before the Holiday Season is even here.

As a fan, maybe.

Real heartbreak? Ask Robert Kraft. He knows all about it.

 

[Hart Lee Chung]

I remember the old days...and when you start to heal, you can once again appreciate how good times are for a Pats fan.

Man though...healing is gonna take a while.

And my gray hoodie is now tainted.