When Did You Become a Pats Fan?

[#56300ex]

I started pulling for them when they were making their way to their first Super Bowl appearance in 1985. (I was 10) Growing up in WA state (Seahawk country) makes it awkward for a kid in a Patriots hat. After Bledsoe was drafted out of WSU, there were a ton of bandwagon jumpers around here, but I guess we were all bandwagon jumpers at one time. It was actually pretty cool, I went to UW Husky football camp when I was playing ball in high school and the first guys to show up were myself and another kid named Chad Eaton. Yes, THAT Chad Eaton. He was a pretty cool guy. If only I had known...

 

[Clonamery]

When I was a kid everything was baseball all the time until my Little League coached asked me to play in a Pop Warner League. So I started looking at football in 1974 and immediately identified with Andy Johnson.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

When I was a kid everything was baseball all the time until my Little League coached asked me to play in a Pop Warner League. So I started looking at football in 1974 and immediately identified with Andy Johnson.

Whoa! Andy Johnson was posting on PatsFans in '74?

 

[edzo44]

From the very beginning in 1960. How could I not? A Massachusetts boy who loved football finally had a team of his own to root for - - - "The Boston Patriots"!

I'm glad they eventually ended up in Foxboro and have become the "New England Patriots" basically because "Boston" didn't really deserve them. "Boston" didn't even try to fight seriously for them with all the Boston council and State political in-fighting and pissing contests involved, so now the whole New England region gets to support them and its even better that way. They really ARE "The New England Patriots" and represent the whole region's passionate football fans.

They basically sucked or flailed in mediocrity for long spans of time but after a 42 year wait they finally reached the promised land in 2001 and then went and reached football nirvana 2 more times for 3 superbowls in 4 years!!! Solid potential to add more hardware in the next 4 or 5 years. It's been well worth the wait and all the years rooting for them, pitiful as some of those years were. Life is good! :singing:

 

[Pat the Pats Fan]

Grew up in Baltimore, big Baltimore Colts fan with season tickets. The minute they left via the Mayflower moving van, my dad and I started looking around at who to follow. It was process of elimination at first, who not to root for. Local teams were out, just due to the natural rivalries. Colts were in the AFC east then, with Pats, Phins, Jets and Bills. Phins were out, they stole Shula from the Colts, Jets were out, they beat the Colts in SB3, Bills were out, well because they were the Bills. So we started following the Pats, and it wasn't easy in the early 80s. As I started my career, I relocated several times, landing in New Hampshire in 91. Getting to watch every game and actually go to many at Foxboro was like dying and going to heaven. '96 took me to NJ and the land of the Jest and Gnats, but the internet, directv and sunday ticket kept me in touch with my Pats. '02 brought me to Ravens country, but my Pats decals on my car announce my allegiance.

 

[PromisedLand]

Way back when....1960...! Sometimes I shudder to think how old I am.....

My answer too...both parts

 

[Clonamery]

Whoa! Andy Johnson was posting on PatsFans in '74?

Forget Flutie, AJ could dropkick for real.

 

[biffman]

As long as I can remember. My first real memory of being a “fan” is when I bought one of the publications re the upcoming season and I ripped out the pages about the Patriots and used to read over them all the time. The raiders had won the SB the previous year, so that must have been around 1984. I was ten years old. I rooted for all the local teams since I was in diapers, but I really got into the game around that time.

 

[fgssand]

1960 here....my Dad took me to the foirst game ever played at old BU Field and the Patriots have been #1 for me ever since.

Have had season tickets in the family since 1971, the day they moved to Foxboro!!

Have never missed a game at Gillette Stadium and went to about 98% of all games played at Shaeffer/Sullivan/Foxboro!!

Go PATS>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

 

[shakadave]

I started collecting baseball and football cards in 1972. That led me to watching Sox games (Saturdays at 2:00 P.M.) but it was a couple more years before I really figured out when the Patriots were on. So I didn't watch the Pats much until Grogan's rookie year, but I do remember Sam Bam Cunningham who I think pre-dated Grogan. I actually remember seeing more Dolphins games (on TV in MA) in the early-mid '70s than Patriots games. I also remember following O.J. Simpson's big year --- especially that game vs. the Pats in the snow when he ran for 200+.

 

[AirForcePatFan]

I became a fan in 1996 after seeing them play Green Bay in the Super Bowl... Before that, unfortunately, I never heard of the Pats... yikes...

 

[CTPatsFan]

In '78 when I was 8. My best friend's brother lived in Boston (but was a Roiders fan) and went to some Pats games an brought us some banners. My father was a Giants fan from the pre-merger days but has since been converted.

I root for all of the local (New England) pro teams.

 

[dalero]

I became a fan when NBC started televising AFL games.

 

[PatsDeb]

It's the 70's for me! I was born in 1964 and can't remember NOT watching the Pats on Sundays, even when they were terrible. Many a Sunday we stayed at our cottage in NH late because we could get ABC in Maine on the TV and watch the game when it was blacked out back home in MA. Ah the memories!

 

[Sporin]

My grandfather, and my father were Pat's fans so I guess since the day I was born in 1971. My allegiance has never wavered, good years or bad.

 

[homerpatsfan]

i am from ny,i was 12 and just started playing football and watching . igot a helmet from a gumball machine and really liked the "pat the patriot emblum"and have been a fan ever since.even though i wasnt able to watch many games at that time.1975. love my nfl sunday ticket.go pats:rocker: :rocker:

 

[HEY BRO! WHAT UP?]

The first full football game I watched of the Pats was the superbowl against the Green Bay Packers in '97. I was in middle school at the time. I rooted for the Pats because they were a 14 point underdog. I ended up becoming a fan of the team and my four favorite players at the time were Bledsoe, Curtis Martin, Terry Glenn and Ben Coates. As my familiarity with the team grew, my favorite players were Chris Slade, Ted Johsnon, Drew Bledsoe, Terry Glenn, Curtis Martin, Sam Gash, Ty Law, Lawyer Milloy, Willie McGinest, Willie Clay and Larry Wigham (the special teams ace!) and my favorite TE of all freaking time is "BIG" Ben Coates! I didn't follow the offseason as much as I do now because I was young and didn't spend much time on the computer. I only used it for homework. I didn't watch much sportscenter as well for a reason I can't remember but I was a crazy fan of the Los Angeles Lakers (I live in California). When the '98 season came around and I opened the SI football preview magazine I saw that Curtis Martin wasn't on the team. At RB, it read "Robert Edwards". I thought to myself "who the hell is Robert Edwards!". Was it a misprint? After that day, I educated myself on the computer for what NFL sites to go to for news and transactions. All my friends in High School made fun of me because I always looked up news and stats. Wow, that was a long time ago. The rest is history.

 

[Seymour93]

I became a fan in 1996 after seeing them play Green Bay in the Super Bowl... Before that, unfortunately, I never heard of the Pats... yikes...

Same here. Well considering that I was only eight years old at the time, I had a good excuse. During the late nineties it developed into a passion for me. By 2000, almost all the t-shirts I wore to school were Pats related.

After BB's first year when we finished 5-11, my dad came up to me and suggested that I choose a different team to follow as the Pats were surely never going to be any good. He recommended the Titans. I didn't even answer in words. I just looked at him in disgust.

 

[RxJock1120]

When my dad took me to a game when I was 11 years old (12 years ago) versus the Jets, I became a die hard fan ever since.

 

[Patriotic]

1969 . . . Carl Garrett, Ron Sellers, Mike Taliferro, Jim "Earthquake" Hunt and the rest of the lads. The 2007 ownership, front office, coaching, stadium, media coverage and players all are superior. But we did have better looking uniforms back in 1969.

It was fun to be a Pats fan back then and remains fun now. As Gil Santos magically said at the end of SB XXXIX, "It's good!".