' Who are the Boston fans '

[italian pat patriot]

nice article from the Globe

what do you think about it ?

i read also the 1990 one...

was it true that few New Englanders admit to being Patriots fans ?

anyway it is clear that now the Patriots popularity grow immensly in these past years

 

[Michael]

nice article from the Globe

what do you think about it ?

i read also the 1990 one...

was it true that few New Englanders admit to being Patriots fans ?

anyway it is clear that now the Patriots popularity grow immensly in these past years

Personally I grew up in the 70s rooting for the Pats and have never been a fan of another NFL team. I know many avid Patriot fans. I think it is true that New Englanders outside of MA tend to not be Pats fans. CT people tend to be more Yankees / Jets fans. I know one guy in CT that is an avid Cowboys fan. But, I live right in Pats country. A 10 min drive to The Razor. Lots of Pats bumper stickers, license plates and Championship caps around here.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

When the Pats started in 1960 this was Giants country with a few Browns fans as those were the 2 teams on TV here at the time. A segment of Bostonians have always had a NY inferiority complex and big apple wannabees rooted for the network hyped Giants. It took a few years for the AFL to get street creds culminating in Namath's SB III and Len Dawson's SB IV victories over the NFC. In the late 60s and early 70s Pats teams sucked which did not help the cause. Once a decade 76, 86, 96 the Pats would rise briefly out of the cellar and do well but would then sink back to sub-mediocrity.

 

[5 Rings for Brady!!]

I live in Virginia, and Pats fans are coming out of the woodwork around here. People at work with bumperstickers. No more than any other team, mind you!

But this has all happened recently! Bandwagon jumpers are fine with me. It was the bad performance of the Pats which kept people quiet for so long, and the Pats should be Contendas during Brady's career, at least.

Up in Boston, maybe people are sheepishly bowing to the media fantasy about the Red Sox being somehow much superior just because....But in Virginia, there are a surprising number of Red Sox caps and more and more Pats bumperstickers.

 

[atlpatsfan]

I live in Atlanta (hence the ATLPatsfan name). I was raised in NH and there are plenty of Pats fans there. I think they get fewer and fewer as you go north though. Atlanta has quite a few Pats fans and a lot of them are not just bandwagon folks. I have been going to a Pats sports bar since 2 years before the 1st SB win and it is always packed.

 

[DarrylS]

I began as a Browns Fan, and some of my earliest memories were of Jim Brown, YA Tittle, those monster defenses from Chicago... I stopped following football for a while, even though I enjoyed the SB's... in the early 70's started back going to training camp, and became a die hard pats fans.

One of my greatest joys is when I go to the market on game day, every one is dressed in colors... incredible from the deli folks, to the customers to the check out people. Unbelievable, how much the Patriots are revered her in RI.

 

[Pats67]

Word to the wise -- don't believe a ******* thing that Dan Shaughnessy says about Patriots fans or the team itself. His idea of a good time would be a roundtable with Doris Kearns Goodwin and John Updike to discuss the incandescent joy of being a fatalistic knee-jerking baseball fan/drama queen. Methinks football is a bit lowbrow for Mr. Grey Poupon.

 

[Patriotic]

Good Work by Shaughnessy

His recap of Pats fans is a good read. I was a Pats fan in the early 70's in western MA and there were very few of us. Some Giants fans as a result of being the only professional team in the region for all those years. But the Pats were a small blip on the radar screen.

Shaughnessy seems to be a lightening rod but give him his due when he does good work like in this story.

 

[Pats67]

I don't call the sort of ridiculous stereotypes and generalizations he traffics in as 'good work'. He's a lazy cynical hack, not to mention that he works for the Communications Department for the Red Sox, formerly known as the Boston Globe. Not that it influences his work any.

But no string of Lombardi trophies can trump the century-long saga of New England's American League baseball franchise. The Red Sox are never out of season, Fenway Park might as well be on the Freedom Trail, and baseball is the sport that endures while our other three games float in and out of fashion.

Personally, my response to that is '**** you', and I'm also old enough to emember when baseball "floated in and out of fashion" too. The Patriots have NEVER been out of fashion for me, I don't gkive two sh**s about the Red Sox, and I don't like this crap constantly being forced down my throat by uppity hacks like this prick.

 

[italian pat patriot]

in the '70 and '80 was it full Schaefer-Sullivan-Foxboro stadium or partially empty ?

did the people went to the stadium dressed with Pats colours also at that time or not at all ?
when i was in Boston i bought many 'throwbacks' articles...

ps = sorry for baseball fans but i do not like it...i do not like basket either...but i like hockey and i like the Bruins (not really a fan)

ps 2 = nice anyway that today's the Patriots are quite near the Red Sox in terms pof popularity and perhaps somewhere in NE the Pats perhaps has also the 'majority' compared to the Red Sox (i hope so...)

 

[Pats67]

in the '70 and '80 was it full Schaefer-Sullivan-Foxboro stadium or partially empty ?

As I recall, the 'new' stadium was well populated when it opened, and of course, just a few years later the Pats matured into a contending team, where they remained to the end of the decade. Down times occurred soon after, along with a player strike, but by 1985, the fans were back, and I'm sure you know the story from there.

 

[Pats726]

When the Pats started in 1960 this was Giants country with a few Browns fans as those were the 2 teams on TV here at the time. A segment of Bostonians have always had a NY inferiority complex and big apple wannabees rooted for the network hyped Giants. It took a few years for the AFL to get street creds culminating in Namath's SB III and Len Dawson's SB IV victories over the NFC. In the late 60s and early 70s Pats teams sucked which did not help the cause. Once a decade 76, 86, 96 the Pats would rise briefly out of the cellar and do well but would then sink back to sub-mediocrity.

There were a few Browns fans..and Colts fans (who could NOT be a fan of the open offense of teh Colts!!) BUT it was Giant country...pushed in and hyped..as a kid growing up I HATED the NY FOOTBALL Giants...from Gifford to Title to the over rated Sam Huff, I always liek the Pats and in the early days, they were one of the best in the AFL. True, late 60s..early 70s were not the best days, but mid 70s on, they got better and then downward fast...just a rocky road..until Kraft's ownership.

 

[italian pat patriot]

As I recall, the 'new' stadium was well populated when it opened, and of course, just a few years later the Pats matured into a contending team, where they remained to the end of the decade. Down times occurred soon after, along with a player strike, but by 1985, the fans were back, and I'm sure you know the story from there.

correct my friend: yes, from 1985, more or less, i know the story.

it is so beautiful there are in this forum fans that followed the Patriots since the beginning and, expecially, also when the team was one , and sometimes, the worst in the league.

but the R E A L fans, imho, are the fans that are WITH the team also when the things are not running well

and this is the reason why i still love the 'old' Patriots, also if they were not a # 1 team like today's we are

ps = in this moment i am 'near' the Bruins fans (returning to the thread)

 

[italian pat patriot]

One of my greatest joys is when I go to the market on game day, every one is dressed in colors... incredible from the deli folks, to the customers to the check out people. Unbelievable, how much the Patriots are revered

when i was in US i remember when i went in Peabody to a 'commercial centre' and i remember with pleasure how many people had Pats colours...for me was amazing...and honestly there were more Pats then Red Sox colours (but it was end october so we where in full NFL season...)

but for me it was good

i remember also a man quite old with his wife both with pats t shirt ! beautiful !

 

[Bostonian1962]

I live in Virginia, and Pats fans are coming out of the woodwork around here. People at work with bumperstickers. No more than any other team, mind you!

But this has all happened recently! Bandwagon jumpers are fine with me. It was the bad performance of the Pats which kept people quiet for so long, and the Pats should be Contendas during Brady's career, at least.

Up in Boston, maybe people are sheepishly bowing to the media fantasy about the Red Sox being somehow much superior just because....But in Virginia, there are a surprising number of Red Sox caps and more and more Pats bumperstickers.

Well, I'm in VA too. Being that my license plate is Red Sox related, and my wifes is Patriots related, I would have to agree. There are a ton of Patriot fans down here. Murphy's Pub in Alexandria, is PACKED on game day, and has been for years; even before the first title.

Now that the team is in the midst of a dynasty, I notice alot more kids wearing the garb. Kids like winners.

I met one of my best friends down here at a gas station. His car is loaded with New England team stuff. Mine too. We started talking......

I went to a single A baseball game this past weekend. It was the farm team of the Nationals playing the farm team of the Orioles. Turns out myself and another guy were talking about our New England roots, and the whold section turned into Red Sox fans just trying to catch a game. It was awesome, and underlined what huge sports fans New Englanders are.

 

[Bostonian1962]

As I recall, the 'new' stadium was well populated when it opened, and of course, just a few years later the Pats matured into a contending team, where they remained to the end of the decade. Down times occurred soon after, along with a player strike, but by 1985, the fans were back, and I'm sure you know the story from there.

Well, to be honest with you, the stadium was usually empty back in the 70's. My family had season tickets, and we were there every game. The crowds could be pretty sparse.

Of course, I won't even get into the issue of how a true, long time fan like me, that sat in the cold during 3 win seasons, can't even get playoff tickets now, because the corporations get most of them. I'm not even going to go there. Oops, I guess I just did.

 

[3 to be 4]

there have been many diehards since the lean years. But this idea of a post 2001 bandwagon is just crap. the popularity exploded back after the 1993 season when, after everyone was resolved with the fact this promising team with Parcells and Bledsoe were leaving for St Louis, Bob Kraft bought the
team. Suddenly, this promising team was here to stay, and all *&^& broke loose. The start of the 1994 season was like no other in enthusiasm and excitement. That is when it started, so anybody who says to you its all been about the 2001 SB, its b.s.

 

[PatsDeb]

I live in NH and there are more Pats bumper stickers, decals, magnets, etc. up here than there are Red Sox. The Pats always had a good following, at least from my family & friends, even during the lean years; it just wasn't so "cool" to be a Pats fan, so you didn't advertise it as much. There was always something lovably frustrating about them though, even in the dark days!

 

[kptmorgan04]

I was born in the South Shore in 81 and lived there till 87 before moving to the left coast for a few years, then to eagles country for most of my life, until finally making it back to boston last summer. One of my favorite memories as a kid was getting subs with my dad and watching the Pats on sundays. He was always much more of a Pats fan and it is great being in the midst of pats fans everywhere compared to trying to hunt them down in other states.
I am much more of a Pats/football fan than Sox/baseball fan, although I love going out around Fenway now that I live here, but I would have to say as an unbiased guy living and working in the heart of boston that the Sox do have more of a local and national fan base and are still the number one team in town and I really cant see them letting that up unless they have a long period of losing teams, which I cant see happening under the current owernship.

 

[italian pat patriot]

Well, to be honest with you, the stadium was usually empty back in the 70's. My family had season tickets, and we were there every game. The crowds could be pretty sparse.

Of course, I won't even get into the issue of how a true, long time fan like me, that sat in the cold during 3 win seasons, can't even get playoff tickets now, because the corporations get most of them. I'm not even going to go there. Oops, I guess I just did.

but is it true that at the 'old' Stadium the crowd was much more better (noise) then today's ?

i think that in these years (79-80) the 'base' was made by really rabid fans...
i certainly would have been one of them also in these years, surely.