Just turned 25 today and was wondering

[borg]

I was 1 second old when I became a Pats fan.

I just became a Niners fan too....about 8 weeks ago.

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

I was born in 1971 and my dad took me to my first game in October of 81. I was 10. They played HOU. Killed 'em. I played Pop Warner, little league & hockey so I was football/sports aware. I didn't really start being a true fan until '82 then the league went on f-ing strike.

Figures 1st two seasons as a Pats fan they go 2-14 and next year a strike. LOL.

RW, they closed the other thread so I'll give you my response to it here:

Nothing "wrong" with winning...we've seen the greatest display of solid team football in this century by this team, really a "throwback" to the days through the 40's when discipline and commitment led to winning...nothing boring about winning 3-0, those old timers were champs.

Life is not simple, and wasn't simpler then. Maybe better in some ways. But this isn't at all about longing for the past. It's about acknowledging and honoring the great players and people and fans who were a part of Pats history for 33 great years. We were not half assed and run of the mill--THAT'S exactly the fake diatribe that Pats haters have been falsely spinning since the merger. We won a ton of big games led by heroic players, who overcame the shortcomings of our owner and who faced heartbreak and hardship with courage and dignity. I was glued to the set in the early 90's, sure we were rebuilding, but I knew all the national propaganda exaggerating our problems was B.S., right up until the latest BSPN tabloid piece released this week.

I've enjoyed every second of our (inevitable) success since Bledsoe was (finally) replaced, no matter how ugly and insulting the uniforms are.

The NFL and BSPN are the major leaders in attempting to make our run a downer, and while they've been wildly successful in getting mainstream media and most uninformed people in this country to go along with it, they're certainly not stopping us, and they're never distracting me.

The topic in the thread addresses what Pats fans are "afraid" of, and I honestly gave my personal experience. I happen to be extremely confident in our future beyond Tom, and even beyond Bill...but that time is still a very, very long way down the road.

 

[Crazy Patriot Guy]

14 years old in 1994. I was a freshman in high school at the mall buying a jersey but wanted to be different. I live in Texas so everyone was Aikman, Smith, Irvin and Moon. I decided on a Bledsoe jersey and by the end of the next day at school, Bledsoe was my new nickname. I stuck with the team going forward.

 

[goheels22002]

I became a big Patriots fan in 1775. King George III sucked. Sort of like the Jets but with a crown.

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

I became a big Patriots fan in 1775. King George III sucked. Sort of like the Jets but with a crown.

KGIII = Goodell

 

[RobertWeathers]

KGIII = Goodell

KG III also suffered from mental illness. I think you are on to something.

 

[RayClay]

10 and me too. Babe was throwing to Gino for Tds and then Gino would kick the XP.

Too young to remember but, what was the deal with no televised games? No AFL contract, lack of sellouts, or some combination [or other reason]?

 

[Soliel]

I was around ten, lived in a state with no team, Oklahoma, hated the cowboys because everyone else loved them. So, I picked the pats honestly because I thought the logo was cool and everyone thought I was insane to root for them. That’s just me.

You’ve got a long time for body pains. They begin around 32-37 depending on surgeries. If you have some major surgery, I’m sorry to tell you that apparently it hurts the rest of your life.

 

[rochrist]

Too young to remember but, what was the deal with no televised games? No AFL contract, lack of sellouts, or some combination [or other reason]?

Sorry, I really don't remember the details it was so long ago. I do remember there were a fair amount of blackouts of home games.

 

[Soliel]

Lol rochrist your post reminds me of Jim Morrison saying he couldn’t remember being born, musta happened during one of his blackouts

 

[rochrist]

Lol rochrist your post reminds me of Jim Morrison saying he couldn’t remember being born, musta happened during one of his blackouts

The sixites were a LONG time ago.

 

[goheels22002]

Sorry, I really don't remember the details it was so long ago. I do remember there were a fair amount of blackouts of home games.

Are you Jim Irsay?

 

[Soliel]

The sixites were a LONG time ago.

Yes they were. Some residue still remains though through music

 

[Cramden]

I was really hoping I'd open this and your question was "What's a Clitoris?"

About 8 for me. Plunkett's last year with the team. Happy Birthday!

 

[Soliel]

I was really hoping I'd open this and your question was "What's a Clitoris?"

About 8 for me. Plunkett's last year with the team. Happy Birthday!

That would have been a hell of a story

 

[PatsFanInVa]

In 1968, when I was 6, we moved to Virginia. I didn't know any player names except I think Gino Capolletti. But the Patriots were just who you rooted for, like the Red Sox (and to a lesser extent, because I didn't care for the sports,) the Celtics and the Bruins. But by God, those were my teams.

My brother immediately converted to the Senators, the Redskins, the then-Baltimore Bullets, and, at the time, the nothing in hockey. He had a field day with what a dumbass I was for retaining my loyalty for a team hundreds of miles away, especially the Pats, who never won anything (whereas the Redskins actually went to a Super Bowl in 72).

Well, I stayed down here. Guess where my brother's life took him. Yep, back to the Boston area. Of course, he just has "two home teams" now.

But I wonder whether he's enjoyed the sheer joy of the last two decades

 

[neali]

Jim Nance.

 

[Off The Grid]

Steve Grogan. And we were decent in 1976 (had an AFCCG appearance and possibly a Superbowl stolen from us) through 1978, then went way downhill in the early 1980s (2-14 in 1981, IIRC?)

01 ~ Yeah, we weren't the best Team in 1976, but we owned the best Team ~ that being the Raiders. Then again, you could argue that the Steelers were the best Team, but we owned them, too...so maybe we were the best Team!!

02 ~ Heh. I remember the last Game of 1981 remarkably well, because it was The Toilet Bowl: The 2-13 Patriots against the 1-14 Colts. The Pats managed to pull off the "Defeat" by dropping their 2nd Game to the Colts, thus securing the #1 Pick in the Draft, where Kenneth Sims of Texas was supposed to be a Sure Thing SuperStar!!

 

[Off The Grid]

I was 5ish (1985-1986), but really solidified when I was 11 (1991).

I watched SB24 with my old man, and he was so excited that we were in it, but it was a blowout...and not for us. He was really upset, but his passion really stuck with me that night and though we didn't get the Patriots on TV much in Virginia, I treasured the little Pats things I could get my hands on, including a pencil that had the old logo and "PATRIOTS" in what I called the "cowboy writing".

My old man took me to the Pats-Oilers game in 1991, which we actually won 24-20. I was in, a fan for good.

OMG, I loved that Team. **** MacPherson. 6-10. Could've easily gone 1-15, which would've carbon copied the previous Year ~ the famous Rod Rust Year!!

They were just so scrappy. I caught the end of that Oiler Game, too: I was in the Reserves, in ManchVegas, and stopped in at the first Pub I got to for a Flagon and a look at the Game...God, I loved rooting for that horrible Team.

 

[Off The Grid]

I started with the Pats right from the beginning (1960) when Butch Songin left his job as a prison guard to become our first QB. Before that time, the NY Giants were considered our "home team" and we had all their games on local TV, with Chris Schenkel doing the play-by-play. I never considered them our home team and was really excited when Billy Sullivan started the Boston Patriots franchise.

Agree completely. My "Father" rooted for the Giants before 1960 ~ and probably for awhile afterwards, though he's never admitted it, the Schmuck ~ but I never would've rooted for a New York Team. No Pro Team? Root for Boston College!!