RIP Raymond Berry

[PancakeBlockPaul]

As frustrating, fun, annoying, fun, and did I mention FRUSTRATING those years were......RIP Coach....

 

[PancakeBlockPaul]

So needless to say, we have paid some dues along the way for all the great times we've had as Patriot fans.

This x100000 right here.....I am going to say it....KIDS THESE DAYS DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY GOT!

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

As frustrating, fun, annoying, fun, and did I mention FRUSTRATING those years were......RIP Coach....

Raymond was a superlatively meticulous, focused and determined championship player on a Colts team loaded with class and character.

His very first team meeting at his first training camp in '85 he talked to the players about going to the Super Bowl.

Everyone, including myself, has weaknesses and blind spots. Raymond's was Tony Eason. He saw a kid doing what he could, namely throwing the ball, and not doing anything else negatively. That is, anything at all. Not the kid's fault he was getting paid a ton of money. Then, the team carries him to the Super Bowl with running, special teams and defense. Granted, Tony didn't screw it up. But Raymond felt compelled to treat this kid like he was Joe Montana for the rest of his Patriots coaching tenure.

Beginning with XX, I estimate there were at least a dozen games where he started Eason over a healthy and available Grogan or Flutie where I said before kickoff, "We're going to lose because of this," and Tony getting knocked out of said game was our only hope of winning.

In Raymond's defense, the entire rest of the country (except Generals owner Donald Trump) were dead wrong about Doug too.

 

[Triumph]

Actually it was Kiam who couldn't reach an agreement with Raymond over personnel authority I think. It's weird that Pat Sullivan, who hired Berry who was working in a sporting goods store, would let him go.

It was normal for the Patriots.

Remember when Parcells became HC and the team had to ride in the back of an old pick up truck to go and practice on some old field?

 

[Triumph]

The Pats were always 4th class citizens in Boston/NE.

At the top were the Celtics who oozed success from every pore. Next, the Red Sox despite the curse of Babe Ruth fans were still always engaged. Plus, leading the nation hating the Yankees is a 24/7 job and Boston is a baseball town just like St Louis. Fenway is hallowed ground like Gettysburg. 3rd spot went to the Bruins. Boston is a hockey town too. At least they won a Stanley Cup and had the GOAT Bobby Orr.

Then came the Patriots. Embarrassing clowns.

 

[PancakeBlockPaul]

Beginning with XX, I estimate there were at least a dozen games where he started Eason over a healthy and available Grogan or Flutie where I said before kickoff, "We're going to lose because of this," and Tony getting knocked out of said game was our only hope of winning.

In Raymond's defense, the entire rest of the country (except Generals owner Donald Trump) were dead wrong about Doug too.

I specifically remember bashing my 14 year old or so head against the wall wondering why he was still playing when he has those guys available....he definitely stuck to his guns with Eason....

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

It was normal for the Patriots.

Remember when Parcells became HC and the team had to ride in the back of an old pick up truck to go and practice on some old field?

This is strictly a first class operation.

I know, I've worked in many of them.

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

The Pats were always 4th class citizens in Boston/NE.

At the top were the Celtics who oozed success from every pore. Next, the Red Sox despite the curse of Babe Ruth fans were still always engaged. Plus, leading the nation hating the Yankees is a 24/7 job and Boston is a baseball town just like St Louis. Fenway is hallowed ground like Gettysburg. 3rd spot went to the Bruins. Boston is a hockey town too. At least they won a Stanley Cup and had the GOAT Bobby Orr.

Then came the Patriots. Embarrassing clowns.

This is true.

In terms of perception.

And, for local Boston media, perception is reality.

Pats were an easy target, fodder for derision.

Billy Sullivan was rightfully not liked by the media, but they have always taken that out on players and coaches which is egregiously stupid, wrong, unfair and...nitro fuel for the false perception which started dominating the nation around the time the Beatles broke up and the merger was consummated.

Five excellent years in decade of the AFL... only defined by a record title game loss.

On the brink of history... only to have Dreith as the world's savior sparing everyone from seeing the Patriots turn all the years of derision around in the ultimate fashion.

At least half the team's fan base totally buys into the false laughingstock narrative. Ignoring, denying and/or dismissing all the wins over all the years while elevating all the losses as actually relevant and indicative of the true franchise.

People just prefer to buy into bull ****.

 

[Triumph]

This is true.

In terms of perception.

And, for local Boston media, perception is reality.

Pats were an easy target, fodder for derision.

Billy Sullivan was rightfully not liked by the media, but they have always taken that out on players and coaches which is egregiously stupid, wrong, unfair and...nitro fuel for the false perception which started dominating the nation around the time the Beatles broke up and the merger was consummated.

Five excellent years in decade of the AFL... only defined by a record title game loss.

On the brink of history... only to have Dreith as the world's savior sparing everyone from seeing the Patriots turn all the years of derision around in the ultimate fashion.

At least half the team's fan base totally buys into the false laughingstock narrative. Ignoring, denying and/or dismissing all the wins over all the years while elevating all the losses as actually relevant and indicative of the true franchise.

People just prefer to buy into bull ****.

66, 76, 85, 96 The Pats were good about every 10 years or so. But, bad luck was always waiting near by like the Red Sox.

Trading players who go on to be HOFers. HCs quitting in the playoffs. Owners who wanted to move the team.

 

[Hyped]

Yeah, Berry was the coach when I started to get somewhat into the Pats as a 8-9 year old kid….

Then I stopped following crazy for the next 8 years (hey, I started to like chicks back then, LOL) until Kraft bought the team.

 

[Sect140]

One moment I always think about when I hear Raymond Berrys name, it was the 1987 season when players went on strike for about three weeks and they played games with scab players, at some point during the strike Tony Collin’s crossed the picket line and he played the next game, he fumbled three times, (Pats recovered two of them) he only gained about 25 yards on 15 carries, after the game he was sitting at his locker looking really dejected but he was answering the media questions, some about crossing the picket line, Raymond Berry walked up to him leaned down and told Tony Collin’s he loved him, I thought that was pretty classy of him, the following season I bought season tickets.

 

[Sect140]

An important part of this team's history, not to mention a helluva WR in his day. Very sad.

I was living in Alaska back then, my dad sent me this shirt, it didn’t arrive in time for the game, it arrived the day after the game, unfortunately I was still fuming form the the way we loss, I took it out of the box, looked at it and threw it in the trash.

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

66, 76, 85, 96 The Pats were good about every 10 years or so. But, bad luck was always waiting near by like the Red Sox.

Trading players who go on to be HOFers. HCs quitting in the playoffs. Owners who wanted to move the team.

Those seasons were peaks within stretches of consistent winning. Much of the nationally unflattering incidents were brought on by ownership.

However, amidst all those many unhappy moments, the Patriots had on field success that two thirds of all the teams and their fans in the sport would kill for.

Kill for.

Nearly all of them have had multiple consecutive decades of utter futility, including the Giants and Bears.

All of the scorn and ridicule is underscored by the fact that the Patriots were there, in or on the brink of the playoffs, and the resulting jealousy of cities who were totally out of it most or all of the time.

When the Patriots made the playoffs in 1976, it was practically whispered by print and broadcast media. One year later, when the Broncos were competitive for the first time ever, national media had already lost its mind by mid season. The Patriots were at or near the top of the standings at midpoint six out of seven years.

In the 2-14 season of 1981, TV hacks like Pete Axthelm lustily made fun of the Patriots like they were perennial doormats. In fact, that was the Patriots' single losing season in a stretch of 13 years.

 

[Triumph]

Those seasons were peaks within stretches of consistent winning. Much of the nationally unflattering incidents were brought on by ownership.

However, amidst all those many unhappy moments, the Patriots had on field success that two thirds of all the teams and their fans in the sport would kill for.

Kill for.

Nearly all of them have had multiple consecutive decades of utter futility, including the Giants and Bears.

All of the scorn and ridicule is underscored by the fact that the Patriots were there, in or on the brink of the playoffs, and the resulting jealousy of cities who were totally out of it most or all of the time.

When the Patriots made the playoffs in 1976, it was practically whispered by print and broadcast media. One year later, when the Broncos were competitive for the first time ever, national media had already lost its mind by mid season. The Patriots were at or near the top of the standings at midpoint six out of seven years.

In the 2-14 season of 1981, TV hacks like Pete Axthelm lustily made fun of the Patriots like they were perennial doormats. In fact, that was the Patriots' single losing season in a stretch of 13 years.

The Pats had long periods of losing and futility.

1966 had 9 losing seasons until 1976. 5 HCs were hired.
1976 to 1985 had better seasons where NE made the playoffs 3 times. Still the HC carousel went round and around.
1985 to 1996 had a couple of highs, but also the lows of lows going 1 - 15. 3 playoff appearances capped off by another SB shellacking.

Parcells quit at the Super Bowl and joined the Jets.

 

[Triumph]

This is strictly a first class operation.

I know, I've worked in many of them.

The snowblower game would never happen today.

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

The snowblower game would never happen today.

Had Landry employed it at Texas Stadium on Thanksgiving, Shula and the world would have hailed his innovative genius.

 

[patfanken]

The Pats were always 4th class citizens in Boston/NE.

At the top were the Celtics who oozed success from every pore. Next, the Red Sox despite the curse of Babe Ruth fans were still always engaged. Plus, leading the nation hating the Yankees is a 24/7 job and Boston is a baseball town just like St Louis. Fenway is hallowed ground like Gettysburg. 3rd spot went to the Bruins. Boston is a hockey town too. At least they won a Stanley Cup and had the GOAT Bobby Orr.

Then came the Patriots. Embarrassing clowns.

perfect post T, but your post was just 2 words short of true perfection, "Then came the Patriots, Embarrassing clowns.. for owners"

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

The Pats had long periods of losing and futility.

1966 had 9 losing seasons until 1976. 5 HCs were hired.
1976 to 1985 had better seasons where NE made the playoffs 3 times. Still the HC carousel went round and around.
1985 to 1996 had a couple of highs, but also the lows of lows going 1 - 15. 3 playoff appearances capped off by another SB shellacking.

Parcells quit at the Super Bowl and joined the Jets.

Longest losing streak in Patriots history is seven (7) seasons, nowhere near the double digit eternities of most other teams, who also never made it to a title game.

They obviously can't be blamed for Ben Dreith, but they did themselves in by not starting Grogan in XX and not running Martin in XXXI.

Three (3) bad seasons to start the 70's and 90's, before the arrivals of Fairbanks and Parcells.

Both left due to irreconcilable differences with ownership, but that does not erase all the wins.

Three losing seasons before Vrabel showed up last year.

I can't think of any team ever that did not have much longer periods of losing and futility than the Patriots.

In every season of the Patriots' existence, there has been at least one player on the active roster who played for them in a league championship game.

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

perfect post T, but your post was just 2 words short of true perfection, "Then came the Patriots, Embarrassing clowns.. for owners"

The actual team was damned good from 1961-66.

 

[patfanken]

Raymond was a superlatively meticulous, focused and determined championship player on a Colts team loaded with class and character.

His very first team meeting at his first training camp in '85 he talked to the players about going to the Super Bowl.

Everyone, including myself, has weaknesses and blind spots. Raymond's was Tony Eason. He saw a kid doing what he could, namely throwing the ball, and not doing anything else negatively. That is, anything at all. Not the kid's fault he was getting paid a ton of money. Then, the team carries him to the Super Bowl with running, special teams and defense. Granted, Tony didn't screw it up. But Raymond felt compelled to treat this kid like he was Joe Montana for the rest of his Patriots coaching tenure.

Beginning with XX, I estimate there were at least a dozen games where he started Eason over a healthy and available Grogan or Flutie where I said before kickoff, "We're going to lose because of this," and Tony getting knocked out of said game was our only hope of winning.

In Raymond's defense, the entire rest of the country (except Generals owner Donald Trump) were dead wrong about Doug too.

Raymond Berry has always been the perfect exemplar of a player who maximizes his limited physical skills and turned average abilities into a HOF career. He never got a chance to duplicate that career as coach here for a number of reasons, but he did have that magical 85 season, and I got to be in NO for that Superbowl. Something that many of us thought we were destined never to see in our lifetimes. Yet here we are now ELEVEN additional Superbowl appearances later a team virtually synonymous with the Superbowl over the last 25 years.

Thank you, Ray, for breaking the initial pathway to what would become almost biannual rite of passage that spoiled Pats fans almost DEMAND of our teams. RIP