What Kraft Should Have Done Last Year, re: Deflategate

[1960Pats]

...So the Red Sox' logo is associated with the Babe Ruth curse, racism and four lost World Series seventh games...

The flying elvis is only associated with needlessly losing the best logo in sports, the "Tuck" rule, "Spygate", "Ray Lewis' retirement", ten titleless years, "Deflategate", "Peyton Manning's retirement" and every time seeing the "Patriots" thinking, "Well, SNL is over, American Gladiators is on, time to turn the TV off."

The Babe Ruth Curse was removed by a group of workers who worked at Fenway for the renovations in 2004. They buried what they call ABCD's (Anti Babe Curse Devices) in three locations before the season. The devices consist of a can filled with Yankee logos, news articles from that time and pictures of Babe himself. They're buried as deep as 50' in one location and as shallow as 3' in another. I'm pretty sure they're on the left field side. Wherever they are the sure did the trick. The Yankees had the biggest choke in MLB playoff history that season, and it was against the Red Sox.

As for Pat Patriot, I think I'm coming around to your side. Like most Pats fans were at the beginning, I thought the flying elvis was ugly. Then I got used to it and the Pats won with it so I let it go. But the more I think about it the more I would like to see it return. Whenever I wear anything with Pat Patriot on it I get compliments.

 

[1960Pats]

Pat Patriot is a 60s era cartoon.

By the way, here are the original AFL logos, just for fun.

More cartoon guys, same era

Doesn't Pat feel to you like a product of that time?

Pat does feel like a product of that time and it was a great time.

Bugs comes from that era. So do Tweety, Sylvester, Road Runner, Wile E Coyote and Pepe le Pew.

There's also Fred and Wilma. Tom and Jerry. Davey and Goliath.

And the Pink Panther.

Go ahead, say something bad about those 60's cartoon characters. I dare ya.

 

[AzPatsFan]

Chiefs, Jets, Raiders-unchanged today, classy.
Packers, Steelers, Cowboys fans would have conniption if their logos/unis were replaced.
So baseball is different. At least Celtics haven't lost their minds. Bruins (Jacobs) hopeless, silliest looking now of the Original Six.

Pats now? Stupid and ugly. Silver helmets. Like the Raiders, Cowboys, Lions. Ugh. Those uniforms are unfit for semi-pro, never mind Pop Warner.

Lots of people like you, don't care. Given the choice today, lots of people would choose flying elvis simply because, again, they neither knew nor cared ANYTHING about the team before 1993, and they think (due to Tom and Bill) the replacement represents winning.

The Cowboys uniforms are not their originals, They changed to the new uniforms, their version of the Flying Elvis, in the mid 60s. So you are barking up the wrong tree if you use the Cowboys as a model. Grow up son, the ship has sailed.

I'm a Pats fan since early 62. I saw the upstart Pat Patriot come in and leave. And I don't want the Tri-corner hat, the genuine original either!

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

The Babe Ruth Curse was removed by a group of workers who worked at Fenway for the renovations in 2004. They buried what they call ABCD's (Anti Babe Curse Devices) in three locations before the season. The devices consist of a can filled with Yankee logos, news articles from that time and pictures of Babe himself. They're buried as deep as 50' in one location and as shallow as 3' in another. I'm pretty sure they're on the left field side. Wherever they are the sure did the trick. The Yankees had the biggest choke in MLB playoff history that season, and it was against the Red Sox.

As for Pat Patriot, I think I'm coming around to your side. Like most Pats fans were at the beginning, I thought the flying elvis was ugly. Then I got used to it and the Pats won with it so I let it go. But the more I think about it the more I would like to see it return. Whenever I wear anything with Pat Patriot on it I get compliments.

Thanks for the fascinating details. I see '04 as less of a Yankee choke, and more about some transcendent, exceptional, heroic performances by just about each guy on the Sox, starting of course, with Wakefield.

I watched the Patriots all my life, and every news report/event/practice/game etc. I looked forward to OUR TEAM out there beating the crap out of those opponents who are hated, detested, despised and/or loathed to varying degrees. Imagine Larry Bird or Paul Pierce playing their entire Celtics careers wearing uniforms that look like, well, most NBA uniforms do today, only worse. 1978-79 was just a humiliating time, both on and off the court, but I remained a huge Celtics fan. Johnny Most gave some of the most passionate, inspiring soliloquies I've ever heard imploring fans to hang in there, I'll never forget them.

To see the New England Patriots win, dressed as themselves, is something that all the people of New England deserve, something that fans in other cities have been able to experience and celebrate. Yes, the Krafts are invested in the flying elvis, but this can and should change. Hopefully in time for Tom.

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

Pat does feel like a product of that time and it was a great time.

Bugs comes from that era. So do Tweety, Sylvester, Road Runner, Wile E Coyote and Pepe le Pew.

There's also Fred and Wilma. Tom and Jerry. Davey and Goliath.

And the Pink Panther.

Go ahead, say something bad about those 60's cartoon characters. I dare ya.

I dast ya ta step across this line!

___________________

"Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmm 'ah steppin!"

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

The Cowboys uniforms are not their originals, They changed to the new uniforms, their version of the Flying Elvis, in the mid 60s. So you are barking up the wrong tree if you use the Cowboys as a model. Grow up son, the ship has sailed.

I'm a Pats fan since early 62. I saw the upstart Pat Patriot come in and leave. And I don't want the Tri-corner hat, the genuine original either!

You must really be happy. Everywhere I go I see the flying elvis plastered everywhere. I mean it, man, it's on doors, walls, license plates, glasses, everything you can think of.

In my lifetime I've spent easily over a thousand bucks on stuff with the Pat Patriot logo. Merchandise, clothes...

I've never spent a penny on anything with the flying elvis logo. Maybe a magazine or something, if that counts. I bought "3 Games to Glory I-IV", if that counts.

I think the New York Rangers and Atlanta Braves are good examples of franchises that fooled around with silly uniforms for years until they came to their senses. I hope the Pats can too.

Meantime, enjoy! There's a flying elvis on my screen right now with the pro shop ad.

 

[Jackson 2]

The Cowboys uniforms are not their originals, They changed to the new uniforms, their version of the Flying Elvis, in the mid 60s. So you are barking up the wrong tree if you use the Cowboys as a model. Grow up son, the ship has sailed.

I'm a Pats fan since early 62. I saw the upstart Pat Patriot come in and leave. And I don't want the Tri-corner hat, the genuine original either!

The Jets uniforms and, in particular, their helmets, have changed multiple times since 1960. In addition to the changes as Jets, they were originally the NY Titans.

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

The Jets uniforms and, in particular, their helmets, have changed multiple times since 1960. In addition to the changes as Jets, they were originally the NY Titans.

Yes, you're right, the Jets (and Raiders in the 60's) made some changes, but their helmets TODAY are what they were mostly in the AFL, and Raiders (and Jets and Chiefs) won wearing them. Jets may not be that good now, but they at least look like the Jets. I'm not a fan of the green pants, however, nor the Chiefs' (or old Pats') silly red Santa Claus pajama bottom pants.

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

I'm kind of torn. I don't want to piss you off, but at the same time I really like your posts.

I've got it! Just don't call them the Patriots anymore. Instead, let's call them what they look like:

The New England Puritans

Perfect! Problem solved.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

puritans were against games weren't they?

Why are you against the static three-corner? Why not go back to the Boston Patriots? Wait I know, the Bay State Patriots. This "New England" stuff is just about being "New," Boston was fine for a decade.

LOL Actual, you've got sunk costs in Pat Patriot and you're still holding your breath. I admit I still have a pennant on the wall behind my screen. Used to be a Pat Patriot pennant, now it's a flying elvis pennant. I have a flying elvis super bowl mug. I'm old so I use it for coffee.

Look Pat's not coming back. Yosemite Sam was da bomb, by the way.

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

It's all subjective. I remember when Flying Elvis came out, for about 10 minutes I thought... wait... Pat's gone? Really? This isn't some kind of experiment or something??? You've got to be... hey, those are pretty cool!

I lived with Pat Patriot for a while and he was OUR decal, so there was a little pain. But aesthetically the new unis are an improvement, to me. Truth? I've been all in since late 60s and I could lose Pat Patriot in about 10 minutes. So "people like me" aren't bandwagon fans, or fans of winning that might as well go to the next team, or whatever, we're long-time Pats fans that just dealt better with the change.

Also Darryl Stingley didn't have a flying elvis, and look what happened. Post hoc ergo propter hoc.

The switch from royal blue to Navy was perfect to complete the feel... blue is soothing, navy is dark enough to make you go "oh oh." (Despite Chris Berman's insistence that SD's powder blue unis are the best evah.)

But to each his own

First impressions are often the most accurate. I've got to say, I've never seen the flying elvis and uniform and thought they were cool. Maybe, again, if it were some brand new team, like the Ravens or Texans...I haven't (outside of this website) run into many people who like and/or prefer it.

The fact is that James Orthwein malevolently and disparagingly f**ked with my football team, based on malicious ignorance. By 1993 the local media's hyperbole about how terrible the Patriots were had mutated from entertaining, to nonfactual, and, like today, most of the nation bought it. You can't tell me that Roger Goodell didn't personally process Orthwein's request to destroy our logo, and then pass it along to NFL Properties with an ear-to-ear grin on his face. He hates the Patriots, and revels in anything that makes us look bad, or stupid (which the flying elvis does).

I guess for me, it's aesthetics, emotional attachment and the desire for our team to play out there and win. There are lots of others like me, or worse I guess, whose "fandom ceased" when the team completely changed their logo and uniforms. Most of the time when franchises do that, it's a bush league move and screams to the world they have no tradition and that their fans have attention spans no longer than...ten minutes.

 

[XLIX]

By the way, here are the original AFL logos, just for fun.

That isn't the Patriots' original logo. It isn't even really their second logo. Their original logo is just a hat, and their 2nd logo is a goofier version of Pat Patriot, not the more familiar one seen above.

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

That isn't the Patriots' original logo. It isn't even really their second logo. Their original logo is just a hat, and their 2nd logo is a goofier version of Pat Patriot, not the more familiar one seen above.

Right, and for the better part of thirty years thereafter it was the same...I'd rather have Disney's Goofy on our helmets than the flying elvis; at least he's funny and interesting.

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

Mike Haynes he got forty
Fred Marion's thirty-one
Otis Smith's forty-five big Jim Orthwein's flying elvis got a ring in '01
And it's big and dumb and it looks like scum
But it's stuck on our helmets like glue
And when Goodell's folks all get together to talk
they do what flying elvis tells them to, 'cause he's there too

And they say you don't tug Bill Belichick's hood
You don't jump offsides on defense
You don't pull the mask on that old Tom Brady and
Don't mess with flying elvis

Well outta Dunwoody Georgia come a country boy
He say "I'm lookin' for a man named Jim
I am an old time football fan my name Bobby Floyd
But down home they call me Slim
Yeah I's born in Saxonville and take Route One
Down to Foxborough and see a new stadium
After he took my team's logo
You can call me loco
But I'm bringing Pat Patriot back"

And everybody's Say Jack don't you know
You don't tug Bill Belichick's hood
You don't jump offsides on defense
You don't pull the mask on that old Tom Brady and
Don't mess with flying elvis

Well a hush fell over the locker room
And F.E.'s there trembling at Bob Kraft's feet
And when the cuttin' was done, the only part that wasn't bloody
Was the dimples in the faker's cheek
Yeah he was cut in 'bout a hundred places
And he was shot in a couple more
And you better believe they sung a different kind of story
When flying elvis hit the floor

Now they say
You don't tug Bill Belichick's hood
You don't jump offsides on defense
You don't pull the mask on that old Tom Brady and
Don't mess with Pat Patriot

Yeah flying elvis got his hat
Find out where it's at
And it's not posing as New England's pro football symbol
Even if your owner does plaster you all over and on four diamond-studded rings
The next one's gonna have the real thing

 

[PatsFanInVa]

Somewhere in the jungles of Nicaragua Jim Croce is turning in a variety of locations that together constitute his grave.

I forgot the in-between Heath Ledger version of Pat Patriot, but made several references to the hat

Flying Elvis is a real logo. Pat Patriot's a dated cartoon. He's not coming back.

 

[AzPatsFan]

First impressions are often the most accurate. I've got to say, I've never seen the flying elvis and uniform and thought they were cool. Maybe, again, if it were some brand new team, like the Ravens or Texans...I haven't (outside of this website) run into many people who like and/or prefer it.

The fact is that James Orthwein malevolently and disparagingly f**ked with my football team, based on malicious ignorance. By 1993 the local media's hyperbole about how terrible the Patriots were had mutated from entertaining, to nonfactual, and, like today, most of the nation bought it. You can't tell me that Roger Goodell didn't personally process Orthwein's request to destroy our logo, and then pass it along to NFL Properties with an ear-to-ear grin on his face. He hates the Patriots, and revels in anything that makes us look bad, or stupid (which the flying elvis does).

I guess for me, it's aesthetics, emotional attachment and the desire for our team to play out there and win. There are lots of others like me, or worse I guess, whose "fandom ceased" when the team completely changed their logo and uniforms. Most of the time when franchises do that, it's a bush league move and screams to the world they have no tradition and that their fans have attention spans no longer than...ten minutes.

Rodger Goodell was a nobody when the uniform switch was made. That was still the Tagliabul era. Orthwein may not have recognized the profile, and the know-nothing national media dubbed it Flying Evis; but we true blue New Englanders recognized the traditional "Man in the Mountain" profile immediately, and accepted it and Bill Parcells.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

Worked in New Hampshih did they? Pepperidge fahmn remembahs...

 

[PatsFanInVa]

 

[RobertWeathers]

Being from NH thanks for sharing this. Not sure what I'll do with it but I LOVE it.

 

[Gronkowski123]

hey bob, time to issue roger a public apology. it's only right!