Actual Pats Fan
Pro Bowl Player
- Joined
- May 26, 2016
- Messages
- 10,394
- Reaction score
- 10,238
Prior to 1967, the Red Sox had eight straight losing seasons, Fenway was a dilapidated dump ready to be razed, and interest was at its lowest in history. That thrilling, storybook season when we had our radios tuned in daily and nightly to Ken Coleman launched the modern era which has seen only brief interruptions in consistent competitiveness which has been sustained to this day.
This video contains vital, definitive detail and specific statistics describing how Chuck Fairbanks put the Patriots in championship contention very quickly when he got here. That 1974 season, while the team missed the playoffs, is the pivotal point in Patriots, and really modern football, history, taking into account we now have the greatest dynasty comparable only to the Packers.
I don't begrudge at all those who enjoyed the excitement of the Bledsoe ascension, but it's fueled by insane media (and Kraft ownership) hyperbole and ignorance of historic reality. The inevitable financial collapse of the Sullivan ownership and Kiam's failure to keep Flutie made them happy as pigs in sh*t, with no quarterback and an old stadium with little reason to brave Route One to go there.
Media insanity over the Patriots has been epidemic since the merger of the two leagues in 1970. In 1981, the Patriots experienced their single (1) losing season over thirteen years, and the media, national broadcasters and opponents behaved as though the Patriots were historically hapless. Meanwhile, the Saints for example had their first winning season in their history in 1987.
Anyway, Bob Kraft likes to promote himself and he deserves credit for setting the standard for championship excellence, making the Hartford deal which despite making the prospect of leaving very real, wound up forcing the league and the state legislature to do something to encourage him to stay, and allow CMGI to be built, and hiring Bill Belichick. But ridiculous credit of Bledsoe for any of it which he had nothing to do with plus the fact that yes he can throw a football (so can Neil Lomax and Jeff George) but possesses no more football acumen than Tony Eason and is little more to us than Joe Thornton is to the Bruins, plus the fact is was three (3) poor seasons prior to 1993 exaggerates reality and pretends Fairbanks, Hannah, Francis and Grogan do not exist when they in fact were world championship caliber, in 1976 at least.
Anyway, like all us old timers I saw this game and season and this is our Impossible Dream. Patriots games were a must watch/listen from this time onward, to this day.
I definitely like to think we'd have drafted Russ regardless, even if Bob hadn't torn up his knee that day. But the excitement of that day has never really been equaled for me. It's like your first kiss. We knew the Patriots were headed for greatness, and although we've never come close to shutting them up, it's still satisfying to expose the league, media and opponents for the total morons they are.