In Europe after WWII, they made display of the swastika and other nazi symbols no-kidding-around, jail-or-at-least-a-hefty-ticket, crimes.
No such action in the U.S. regarding monuments to the Confederacy, which continue to be maintained amid campaigns to promote and justify Jim Crow laws in the South, and assert white supremacy.
I could say comparatively, for the Red Sox, that Harry Frazee, Joe Cronin, Jack Hamilton, Larry Barnett and John McNamara are your heroes, and Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski and Jim Rice are ours.
Sometime in the future, one of Arlen Specter's descendants or disciples will initiate an effort to put an asterisk next to some or all of the Patriots' accomplishments the last twenty years. This, despite the facts exposing both the league and Goodell, among other things, lying to the court, contradicting the laws of physics and engaging in conspiracy against the team. Those results from random testing of balls in 2015 will never be released, and Kraft will never get that apology from them, either.
The media's continued cooperation and acceptance, along with the fact that those of us here are only getting older, will likely allow the absurdity to happen.
There is nothing wrong with making the best of things, and being positive. And there is nothing…’wrong’… with reaching to ascribe a nonexistent association with a former landmark somewhere in the six states with a replacement logo which none if its perpetrators and creators ever heard of, virtually the same logo which was unanimously, loudly rejected by a capacity home stadium crowd of 60,916.
As we learned from DefameGate, Goodell did in no way act alone. It takes a village.
Dreith was not a rogue. Pulling the first down marker away from Cunningham at the last second was not coincidental. What was home job officiating from the start escalated into desperation in the final minutes. RTP was only one of a dozen wrong calls and noncalls down the stretch, before and after.
Tatum did not just paralyze Stingley for life. Just close your eyes, and try to imagine the Patriots of 2001-2004 winning ANY Super Bowls without Troy Brown.
The only comparable ridicule of a franchise to the post-merger Patriots, is the Green Bay Packers of the 1950's. Despite a glorious, dynastic history, the last of the "small town teams" of the NFL's origins looked headed for oblivion. Non-profit, community-owned, despite the construction of Lambeau Field in 1957, the future looked as bleak as the dreary winters of Wisconsin. One man turned everything around. Quickly. Uprooting his family, moving from the comfort of home in New York to the middle of nowhere, the last place any football player wanted to be. The 1-10-1 1958 team he inherited had future hall of famers Bart Starr, Paul Hornung, Jim Taylor, Ray Nitschke, Jim Ringo, Forrest Gregg, and Jerry Kramer, as well as future All-Pros Ron Kramer, Max McGee, Bill Forester, and Dan Currie. Future hall of famers, thanks to Lombardi.
Anyway, while Kraft deserves credit for so much, including his commitment to excellence which predates those in the recent history of the other three main teams in town, he is also responsible for this schism within the fan base, with recent, casual, indifferent bandwagon fans on one side, and old timers with 33 seasons of fond memories, loyal support, singular and exceptionally colorful, occasionally comical and sometimes ignominious experiences, along with a significant amount of winning, and more than a lifetime's worth of heroics and emotional attachments on the other.
So, flying elvis, Goodell and denigration of the team are here to stay*.
I like the white away jerseys with the red trim and blue pants.
