The season is lost if it can't be perfect.
Overreaction and hyperbole [
see Shaughnessy] dominate. Nothing to do with reality or sports, only spin and image.
When I was a kid, the media loved the home teams. Guys like Eddie Andelman worshipped the players and loved the fans.
This is called 'normal'.
And healthy.
This is what normal people do in normal towns and communities.
Now the media exists to tear down our heroes.
Boston media rightly believed they got their good reputation based upon objectivity and substance; however this mutated into anti-home team and anti-home player hysteria (masquerading as non-homerism).
The fake drug 'scandal' broke after Super Bowl XX is a good example. The Patriots did not indulge in any greater recreational drug use than any other team.
Another good example is Lisa Olson. Yes, in a perfect world, Zeke Mowatt gets dressed, quietly approaches her and says, "I'm sorry to disturb you, Miss, but the players are quite sensitive about being watched while they're undressed, and I know you're doing your job, but we ask that you please be careful about where you're looking."
Now, maybe earlier that year the Bruins either didn't notice or didn't mind, but Olson
did ogle the Patriots players, then launched into Super-Victim mode, becoming the most ridiculous icon for women's empowerment since Phyllis Schlafly. Local Boston media (except McDonough) took it into orbit, and the NFL did not treat the incident with the kind of spin/nonattention they did with horrific misogynous actions by the Giants, Cowboys, etc.
Bill Belichick was hated in Cleveland; however there were no cheating allegations there.
Fake cheating allegations against the Patriots, yes, were jihad-ized by new Commissioner Goodell from 2007 to this day; but they are
NOT a result of team success. They began with the Snow Game and in Pittsburgh a week later in 2002, which were preceded by zero Patriots championships.
Anyone going to shed a tear when Felger is fired? Mazz?
The are nothing but unlistenable lunacy. They cater to what they believe are regular listeners, the majority demographic and for that time slot. It's shocking and sad to me, as I saw both of them submit legit work in the past, which is now decades ago.
The media is mirroring the fan base.
The media is mirroring
a specific segment of the fan base. Not even a majority.
There's nothing wrong per se about complaining about or disliking a player, even unjustly.
All home team fans are unhappy when they lose. Being abusively and absurdly negative and critical is not limited to Boston [
see **** Young/NY] but it's no secret among pro players that this city can be toxic.
Too often generalizations are made about groups that are based upon only a portion, hardly the majority.
One instance of complete unanimity is us, all Patriots fans, and our choice we made in person in our packed stadium on September 23rd, 1979.
We got to a point where annual AFCCGs were a banality and a SB appearance the expectation.
For me, I've thought this way about the Patriots ever since 1974.
Winning is the obvious and intrinsic goal for any fan; my intensity is merely increased due to derision of the franchise since its inception.
Entitlement and a false sense of how thin the margins of victory even again bad teams often are made the last couple of years often frustrating.
Boston fans have suffered from this forever. The Celtics are merely the greatest dynasty, ever. In 1967 the Red Sox had a renaissance which has not let up. Bobby Orr came, saw, and conquered, and the Bruins' fans have desired nothing less than a Cup ever since.
The Patriots this decade have deserved high expectations since Brady became the starter. They could/should have won even more Super Bowls than they did.
Understandably, SOME fans are arrogant and spoiled. NOT all. We're very lucky that we continue to have a great chance to be competitive in all the four major team sports.
Just don't paint an entire fan base based upon the attitude of a portion of them.