Perspective for the Older Fans from a Younger Fan

[Bill Lee]

Lol just your left?

Good thing he didn't tell us what happened to his left testicle!

The concern is that they'll be worse than suck. It's that no man's land where you have no chance to win it all but aren't able to get significantly better either. That's where like 30% of modern sports teams are ,and it's hard to break out of.

Well, yeah, it's not a God given right the Pats are gonna be good or even OK, but that's what makes it interesting to see what is next. A lot of us think the GOAT coach and GM and staff should be able to shake things up and have a pretty good product in a season or two.

Why worry now that they'll suck? Why not let things play out a bit before making yourself miserable?

I jumped on the Patriots band wagon back when they signed Bill Parcells and drafted Bledsoe (way back in 1993). I've only known two franchise QB's and three head coaches in my almost 30 years of being a fan. This is almost uncharted territory for me too, as funny as that sounds.

All good things come to an end. That said, I'm a Patriots fan so I'm not going anywhere. This team is going to get really interesting (for good or ill) and I'm interested to see if BB can rebuild and find another franchise QB in short order. Exciting times!

Yeah, who can forget the Marion Butts era!

 

[chris_in_sunnyvale]

I get it. Larry Bird was a god when I was a kid when sports meant a whole lot more. He's effectively hardwired in my brain as the GOAT and acceptance of someone else like Jordan being better comes reluctantly. I can only imagine how Brady is hardwired into the younger generation. He is the god of NFL gods.

As for rooting for your team vs. your idol, I'm struggling to find an apt NFL comparable. I guess the closest would be Doug Flutie who was the region's underdog hero who won everyone over at BC. By the time he was on Buffalo and San Diego, I rooted for him, but never at the expense of the Pats. His time in the CFL dilutes the effect a lot, though.

Regards,
Chris

 

[Seacoast Fan]

my left ass cheek is still numb from sitting on the metal bleachers in Schaefer Stadium

LOL... you too?

 

[Seacoast Fan]

Good thing he didn't tell us what happened to his left testicle!


Well, yeah, it's not a God given right the Pats are gonna be good or even OK, but that's what makes it interesting to see what is next. A lot of us think the GOAT coach and GM and staff should be able to shake things up and have a pretty good product in a season or two.

Why worry now that they'll suck? Why not let things play out a bit before making yourself miserable?


Yeah, who can forget the Marion Butts era!

Marion “Minus three yards and a cloud of dust” Butts?

 

[catent]

Seeing you probably take winning for granted which is understandable and are wondering how fans follow perennial losers I enjoyed the losing Patriot teams and seasons by rooting for them every week to upset the good teams. The good teams roll into town looking to mail it in and they get flustered by a scrappy team that doesn't know they are supposed to lose. That is a lot of fun too and we may see some of that again.

Absolutely expect the team to have an edge this season. They'll be extremely well coached as always and have some talent at spots. I'm also more optimistic about the WRs than most, because Harry and Meyers looked better with Stidham throwing them the ball in the preseason than they did with Tom throwing them the ball.

Tom is the best to ever do it, but the game is evolving and there's no reason to think Stidham can't be coached and perform well, much like Jimmy G. did after the under inflated balls nonsense. Part of me secretly wishes we still had Jimmy here but that shipped has sailed. I'm excited about Stidham. The prospects of having a young, cheap QB (be that Stidham or someone else) is exciting, as it allows us to stack the team elsewhere.

I'm used to some suck though, as I've grown up a Wizards fan and have watched a lot of Michigan football with my dad over the years. I'm used to seeing a team you like/support not perform well and the frustration that comes with that. Generally the most frustrating parts are mental mistakes, poor preparation, and lousy coaching -- watching a well-coached team struggle because of a lack of talent isn't nearly as frustrating, so I fully expect I'll enjoy this season and those to come.

Maybe I'm being overly optimistic, but I expect a solid 9-12 win season and likely a shot at the postseason. We still have a top-5 secondary and a solid OL, which will go a long way. Gotta shore up the DL, though. I guess we'll see.