My $0.02 on the crowd

[Gainzo]

How can your argument be based on your memory of 2 years ago? How can you act as if your assumption that I wasnt upset then means I shouldnt be upset now? You are making it all up.

Do you really believe that 1 loss at this stage of the franchise deserves telling players FU?

Thats what it is to me. Booing is a cowardly way to hide amongst a crowd and doing the equivalent of saying F-U to the players.

Do you feel this game was an appropriate time to say that, or do you think they deserve a little more benefit of the doubt?

I think the Pats deserved to get booed on Sunday as they mailed it in. Get off your high horse.

 

[NormZauchin]

I think that fans have a right to act however they want. I think that fans also need to recognize that they contribute to the identity of their team.
The fans that booed the Pats as they lost to end a 21 game winning streak embarrassed the rest of the fans of this team, because they spoke nationally for all of us.
The message they sent: EVERYTHING THIS TEAM HAS DONE IS FORGOTTEN BY THE FANS AS SOON AS THEY PLAY POORLY.
Thats it end of story. Booing a team indicates disgust with them. If the entire fan base of the New England Patriots is justified to be disgusted by anything that happens in one day after what the team has done over the last 7 years, then I am disgusted to be part of it.
It was immature, disrespectful, and thankless.

Will there ever be a time this season when it will be okay for Patriots fans to boo?

 

[MassPats38]

How can your argument be based on your memory of 2 years ago? How can you act as if your assumption that I wasnt upset then means I shouldnt be upset now? You are making it all up.

Do you really believe that 1 loss at this stage of the franchise deserves telling players FU?

Thats what it is to me. Booing is a cowardly way to hide amongst a crowd and doing the equivalent of saying F-U to the players.
Do you feel this game was an appropriate time to say that, or do you think they deserve a little more benefit of the doubt?

Andy-

I personally never feel it's appropriate to boo your team. The question was why is this issue such an issue now? I am not saying you did not personally feel that way about fans booing then (you may review the post) and I did not in fact say anything about your personal reaction 2 years ago but rather mentioned the absence of the fan reaction on this board at that time. I am not making anything up as I commented on a general response by the members of this board on a prior occasion.

Again, I stated I personally disagree with the practice and would not boo a home team (actually I would not boo an away team as that is actually a plus to them). You may interpret a boo as F-U or a boo may mean general displeasure (if there is a defined sound or absence of sound in the world of sports I have not seen that dictionary. Webster's dictionary defines "boo" as "an exclamation of contempt or disapproval: a loud boo from the bleachers.").

I am asking what is the basis for this pervasive manifest outrage on the board now? Where was it then? The Patriots have openly stated an indifference to streaks (they broke their own record this time) and a greater regard for rings, which was pretty much one season in the past at the time I last heard boos, so the boos directed at a team recently winning its third ring really elicited no outrage. I remember it because it seemed inappropriate at the time, but the win seemed to make it a proper tool as nobody seemed to care at that time. You may search this board and find all the fans in 2006 aghast at the practice, but I suspect you will not have to sift through many responses. If the reason the subject did not come up then is the outcome of that game, ask why after a painful loss after which so many fans seem willing to point the finger at the reason for the loss, from the players to the coaches to the fans, this has become such a passionate issue. I don't like the practice, I'm just trying to figure out why there is such a different reaction this time around from fans as a whole. It seemed just as inappropriate to me two years ago but there was not this type of response. If it is wrong, it is wrong.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

Well, first off, thanks once more publicly to another patsfans member here who slid me & the Mrs. 2 tickets for the 9/21 Dolphins game.

Secondly, a confession: After driving up 500 miles, and with the same drive still to come the next day, and both warding off sunstroke in our advanced (okay, middle) age... we did leave early in the 4th quarter (I believe it was.) From the looks of SportsCenter we didn't miss a lot to cheer about... but okay I felt bad about that.

HOWEVER... my wife even turned to me the first time they booed Cassel and said she can't believe how wrong that is. I agreed... after all it was the defense not Cassel, who was only really supposed to manage the game, blah blah blah... she said, "No, I mean what side are they on???"

Think about that. If your team's not winning, you make it that much less likely they'll get it together? What the fudge is that shlitz?

It was worse leaving the stadium. A bunch of pretty stupid drunks weaving out of the stadium screaming to no-one in particular how the season is over and how we suck (and one guy, I kid you not, screaming over in the direction of Patriot Place "You can keep your ****in' Patriot Place ya Jewish Basterd!" I think he meant Kraft not me.

So here I am the hardcore (at least in my opinion) Pats fan, trying to explain to my less hardcore Pats fan wife how yeah they're spoiled and they're douchebags and all, but... but... hey, know what?

I didn't have anything after the "but".

So yeah I will agree. A LOT of people out at that game didn't deserve the priviledge, given the number of hardcore fans that MUST exist for every team who would give their eye teeth to get to a game. Booing just isn't being a fan, to me, it's being a baby.

There are diehard fans for every team out there, including the crap teams (like we once were.) They might groan and moan and hope for meaningless victories but I don't see all that many games where everybody is booing except maybe Eagles games.

That must mean that Raiders fans, Dolphins fans, [name crappy team here] fans don't do it. And we lose one lousy game... and admittedly stink up the joint... and everybody loses it.

Right, well I admitted I left early, so I only have so much room to talk. But I was way more disappointed in the fans than in the team.

2 weeks from now, and every week, whether we're 8-8, 4-12, or 15-1 at the end of the season, I will be watching the games on TV once again. I am just happy I got to see my team in person which I do not do often.

I can only imagine one of those unbelievable astounding wins from last year in person... but these fans have forgotten that.

Just getting it all out

PFnV

 

[Leave No Doubt]

Dedication and passion are what separate and define a good fan, not what side you take or what opinion you have or whether you boo or you don't boo. What matters most is that everybody here, even the trolls and the haters, even the boo-birds at the game, feel passionate about the Patriots. And that's really what it's all about at the end of the day. I'd imagine that any athlete's worst nightmare would be to go out there and give 110% every time with a fanbase who really didn't care. Everyone who posts here cares and is absolutely emotionally invested in this team, good or bad. That's why this board is so intense and so interesting, and it's The New England Patriot's amazing journey that's brought us all here to begin with.

We're truly blessed to have a franchise like the Patriots but imo they're blessed to have us as well. I'm sure BB knew that as soon as he walked onto the field last September.

 

[MassPats38]

Sorry to hear it, Va. I would prefer the sounds of silence as well, but it is sometimes tough to get a read on the fans going to the game now. There are plenty of loyal, old school fans, but as with any success story the stadium has not always been sold out and I am sure season tickets have changed hands over the years. The corporate push has brought in a peculiar crowd as well, so sometimes you can be a victim of your own success. Then again, you may have met the disfavored minority in that crowd. I know I have met the occasional fan at games I would have liked to heave from the 300 level to the playing field, but most have been into the games and friendly.

I do not fault early departures in true stinker games as that always seemed to be a bit masochistic to me. Anyone who has parked at that stadium does not want to add insult to injury by sitting through a game in which the team has truly called it a day and wait for the crowd to leave and face a mass exodus. It would be hyprocritical of me to decry that practice.

I suspect some of what you saw may be fans selling/giving away tickets to others after the Brady injury, and I hope that is not representative of our current fan base. In any event, that smacks of some of the pre-2004 Red Sox game experiences I had, and I do not want to see that as the theme for the Pats. I hope this is a brief, unpleasant trend or perhaps a pruning of the tree to find out who the core fans are.

 

[Hardboiled]

And you know what, yes, at the point the 21 game win streak ended, yes, the fans in attendence should have applauded the team for it.

You keep repeating about the 21 game win streak. I think that means more to you than it does others.

But what do I know, I'm just thinking when I raise my kids to act like responsible, dignified people, it should cover all of their lives, including when they are in a large group and can hide from detection.

Please. Easy on the sanctimony with the responsibility and dignity stuff.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

Hope I didn't sound whiney there MassPats. I just couldn't believe it.

Like I said there was about 1000 miles of driving involved and I wouldn't have it any other way. Also like I said, I got to see my team on the field. Yeah it would have been better if the outcome had been to my liking but that's the point. If you KNOW you're going to win why do they play the games?

To sort of rein in my comments here, there are buttholes at every game. I've seen 'Skins games and they're chock-full of 'em... but booing is just BS, especially when your team's won 21 straight regular season games.

Okay I'm done.

PFnV

 

[PaulNEPats]

Thank god we have another thread on this. Thanks a lot mod!

 

[Gainzo]

Hope I didn't sound whiney there MassPats. I just couldn't believe it.

Like I said there was about 1000 miles of driving involved and I wouldn't have it any other way. Also like I said, I got to see my team on the field. Yeah it would have been better if the outcome had been to my liking but that's the point. If you KNOW you're going to win why do they play the games?

To sort of rein in my comments here, there are buttholes at every game. I've seen 'Skins games and they're chock-full of 'em... but booing is just BS, especially when your team's won 21 straight regular season games.

Okay I'm done.

PFnV

I'm sorry you had a bad experience with some drunken fans but booing a crappy performance is par for the course up here.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

I'm sorry you had a bad experience with some drunken fans but booing a crappy performance is par for the course up here.

Really? Guess they don't cover it that closely via the ol' electronic media. Which crappy performance were they booing when we were 16-0? Or were they booing in 12-4 years or 14-2 years? It's weird. I can hear the boos over the air in Philly games, and apparently the players thought being booed and (mea culpa) seeing fans leave early were out-of-character events.

Why so much comment on the booing if it happens at all Pats games? Why didn't it ever show up in electronic coverage? Do they boo at some frequency below or above the ability of television to transfer, like a dog-whistle boo or something?

Or seriouly, everybody chime in and tell me I'm wrong, and people are booing all the time and I'm just not that observant. I'll drop it. It seemed like this particular week's behavior caught everyone's attention, and isn't business as usual.

How about it guys - do Pats fans always boo when things don't go their way?

 

[Gainzo]

Really? Guess they don't cover it that closely via the ol' electronic media. Which crappy performance were they booing when we were 16-0? Or were they booing in 12-4 years or 14-2 years? It's weird. I can hear the boos over the air in Philly games, and apparently the players thought being booed and (mea culpa) seeing fans leave early were out-of-character events.

Why so much comment on the booing if it happens at all Pats games? Why didn't it ever show up in electronic coverage? Do they boo at some frequency below or above the ability of television to transfer, like a dog-whistle boo or something?

Or seriouly, everybody chime in and tell me I'm wrong, and people are booing all the time and I'm just not that observant. I'll drop it. It seemed like this particular week's behavior caught everyone's attention, and isn't business as usual.

How about it guys - do Pats fans always boo when things don't go their way?

Can you read? I have stated that Pats fans have booed many times in the past. Why Sunday was any different is beyond me.

 

[CheerforTom]

The problem with this thread (and this issue) is that Andy and others have a very specific idea of what booing "means" which is nothing but an opinion, though him and the others arguing with him have yet to admit that. The reason I don't think Hobbs should have spoken out (beyond the giant wedge it has created between the fans here - and we ALL are fans) is that it gives validation to one single opinion.

This is why the Brady quote is important - because it proves that there is more than one answer here and that the Patriots as an organization aren't represented by Ellis Hobbs' comments, as some people seem to want to believe.

I GUARANTEE YOU the same people booing on Sunday are the same people who come on this board and trash other teams fans saying how great the Patriots are, how we kicked oyur @sses, etc.

For someone who screams and cries about assumptions, this sure is a big one.

 

[CheerforTom]

As far as Brady, I already told you what I think.

You sound like a 5 year old who got caught doing something wrong and is no trying to bargain into why it wasn't so wrong.

You really, really didn't. Read your own post. What do you think of the fact that Tom Brady disagrees with you? Our opinions mean nothing to you, that's clear, but does his? Can you REALLY imagine Brady saying "well yeah I feel that booing is okay in a Championship game but not when we had a winning streak, come on fans!".

That second part was incredibly arrogant. Oh sorry I forgot, we're the entitled scumbags who don't deserve the team. Like you, I wasn't at the game and so I can't be who you're talking about.

 

[Gainzo]

You really, really didn't. Read your own post. What do you think of the fact that Tom Brady disagrees with you? Our opinions mean nothing to you, that's clear, but does his? Can you REALLY imagine Brady saying "well yeah I feel that booing is okay in a Championship game but not when we had a winning streak, come on fans!".

That second part was incredibly arrogant. Oh sorry I forgot, we're the entitled scumbags who don't deserve the team. Like you, I wasn't at the game and so I can't be who you're talking about.

Well said. I would listen to Andy if he actually made a good point.

BTW: For those giving crap to the fans who were in the Stadium on Sunday. A big GFY.

 

[PatriotNMP43]

I think that fans have a right to act however they want. I think that fans also need to recognize that they contribute to the identity of their team.
The fans that booed the Pats as they lost to end a 21 game winning streak embarrassed the rest of the fans of this team, because they spoke nationally for all of us.
The message they sent: EVERYTHING THIS TEAM HAS DONE IS FORGOTTEN BY THE FANS AS SOON AS THEY PLAY POORLY.
Thats it end of story. Booing a team indicates disgust with them. If the entire fan base of the New England Patriots is justified to be disgusted by anything that happens in one day after what the team has done over the last 7 years, then I am disgusted to be part of it.
It was immature, disrespectful, and thankless.

I agree, i can handle booing better than leaving though, fans were leaving in the 3rd quarter, i found that very uncool, i always watch the FULL 60 MINUTES of every game no matter the score.

 

[CheerforTom]

I agree, i can handle booing better than leaving though, fans were leaving in the 3rd quarter, i found that very uncool, i always watch the FULL 60 MINUTES of every game no matter the score.

Your username is awesome

 

[Gainzo]

I agree, i can handle booing better than leaving though, fans were leaving in the 3rd quarter, i found that very uncool, i always watch the FULL 60 MINUTES of every game no matter the score.

You are a better man than me then. When my team is getting blown out at home I leave. I guess you have never seen that from every other fanbase in the world

 

[PatriotNMP43]

You are a better man than me then. When my team is getting blown out at home I leave. I guess you have never seen that from every other fanbase in the world

I think the booing thing is acceptable considering the performance, i would not boo but understand those who did. I know people leave early on their teams but in the 3rd quarter is way too soon IMO.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

Hopefully we can get each thread on the first page to be a different person's view on booing a professional football team in today's world. Maybe someone can offer some insight on how they felt as a fan to hear someone boo their team. Then we can get different quotes from that fan's friends and family on the subject, how they reacted to the incident, how it affected their performance at work, etc.