I think we just need to accept that the Pats will not be embraced by the vast majority of people outside of us Pats fans. A lot of this is simply the natural fatigue most fans feel about rival franchises, fans often are OK at first and for while when the rival breaks through and succeeds but grow tired of the narratives that develop over time.
The best recent example for me is with the Chiefs. I liked Reid when he came over from Philly and was impressed with Mahomes when his career skyrocketed, but even in the initial period I couldn’t stand Kelce due to his d-baggery in Foxborough and flagrant envy of Gronk, and had nothing but contempt for the child abuser tyreek Hill. Over time I, and I know a lot of us, got tired of the phony narratives about their team, ownership, and community, especially the tortured comparisons to the Pats dynasties and stars. All that was true for me even before the entire fraudulent Taylor Swift storyline was shoved down the throats of those of us who simply wanted to watch football.
In the case of the Pats, however, I’m not expecting much of a grace period from rival teams fans or national media. Although Brady and BB are gone, the run they had was so long that it will be tacitly held against the new team, particularly since The Scatback and The Nebbish will still be prominent. It goes beyond that though IMHO. Having traveled extensively for business through the USA since the early 1980s, my perception is that there is a strong level of antipathy towards New England throughout the country. Our region in general and Massachusetts in particular is perceived as overly represented in most realms of public life and especially in entertainment and politics. Envy is a foundational element of the human condition, we all suffer from it probably a lot more than any of us would like to admit.
Enjoy this run folks and don’t let the disdain for the Pats take away from your excitement and fun.
