Know how he feels somewhat, prior to the redemption during this current reign of NFL Superiority. In the 80's & 90's when I would come to work and there would be all the Jets, Dolphins & Giants fans in their "Starter Puff Coats" acting all proud, and as a diehard Pats fan had no garb to wear at all. For the most part the Pats were seldom on TV, they would make some comments about what a loser team the Pats were.. but I never backed down in my fandom while listening to the Pats game on my Sony walkman... they thought I was a "degenerate" gambler...
I never bragged about the mediocrity and disfunctionality of the Pats during those days.. just ignored the noise and moved along.
The Jets brag about their draft picks they "earned" for having another crappy season.. they even lost "Fireman Ed" their most vocal fan... what a freaking joke they have turned into, and now add Gase into the mix, dim outlook...
Younger Pats fans don't get this part, they think the older ones are lording it over them, having stuck with a team before it was dominant... while the younger ones are untested... but going through those years builds character, IMHO.
Right now -- and outside of the region -- I wear Pats gear at least a few times a week in public, and I often have to hear rubbish about "cheatriots" and all that. I guess the younger Pats fans are getting a little thicker skin than they might otherwise with a less hated dynasty. But then, there's never been a dynasty this successful for this long. I guess this is "normal" and inevitable -- who knows? It would take a further 20 years to find a comparison case. The closest we've seen is the 9ers... I don't remember ANYBODY *****ing about Carmen Policy about cap-cheating... there's no asterisk by the 9ers, there's just a footnote saying oh yeah by the way, the cap-cheating thing, but it doesn't matter.
But I'm off-topic, talking about dynasty years, not loser years... yeah I remember those "oh I hope I hope I hope" years t0o. I remember getting Bledsoe and thinking "OMG I just heard a guy on ESPN say if he could have any QB for the next 10 years it would be Drew... he's like another coach on the field..." Then I got psyched when it was justified, not proactively, when talking to other fans.
JESTers haven't had a pick comparable to Drew... well, certainly since last century. Now bear in mind, Drew was the first round 2nd overall guy... and he played like it for the most part. But he's the "sooooooo close" pick for us. The JETE would give their QBs' collective throwing arms to have landed Drew, and he's not even what you need to get to the level the Pats attained. I don't think JETE fans even
know what they're wishing for, it's so rare.
I can only say, the Pats achieved it. They really, really did it. What a gift to all of us as fans... and what an impossibility is would be for the JEST to ever get there.
Speaking of drafts... with all the wasted NJ picks, I just wonder what would have happened if (1) the draft were not designed to favor weaklings, and (2) if further picks weren't stolen from the NFL's flagship franchise over and over again.
JEST fans should be careful, since they are in such close proximity to the shining example of football excellence that is the NE Patriots... the Patriots aren't hated/admired because they're doing something easy, or even something slightly difficult... the Patriots are doing something historic, which might never be surpassed. In fact, the smart money would be on never.
Let that sink in. Your wildest dreams are about one day ascending to a height one season, if all things come together, to the heights that the Patriots have inhabited for two decades.
Two. Effing. Decades.
You know how you nurse the memory of going further than the Pats one or two years in the playoffs, between our chunks of Super Bowl appearances?
That's your upside. That's what your shooting for.
And at present, you keep missing.
Man it must suck to be you guys.
