Non-US Born Pats Fans!

[gomezcat]

Bump to remind myself to post tomorrow when the very large amount of beer has worn off, not that I have a lot to add that is interesting.

 

[gamingfrog]

I live in Québec.

Bonsoir!

Nice to see I'm not the only long time Pats fan in the City. Recently, in Quebec, many new football fans have started to root for the Pats. There was not a whole lot of us in 1993.

 

[PatmanFever]

I was born in Africa and grew up loving what everyone back home calls 'real football' aka soccer. Came to the States on an exchange program while in HS and after HS went to college in New England. I initially got into baseball and the Sox (my host family lived a couple of blocks from Fenway and we would go to home games) and fell in love with the Sox (I was so depressed after the 2003 ALCS that I called out sick from work for 3 days straight. And after the WS in 2004 I called out cuz I was too drunk!!).

My first fall here I watched the Pats lose to BB and the Browns in the playoffs and I remember cursing Vinny and Belichick. Funny how more than 10 years later I was yelling at the TV and Belichick to put Vinny in during the Titans game last year so he could throw a TD pass and keep his streak running! Anyway, I didn't know anything about the game at first, couldn't understand why they called it football when you use your hands more than anything but I slowly got to learn the rules and the strategy behind it. I was a sucker for the Pats from day one even though they went through some rough years. Which was totally bearable because as a Sox fan, suffering came with the territory! But I stuck with them and I've been a die hard fan since. It's amazing how I've ended up loving football more than soccer, which is blasphemous back home! Even though I no longer live in New England (I live in Austin, TX now, which is Dallas Cowboy country, so the Pats-Cowboys game was extra sweet for me) I watch every Pats game and there's a local Irish pub owned by a Boston transplant where Pats fans gather to watch games.

I have never felt prouder of being a Pats fan!! Especially during the MNF game against the Ravens when I was a lone Pats fan in a sea of Ravens fans in the section I was sitting at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore and they were all jawing and cussing at me saying "How does it feel to lose a game?" and I almost got into a fight when I shouted back "In Brady I trust" right before he threw the TD to Gaffney!! How sweet it was! Listening to all the Ravens fans whining as we walked out of the stadium was so satisfying and every now and then I would walk past another Pats fan and he/she would give me a nod or a wink. It was wicked awesome!

 

[JoeSixPat]

Any other Antarticans around here? Or am I the only one?

 

[Patjew]

I thought you pats fans were thick skinned. Bwaaaaahaaaahaaaahaaaha!

Not at all. Where did you hear that? We're a sensitive lot.

 

[SEA_Pat]

Grew up in Toronto, and even during the O.J. era in Buffalo they wouldn't sell out most games, so the Bills game was blacked out and the NBC affiliate would switch to the Patriots. Coming from Toronto, you just couldn't root for Barfalo anyway. Mack Herron had just joined the Patriots after being a star in the CFL for Winnipeg also, and set the record for combined yards that year. So I was hooked. They were building up the foundation for that great 1976 team that got robbed by Ben Dreith. Especially the defense, always loved the Patriot linebackers and secondary over those years, McGrew, Nelson, Tippett, Blackmon, Clayborn, Haynes, Fox, James. There are actually a lot of Patriot fans from way back when in Toronto, Kingston, Montreal...

Have only seen the Patriots play live once, when I lived in Kansas City (they got whipped, I got drunk). Now living in SE Asia but still get up at 1 AM or 4 AM to watch the games on the TV or via the internet. Screws up my Mondays, but what can you do? The Patriots have become the greatest team of all time. Never would have believed it possible...

 

[bluepatriot]

i was borned in Malaysia and went to the U of Michigan for college. didn;t really know much about american football.

didn't really watch football game during my freshmen yr cos i thought it was just a bunch of fat guys pushing each other around

one saturday afternoon during my sophomore yr, i was gonna go to library to study for a quiz on monday. met a classmate at the bus stop, he has an extra ticket and offered me for just $10! so i thought f*** the quiz and went to the big house. it was a last minute field goal win against washington. my classmate was kind enough explaining to me through out the game what's happening on the field and it got me interested a bit to football...

started to watch michigan football on tv but not really a fan yet until i watched the comeback win on the road against minnesota that really get me hooked ! i was actually jumping in front of the tv, hahha..got season tix in my senior yr and watching big house football was a heck of an experience i ever had in my life. still remember the triple OT win against michigan state where i screamed the hell out and lost my voice braylon edwards was really amazing! wonder if there's a chance he becomes a patriot someday with brady throwing him the ball...

started to become a pats fan because of tom brady. i was looking for a nfl team to root for and what else other than the team where a former wolverine is the starting QB ! the more i follow the pats, the more i love it and not just solely because of tom brady anymore...

one of my wish lists is to watch a patriots game at gillete stadium with tonnes of patriots fan (really not that many pats fan outside boston, even in detroit where lions suck!), hope i can realize it asap...

go pats and abuse the jets! (yes, i said ABUSE)

 

[Mikman]

My story has similarities with some of the stories above.

I live in Flanders, the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium. With French and German the other official languages of my country, I seems like I could start some conversations in those languages with some other guys in this thread

Honestly, a few years ago I had never heard of Tom Brady or Peyton Manning. The only names of football players I had ever heard of were Joe Montana and uh,... OJ Simpson. I knew most of the rules of football because I played Madden with my friends sometimes but that was just for fun, not because I was really interested in the NFL itself.

In 2005 I was on holiday on Jamaica. Unfortuntaly, it started raining almost every late afternoon. So we turned on the television, and watched some football programs broadcasted on ESPN, NBC etc... That was just a few days before the start of the regular season. I really started to get interested in the game. When I was back at home, I found out a Belgian TV channel had just bought the TV-rights of the NFL. Just 1 game a week, not in real-time and late on sunday night ( 11.15 pm ), but hey, it was a beginning and I was thrilled.

I used the internet to learn more about football and still played a lot of Madden, which also helped a lot to understand the game.

I've always been, and still am, a big 'soccer' fan. As a child, I started rooting for a professional soccer team in my neigbourhoud and I still am a season-ticket holder. For many years, I've been a mod on the official forum and I've written analyses of games and some columns. I've always been extremely interested in X's and O's, and actually the whole management and bussiness part of sports. Football and the whole NFL-concept gave me some great new insights. Shared revenue, primary and secondary markets, blackout-policy, drafting, free agency, tactics and scheming,... just great to get a grasp on al these things. And when it comes to the bussiness and management part , there's no better organisation than the Patriots, for sure.


Since a few months, broadcasting of the NFL had improvred a lot here. Now I can watch both sunday afternoon games live, as well as SNF and MNF and the games on NFL Network. So I can't complain nowadays
Unfortunately, the weekend's game will be the first time they won't air the Pats this season. It will be Jags-Steelers instead.


I could write a lot more about why I root for the Patsbut I will make it easier by just saying I completely agree with Scouse Patriot on the previous page:

"Liverpool in how they operated from a organisation standpoint. They didn't wash their dirty laundry in public like other teams and a very well run setup. Playing wise, again they were my type of team and mentality. Hardly any superstars, jusy highly disiplined hard workers who knew, and still do, how to get it done. From then on out I followed the Patriots.

You guys in America may find it hard or even question how a man from another land can have loyalty and a bond with a team over a thousand miles away but I do. You may question if we really do appreciate the team as much as you do, but I do and to be honest with you I never thought I'd get this way about the Patriots. I thought it would be a casual bond but it turned out to be alot more. I nearly woke the street up when Jabar hauled in that TD against the Ravens a few weeks back, which surprised me when emotion just came out."

That's exactly how I feel about it, too. Thx for writing it down that nice, Scouse Patriot!


BTW with my soccer background, I never understood why some people and media were whining about the Pat's running up the score being classless. My favorite soccer team is really really bad and they take some severe beatings every season ( actually they lost al of their away games so far this season and are second to last in the standings ) but I never ever accused the other team of running up the score. I blamed my own team for being worthless, or the management for their stupidness, but not the opposing team. I would feel offended if they lifted their feet of the pedal. You just have to play hard the whole game, there's nothing classless about that. And it's a way for the superior team to build momentum for the upcoming weeks.

 

[gomezcat]

My story is way short of unique, so think of it as applying to a lot of 30 something Pats fans from the UK. See ukpatriots.com for examples of the guys I am talking about.

I am originally from North West England, FWIW, i.e. 200 miles north west of London. As a teenager in Bolton (I was 15) in 1986, I got into Football through my friends. My best friend was a Pats fan, so the choice was made easy for me.

He liked the name (ironically, given its historical context) and the colours; at that time, every team we supported wore red. Left to my own devices I would have become a fan of Cleveland, New Orleans or Minnesota.

As with Mike, I have had peaks and troughs in my following the sport, which have mirrored my ability to follow it on TV. The late 90s were close to a wash out as it pretty much disappeared from terrestrial TV.

It is a very happy coincidence that the Pats' success is at the same time as my having enough money to afford broadband (and I can therefore watch every Pats game within 48 hours of them being played, with the exception of the playoffs) and the re-appearance of the game on terrestrial TV.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

I was born in Africa and grew up loving what everyone back home calls 'real football' aka soccer. Came to the States on an exchange program while in HS

Whoa! A true African-American! Welcome!

 

[Patsguy05]

I was born in Maine but my family moved to Argentina when I was 4 mo. old. All of our family and friends were from Maine so we heard about the Pats all the time. There really was no other ream talked about. Growing up in Argentina everyone talked about "futbol americano". When I moved back to the states for good I was 16 and living in Maine again. Of course those years were not exactly "the good years" but we all stuck by our team. Now I have the misfortune of living in Indianapolis but honestly its great being a Pats fan here in colts country. :rocker:

 

[upstater1]

Whoa! A true African-American! Welcome!

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[UKPATRIOT]

Hi Guys I live in Hertfordshire on the outskirts of London in the UK.
I first came across this great sport in November 1985 when as a 15 year old I came across a highlights show on a Sunday evening a week after the games were played!
The first featured game I came across was the Dolphins at Patriots, I chose the Patriots as my team to follow and watched my first Pats hero Steve Grogan lead us to victory.
Later in the season I stayed up till 4 am with school the next day to watch SuperBowl XX , this at the time was the only NFL game we got live.
I was then able to follow the Pats via Armed Forces Radio which transmitted out of Germany and the radio signal would always disappear on an important 3rd down!
I particularly remember shouting the house down at 4am when the Pats beat Jacksonville in the AFC Championship game.
The days of listening to crackly radio reception and week old TV and magazines are now thankfully over , us Pats fans in the UK are spoilt at the moment and this Sunday's Jets game is only the 3rd not to be carried live this season.
I was lucky enough to visit Foxboro in 1998 for a game against the then Tennessee Oilers it was a dream come true to visit the Boston area and the stadium, although it was obvious we needed a new facillity , I hope one day to visit Gillette and see the changes since then.
Another way I keep in touch with the Pats are through the Podcasts available, in Particular Murphy's Patriots and PFW in Progress both are superb for a Pats fan living overseas and make you feel a part of Patriots Nation.
One thing I have noticed through the Podcasts is the large number of Pats fans there are in the UK now, according to the NFLUK website I believe we are now the best supported team over here, 3 rings may be why! , back in 1995 in a UK NFL magazine I saw an advert from a guy to create a UK Patriots fan club ,it never got off the ground as I was the only one to reply! How times have changed!
It's been great to read all the experiences of how people came to support the Pats from all over the world. Thanks for reading this and Go Pats!!

 

[Canada's #1 Pats Fan]

Grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Love the Blue Bombers - always will. Started out a Seahawks fan then came the Pats memorable playoff run and SuperBowl appearance in the '85 season. My Borther-in-law to be was a huge Dolphins fan and I wanted nothing more then to rain on his parade because I didn't want Marino to win. Rubbed the Pats win in his face and from that point on followed the Pats in ernest. Finally this past Oct., I made my trip to New England to see my first Pats game ever. Holed up in the Super 8 motel in North Attleboro during that early Oct. heat spell and then went to see the Pats beat the Browns 34-17. Currently live in Langley, BC and have seen a couple of Seahawk games down in Seattle. Will definitley be going to next years Pats game as part of their brutal west coast schedule. I was hoping to see the Pats in exhibition this year as part of the China Bowl but that didn't happen.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

You guys and girls have been awesome! didn't think this was going to generate this many replies.

What's fascinating is that most of us knew nothing about the game, not only that, it even looked weird at first.

i was born in philadelphia...does that count?

 

[PatsfanGlo]

I think a lot of us have one thing in common. I noticed a lot of people mentioned playing Madden to learn about football. I remember I first bought Madden in 96 for PC and I must have played that game over and over again. It was real helpful to learn about each position and situational football. Even tough Madden these days is bit of bore, he is very helpful for fans with limited knowledge. Keep these stories coming! Oh btw Patsguy05, my wife is from Argentina as well! Mucho gusto!

 

[Patsguy05]

I think a lot of us have one thing in common. I noticed a lot of people mentioned playing Madden to learn about football. I remember I first bought Madden in 96 for PC and I must have played that game over and over again. It was real helpful to learn about each position and situational football. Even tough Madden these days is bit of bore, he is very helpful for fans with limited knowledge. Keep these stories coming! Oh btw Patsguy05, my wife is from Argentina as well! Mucho gusto!

I hope she's as much the Pats fan as you are!

 

[Ace]

I'm a German Pats-fan since the middle of the 90s.
Never lived in the US or knew any American guys then.
Now I've got a few friends living in the US and I talk a lot with US-Americans.

And it's not so easy to find German Pats-Fans...

But now I started a new project: A German Pats-Fanclub.
Would be great if more German (speaking) guys would join!
You can get the address to our website via PM or mail.

 

[TheBaronPatriot]

I came here in 1995 from Belgium of all places. I was 10 years old and had just played a couple of seasons of organized "football" (soccer) and something didn't seem right...

Couldn't touch other players... just run around them and kick the ball.
Anyway, I came here and thought football a barbarian sport and both my father and I laughed how such a sport was not going to be for us. To watch, and certainly not to play!

But then came those first teenage years and all the emotions that come with it. I was a child with a lot of bottled up energy and aggression and freshman year of high school it all came out on the muddy fields! I was a backup on a team of 53 freshmen, but eventually became a starter and as a sophomore was one of the best players on JV.

Playing football is what drew me in. I realized the passion, toughness, and camaraderie it takes to play this sport. So then the love affair for the Pats really got going.

Especially given the fact about the team first concept, the BB cerebral/strategic approach to the game. It all made so much sense.

Then I went to business school and studied how the most efficient and successful businesses are run and compared them to the Pats, again a match!

So it's been an obsession ever since.

 

[AzPatsFan]

I am posting this as a post-mortem memorial to my friend Terry.

He came to the US as a Brit emigre', who had also worked in South Africa as well. He used to derisively chide me about the American football as they guys were constantly stopping, standing around, and then they played for four or five seconds only to stop again and repeat.

That only lasted a mere month, our wives hit it off,and they were constantly invited over. So he was watching me watch a game, and suddenly said. "You know the American game is not about endurance, and continual action, like "Football"; but it is all about impulse and explosion, and maybe strategy."

I said precisely, and he payed more attention, and asked questions as the game went on. I invited him to a game at RFK, where the Pats were in town the following weekend, to play the Skins and he fell in love.

A few years later he said he went back to England on Holiday, and came back to say he went to a "Football" match, while there and was very disappointed about the endless dreariness of it all.

We were both transferred to NE and both bought season tickets, and the rest is history.