Glad traffic is still strong here... we're Pats fans, dang it!

[oldrover]

Reminds me of pre-2001 days... more like early-mid 70's days...

...all of the hope... lacking a bit in team talent... still a heckuva lot of fun.

 

[fnordcircle]

I've never rooted for the Pats to lose but there are some silver linings to us returning to being merely human.

-Shake free of the bandwagon fans.

-Ticket availability

-We stop being every team's Super Bowl during the regular season.

The downside is that after the 20 years some people will not be able to lose gracefully. A wholly unique problem in our country.

 

[Nikolai]

I've never rooted for the Pats to lose but there are some silver linings to us returning to being merely human.

-Shake free of the bandwagon fans.

-Ticket availability

-We stop being every team's Super Bowl during the regular season.

Completely agree here and these are exactly the things I was "looking forward to" when this day came. Now, maybe I'll only be 7 years from getting season tickets.

We've still got the bandwagon fans, but they'll walk after a couple years of being in the pack again.

 

[Dr Pain]

I have enjoyed this season more than last season to be honest. I'd rather have a spunky team that can't get it done vs a whiny under performing team that can't get it done. I think if Covid did not hit the team they would have a much better record. This year was going to be bad with the salary cap situations and the number of opt outs. I think this season will end up being good in the long run as new players had a chance to shine.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

I think @sb1 , @lancerman and @Ring 6 (Andy) are 50% of the traffic They are really good friends

 

[sb1]

I think @sb1 , @lancerman and @Ring 6 (Andy) are 50% of the traffic They are really good friends

Pats start Stidham and I think i can make it 80%.

 

[fnordcircle]

Sign Newton to a 3 year deal. Trade Edelman for a conditional 7th rounder. Give Harry and Sony more snaps.

Do that and I think we can take down whatever hosting company Ian is using.

 

[Jim Beankie]

This place is great - I've missed arguing about this stuff in person. Here's some more traffic for you: I think Stidham should start. Cam should be resigned for a multiyear contract. D'Keal [sic] will have a bust in Canton. Mickey D's should be the next head coach of the Pats. BB is A++ in the draft, especially with offensive players who aren't on the line.

 

[Jim Beankie]

Sign Newton to a 3 year deal. Trade Edelman for a conditional 7th rounder. Give Harry and Sony more snaps.

Do that and I think we can take down whatever hosting company Ian is using.

Lol - you beat me to it.

 

[Ian]

I remember the days when I would get excited to have 2-3 people on my cheesy "Ian's Patriots Homepage" back in 1997. Never imagined back then that I'd be sitting here 20+ years later chatting with all of you after witnessing 6 championships, 9 Super Bowl appearances, and having enjoyed all of it with some of the coolest people I've ever met. I don't think we'll be as lucky for the next 20, but it'll definitely be fun to see how it goes

 

[BradytoMosstoGronk]

I remember the days when I would get excited to have 2-3 people on my cheesy "Ian's Patriots Homepage" back in 1997. Never imagined back then that I'd be sitting here 20+ years later chatting with all of you after witnessing 6 championships, 9 Super Bowl appearances, and having enjoyed all of it with some of the coolest people I've ever met. I don't think we'll be as lucky for the next 20, but it'll definitely be fun to see how it goes

Ian's 20 year run is over, straight from the head honcho himself.

 

[Ian]

Sign Newton to a 3 year deal. Trade Edelman for a conditional 7th rounder. Give Harry and Sony more snaps.

Do that and I think we can take down whatever hosting company Ian is using.

It's funny you say that. Looking back, the signing of Roosevelt Colvin took this place down for three days, that was a big event back then. The Seymour trade was also a tough one, although I think that was only half a day. But those are definitely the two that come to mind in terms of big unforeseen events taking this place down for any extended period.

 

[farn]

Ian's 20 year run is over, straight from the head honcho himself.

Is @Ian the GM ruining @Ian the coach ?

 

[Ian]

Ian's 20 year run is over, straight from the head honcho himself.

LOL, God-willing, I'm only 44 so I'm hopeful we'll still have plenty of years together.

 

[Ian]

I definitely wonder what will happen in the coming years as the team evolves, when Belichick eventually retires, etc. This entire season has been interesting in terms of riding the highs and lows like we had in the early years where we didn't really know what was going to happen on any given Sunday. My era is really early to mid-90s, which was where I really started following with any regularity. Mostly the Bledsoe era, which was a roller-coaster at times up until they made it to the Super Bowl in 1996/97. I was definitely hooked after that season and I started my cheesy site not long after that

This season has sort of felt a little like that at times, in terms of really not knowing what to expect...LOL, although I don't know what that says about Bledsoe - albeit, he was definitely a little inconsistent at times. While Tom Brady leaving was tough - and it's disappointing that it's turned out like this - it's still been a fun ride seeing some of the younger guys on both sides of the ball develop while wondering how they'll improve in the years ahead. Keeping an eye on Brady has been sort of fun too. It's been a good distraction and will hopefully give some people an additional rooting interest in January.

I will say the fun part of this place is the journey we all go through each offseason, which was a part I didn't know much about in the early days. I didn't really follow the draft or free agency until I did this. Back in the day, we had to read the Sunday paper or newspapers, in general, to learn about potential player rumors, etc. It's funny how the internet obviously changed that and that's a part of the process that has definitely been a lot more fun than I expected, and I still look forward to that each offseason.

 

[Ian]

I've never rooted for the Pats to lose but there are some silver linings to us returning to being merely human.

-Shake free of the bandwagon fans.

-Ticket availability

-We stop being every team's Super Bowl during the regular season.

The downside is that after the 20 years some people will not be able to lose gracefully. A wholly unique problem in our country.

Given the pandemic and the fact Brady isn't here anymore, I wonder what attendance will be like there next year and in the coming years, especially if it takes a year or two to build another roster. As we've seen, people are fickle and tend to have short attention spans, with a fair amount of people already tuning out the league this year, along with people's Sunday routines blown up with not being able to go to the games. Makes me wonder how it might start to affect things there.

Although I think you're right, I think ticket availability will obviously improve and hopefully, more people will at least have access to them at face value. Some of the bigger games in recent years have been crazy expensive, so it would be nice for them to be more affordable for people who want to take in a game but don't want to pay a small fortune just to get in.

And I agree, it's a lot easier to get to an AFC Championship if you're a team people aren't expecting to be there and everyone isn't gunning for you. Remember the Jags game in 1996/97 when the league had to completely switch gears because they didn't expect to be in New England for the AFC Championship? Or back in 2001/02 when the Steelers thought they were going to the Super Bowl? Being the underdog had its moments

 

[PatsRebuild]

I've never rooted for the Pats to lose but there are some silver linings to us returning to being merely human.

-Shake free of the bandwagon fans.

-Ticket availability

-We stop being every team's Super Bowl during the regular season.

The downside is that after the 20 years some people will not be able to lose gracefully. A wholly unique problem in our country.

Fantastic points. I kinda like it, too. You get the peacocking idiots who think you're done, running around, continuing to act like idiots. Just think, for about 20 years, other fanbases' lives were disrupted. Heck, theirs still are.

I thought a lot of the younger fans would drop off, but unfortunately they are still bashing Belichick and pining for Dive Mr. Giselle, which is weird. Sorry, it is.

 

[PatsRebuild]

Given the pandemic and the fact Brady isn't here anymore, I wonder what attendance will be like there next year and in the coming years, especially if it takes a year or two to build another roster. As we've seen, people are fickle and tend to have short attention spans, with a fair amount of people already tuning out the league this year, along with people's Sunday routines blown up with not being able to go to the games. Makes me wonder how it might start to affect things there.

Although I think you're right, I think ticket availability will obviously improve and hopefully, more people will at least have access to them at face value. Some of the bigger games in recent years have been crazy expensive, so it would be nice for them to be more affordable for people who want to take in a game but don't want to pay a small fortune just to get in.

And I agree, it's a lot easier to get to an AFC Championship if you're a team people aren't expecting to be there and everyone isn't gunning for you. Remember the Jags game in 1996/97 when the league had to completely switch gears because they didn't expect to be in New England for the AFC Championship? Or back in 2001/02 when the Steelers thought they were going to the Super Bowl? Being the underdog had its moments

Good post. I think what will happen is NE will be a bit better next year and the fans will come back for sure more so in 2022. I still think by next fall, the vaccine and proper protocols should allow for fans. How many? Who knows, but it may be able to be full capacity.

It's a rebuild and what better time to do it? The process is part of the fun.

 

[Joker]

Yeah...so there I was in 1995 or thereabouts....posting on the Unofficial Patriots.com web board, because NOBODY posted on that ridiculous Patriots.com board, the most fan unfriendly site in internet history. Anyway, I had a couple of boards back then, the War Zone and another I can't seem to remember...yes, what a blast...hitting refresh, waiting for a minute and seeing if A message had been posted or replied to. Heh...I actually had a press pass back then I held until BB came on board. It was at this time that, while scouring the internet looking for Patriots related information with my dial up connection, I stumbled across Ian Logue's Patriotsfans.com. I was ecstatic to find almost a half dozen regular board participants talking Pats football. I mean sometimes you'd get an answer to one of your posts in the same hour!

Well, anyway, the Unofficial board bit the dust and all the regulars, like Zip and Rocks, morphed on over to Patsfans.com and the rest is history. The Rivals boards went belly up and we got another infusion of rabid Pats fans..and the rest, as all of you can plainly see, is Patriots fan history. That ridiculous official board stayed up for a few years but Kraft eventually crapcanned it because it had such lousy traffic. He hired an Indian cyber team to run it and they knew exactly SQUAT about the NFL and even less about the NE Patriots and its' fans.

My point is, we all owe Ian Logue a HUGE debt of gratitude for the work he's done to make THIS one of the pre-eminent sports clearinghouses on the net. Go anywhere in this great country and you'll find plenty of people who know little about New England but everything about the Patriots, thanks to this site.

 

[Soliel]

One thing I find nice about this year is it’s not the end of the world every time we lose a game