The Niners were upstarts in the '80's; there was the usual fan jealousy w/ them, but nothing like the vitriolic hate for the Pats.
It isn't fair, because I think BB is misunderstood & mischaracterized, but the hate starts with him. Running up the score in a few games & the adoption of the "eff the NFL" philosophy doesn't help, either.
It seems to me, that other teams fans are very envious of the continued success the Patriots are having. After 2003, most of them were probably hoping that the Pats success was over and that they would fall back into mediocrity as other teams have done. The hate has been building since then, because the Patriots stay successful despite a system that encourages parity, or at least that successful teams will have some "down" years. The Patriots are 'beating' the system by the way they do their business. That can turn occasional jealousy into envy and hate. And every rumour that validates their negativity towards the Patriots, voila...
Maybe the Patriots should make some kind of videoclip to be played before every play-off game, with the text nothing more than: "GUESS WHAT? WE'RE BACK...AGAIN"
BB considers the media a necessary evil. No matter what you say or do, it will turn into something negative if it serves a purpose to do so. Negative news sells better than positive news. Sometimes I think BB is deliberate in his non-answer answers. And yeah, that can turn some media types against you.
Were they running up the score against some defenseless poor lower division teams? No! No! No! They maximized their scoring efficiency: they scored because the opposing defense blew a coverage, or forgot to make a decent tackle. We've seen in previous seasons how the offense had to settle for fieldgoals, because promising drives stalled. It's not the offense's job to deliberately screw up opportunities, it's the defense's job to prevent scores to the best of their ability. I haven't heard anyone complaining about the Colts putting up plenty of TDs in previous seasons, like when Peyton went after Marino's TD record. Or did I miss something?
There's nothing wrong with an "eff you" philosophy towards the rest of the league, especially when there is enough reason for it.
Spygate has lingered on, because the NFL, especially Roger Goodell, didn't conclude it successfully. They never gave a clear and sufficient explanation for their actions with the video material. So doubts remained about the content of the material, and although destroying the material was the best way to make sure nobody else could abuse it, their half-hearted approach made it look like there was a cover-up of some sorts. If Goodell doesn't want Congress to look into the matter, he will have to give a d**n good explanation to Congressman Specter. Congressional hearings will only lead to a witch hunt against the Patriots, and that will give the NFL a serious black eye in the end.
). Wilfork, Vrabel, Koppen were enjoying (at least trying to) their first Pro Bowl selection.
