How Does a Pats Win or Loss Affect Your Life?

There are 32 NFL teams. A fan should reasonably expect his team to win it all at the midpoint (16) of 32 seasons, and then once for every 32 years after that.

Therefore if a person became a fan at the moment of birth, a reasonable expectation would be to celebrate one championship by age 16, a second at age 48, and a third in eighty years of life.

I was able to witness a lifetime's worth of championships in a four-year span.

That more than made up for the four previous decades, each comprised with close-but-no-cigar runs intermingled with seasons of three or fewer wins.

The one caveat was having to constantly read or hear the 'haven't won anything since...' after the 2007 videotaping. Beating Seattle was very rewarding - a relief - because that victory would shut those media trolls and opposing fans parroting that line forever.

As a fan I am playing with house money at this point, enjoying each and every game and each and every season. Losing a game or not winning a championship is still somewhat of a disappointment - but nothing at all like it was before the Silence of the Rams.

It doesn't.

I remember the 07 loss. It honestly wasn't as bad to me as the 2010 Jets playoff debacle. That had all the decorations of a Super Bowl season with 0 playoff wins to show for it.

To answer the thread question, it affects how much football I engage my mind with in the short term. I rewatch satisfying wins once or twice in the week after they happen, and I never rewatch losses. Regular boring wins mean I watch the highlights once at work and check the stats.

The bigger the win, the more I want to spend my time thinking about football, and vice versa, with the other extreme meaning I completely avoid anything that makes me remember football exists.

However, the negatives have gotten less extreme over time. Hard to say whether it's the difference between me being a teenager and an adult or the peace of knowing Brady's legacy is already set (which has been true since SB49).

Boomer B said:

2007 Super Bowl loss hit like a truck. I couldn’t sleep after it. I remember my fiance (wife now) saying it’s just a game. I told her she just doesn’t understand. 19-0 was right there.

Last years SB loss hurt but it was more confusion on why Butler was left on the bench while the D got torched.

Nothing can sting like 07.

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I don't know, that 2005 loss in Indy hurt like hell. To me, that was the most devastating loss. Yeah 07 hurt but the fact of trying to go 19-0 was exhausting as a fan and saw it as almost being impossible so the let down wasn't as big. That game against the Colts, they were far ahead and blew the chance to play a lame Bears team for an easy ring.
When and if they lose, I just stay away from the sports channels for a while. Most likely watch the Super Bowl and just look forward to the draft. I find comfort in the fact that no team will ever accomplish what Bill's and Tom's Patriots have....certainly not in our life time.

Win will equal complete bliss and a feeling of pride that would be unequal.

Lose, I’ll start looking for a building tall enough to be a safe bet.

I’m definitely bummed out for awhile afterwards. Usually heightened the next day and slowly dissipates over a few day span. It normally takes me several days before I care to check PFT, or much of any social media.

When the Patriots win, the sun shines both indoors and out. When they lose it gets cloudy. Anyone else notice that?

sometimes you get the bull...sometimes you get the horns. It's a football game. Unless you live in a bubble and have no family, friends or worldly pursuits, the outcome of an entertainment vehicle should have little impact on your life...unless you see blatant, deliberate bias in the outcome, which we HAVE seen more than a few times in our team's history. I still hold a grudge against Ben Dreith and what he did to us, the Patriot fanbase, in 1975. He should burn in hell for all eternity AFAIC...

I'm still salty over 2007 and 2011.

Losing to BDN didn't bother me, cause for some weird reason I have a soft spot him, but Eli Manning... Jesus talk about a garbage can.

Joker said:

sometimes you get the bull...sometimes you get the horns. It's a football game. Unless you live in a bubble and have no family, friends or worldly pursuits, the outcome of an entertainment vehicle should have little impact on your life...unless you see blatant, deliberate bias in the outcome, which we HAVE seen more than a few times in our team's history. I still hold a grudge against Ben Dreith and what he did to us, the Patriot fanbase, in 1975. He should burn in hell for all eternity AFAIK...

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It's more than mere entertainment, though -- it's a microcosm of life. I've learned a lot of life-lesson applications from football over the decades. It's a source of community pride we identify with, our tribal affiliation. It also has an important societal role as a surrogate for tribal warfare.

I am a longtime fan. I saw my first regular season game on 9-6-1960 at the
age of 28. In those days, the losing seasons outnumbered the winning ones
and each win was precious.
Now, for me, any season without a Lombardi trophy is a bitter disappointment.
I simply don't have the time for a new quarterback to develop. I became a season
ticket holder for the second time at the age of 78. I have had the pleasure the past
8 years to attend every home game and watch the Patriots perform at a high level.

I really enjoy watching a Boston team impose its will on opponents throughout a season and into the big games. Whether it was the Bird, Parish, McHale, Celtics, the Bobby Orr and the Animals Bruins, the Red Sox World Series seasons, or the Brady Patriots. It adds a dimension to my life. When it doesn't happen, there's a vacancy, and I miss it.

If they lose....meh, we've been overly successful, we can take it.

Even though it isn't rational, it definitely affects me. That's what makes it fun for me, though. I have a lot emotionally invested in the team. When we win, I'm incredibly happy and when we lose, I'm pretty sad. That makes it more rewarding when we win. For the amount I think about the pats, root for them, talk about them, I care about how they do.

That being said, it never really affects my actual life. Not like I'll skip work or stop exercising or being social if we have a tough game

IllegalContact said:

once it's over..........zero difference......it's entertainment.......

it's not like my **** grows any bigger if they win

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It doesn't? Then you are probably not doing it right..

I take the big time losses hard.

2009 wasn’t bad because that team was just an all out subpar team.
2010 hurt
2011 really hurt
2012 didn’t hurt as bad
2013 really hurt
2015 really really hurt
2017 really really really hurt

Losing the AFCG to the Clots after a big 1st half lead was a shock to my system. We'd gone out to buy wine @ halftime to celebrate.
In 2007 I was in FL and away from all the pundits so I missed Spygate pre game BS but took the 2007 loss to th Gints really hard. Was taking kids to Disney that Monday so I thought I'd safely be away from football but to my dismay the Disney pool was surrounded by New Yorkers who that next day had hats celebrating their win. Took a LONG time to get over it.
The league owners ganging up on Kraft and pantsing him with Deflategate broke me. I'm an engineering/science guy and made the 1st post here mentioning PV=nrT. I thought this middle school science would destroy the NFL Good Ol Boys club. I was so wrong.
The 2014 SB win made up for 2007 loss and since then it's all gravy.
Hope we win tomorrow. Dread losing to KC but if the universe is perverse and we don't win, it won't take long to get over it. I just avoid football pretty much after a loss and maybe take a peek in at Patsfans or maybe not for a while.
Win or lose, no other fanbase has a franchise in the same sector of the galaxy as the NE Patriots, BB & TFB.

Tony2046 said:

That's an interesting question. I'd say both hurt about the same but the " what ifs " only lasted a year after the 2003 ALCS whereas it was six years of near misses after 42.

But the last eighteen years have been unbelievable. And the last five or six years have been watching it with my kids.

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I mean were New Englanders more heartbroken in the immediate aftermath (weeks) after the 03 ALCS, or SB 42? I have a feeling the answer may be the 03 ALCS to most. They had the 85 year curse. But they were up 5-2 with five outs to go to beat the hated Yankees. Generational pitcher on the mound. And then....

2007 sucked. But they had won three SB's in the last seven seasons. They didn't necessarily choke the game away (Tyree catch was a miracle play. Samuel pick was no gimme either).I thing that game stings more because they were 16-0. They were expected to destroy the Giants. I think if they were say 14-4 heading into the SB, the loss wouldn't of hurt as much.

No disrespect to the Patriots. But I think the Red Sox are more of an institution in the region than the Pats are. But maybe Boston is changing and it's turning into a football town. I am just guessing though.

PatsWickedPissah said:

Losing the AFCG to the Clots after a big 1st half lead was a shock to my system. We'd gone out to buy wine @ halftime to celebrate.
In 2007 I was in FL and away from all the pundits so I missed Spygate pre game BS but took the 2007 loss to th Gints really hard. Was taking kids to Disney that Monday so I thought I'd safely be away from football but to my dismay the Disney pool was surrounded by New Yorkers who that next day had hats celebrating their win. Took a LONG time to get over it.
The league owners ganging up on Kraft and pantsing him with Deflategate broke me. I'm an engineering/science guy and made the 1st post here mentioning PV=nrT. I thought this middle school science would destroy the NFL Good Ol Boys club. I was so wrong.
The 2014 SB win made up for 2007 loss and since then it's all gravy.
Hope we win tomorrow. Dread losing to KC but if the universe is perverse and we don't win, it won't take long to get over it. I just avoid football pretty much after a loss and maybe take a peek in at Patsfans or maybe not for a while.
Win or lose, no other fanbase has a franchise in the same sector of the galaxy as the NE Patriots, BB & TFB.

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Do you dread losing to KC because there's something specific you dislike about them? Or is it just a general statement meaning you dislike losing to any team? I don't take losses as bad as I use too. But sometimes it feels like I can't win. By that, I mean if the Pats win the SB, the euphoria lasts for a few days. Then it's back to normal. But if they lose a SB, I over analyze everything for a few weeks. Granted, it doesn't affect my work or social life. It just seems the losses stick with you more vs the wins. If that makes sense.

Don't like losing ANY playoff game regardless of opponent.
No hate for KC. Hate Jetes, Clots, Gints & Donks.