When Did You . . . become a fan of the Patriots ?

[SebertJr]

Grew up a diehard redskins fan in essentially Giants territory here in Ct., my father wasn't a sports fan, but I had uncles in the service stationed in Va. as well as an uncle that was LEO in DC, I followed sports through them as a young lad.
Furthest back I can remember, was the dreaded Superbowl victory over the Skins that gave the fish their undefeated season, I can especially remember the botched punt returned for a TD, I was 10 then.
It wasn't til we all turned of driving age that I started following the Pats, even when the Giants were playing at Yale bowl, as a Redskins fan I'd prefer the trip to Schaefer/Sullivan/Foxboro stadium to watch the Pats.... and being an AFC team there wasn't much of a conflict of interest, I've been going to the games since the late 70's and a season ticket holder now for close to a decade.....and yes, the Pats have become the # 1 with the Skins a distant second

 

[Jercules]

I remember watching the Patriots/Panthers SB, and rooting for the Panthers. I didn't really care. It was two "cinderella" teams, and I figured the Pats had already got their SB, so let Carolina get one here. I was an avid NFL fan, but living in Canada you naturally have no automatic rooting interest.

But then that offseason came around, and I realized that the "we get no respect" mantra was, for NE, actually true. I chuckle when I see people wax poetic about all the great defensive talent those teams had: Those guys were all old retreads that nobody else wanted. In 2001, even with Bledsoe, they were supposed to be one of the worst teams in the league.

They honestly did figure out a way to outsmart and outwork people, and get production out of guys that no one else wanted. I started to get a huge kick out of seeing all these media ballwashed teams (Colts in particular) go to Foxboro and die in the snow. Pittsburgh struck me as massively arrogant that year, and beating the Pats in the regular season seemed like the SB to them. When Willie McGinest said "you wanna be the Champs, you gotta beat the Champs. WE'RE the Champs... and they forgot that!" after the AFCCG, I hit the ceiling.

They embody the whole "chip on your shoulder" spirit: they work harder, smarter, they care only about winning, and they make zero excuses. Even last season, Brady's O-line disappeared vs. the Broncos and all he said was "there's no excuse for the way I played" (Manning would've sneered some **** about protection problems).

So yeah, I guess I'm a shameless bandwagon jumper. But I think that's what's so great about the Patriots: They're men. They stand for something, and you cheer for them for that even if you don't live anywhere near NE, and you haven't been wearing their jerseys since you were little.

"They said we were a bunch of replacements"--Rodney Harrison

 

[The Boston Patriot]

When they announced the awarding of a franchise. I couldn't stomach the Giants feed into New England. My brothers followed the Giants and I took a lot of **** in the early years but my love and patience have been rewarded big time.

 

[flasox27]

My earliest memory of football was in 1957, when the New York Football Giants were the NFL Champions and New England was part of their viewing territory. I switched over to the Pats in 1960 when Billy Sullivan rounded up a bunch of ex BC players and put a team on the field. I have been following the team ever since regardless of where I live.

 

[Leakey1]

My earliest memories of watching the Pats involved rooting for Steve Grogan. Until Brady came along, he was my favorite qb ever. I remember hoping that Irving Fryar would catch a TD pass, so that I could see him do the Pee Wee Herman dance in the endzone. I also remember being a huge Mosi Tutupu fan; I always called him Two-Poops. Yeah, I was young, but I have been a loyal fan as long as I can remember.

 

[borisman]

I'd say it was 1980 or so. I watched Horace Ivory return a kick off for a TD vs. the Colts. I thought that was the shet! I also thought Stanley Morgan was the fastest man alive! Russ Francis was still there too.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

Went to my first game in 1998...was 10 at the time..since then i was hooked and have been to a million games...have a Pats tattoo ect. So many highs and lows. But sports baby

 

[borisman]

1976, I was 8 years old.
Heartbreak.

Yeah, I heard that team was sick. What a highway rob job that was. No doubt they win their 1st SB that year if not for getting flagged for waving a hand in front of QB's face.

 

[InRodWeRust]

I always liked the Pats and wished them well growing up but I didn't consider myself a fan at the time. Then in High School my buddy, Jonathan, got me into playing Tecmo Bowl in 1990. After playing for a while I finally caught on to the basics of football and could finally understand what the hell was going on during a game so I started to watch a few Pats games. They stunk but hey they were the team I grew up with and I rooted hard for them. When I played Tecmo Bowl they didn't have the Pats so I picked the next closest team which was the Giants. I was rooting for them that year and they won the Super Bowl. I liked them but I didn't consider myself a fan of them. I really had gotten into football.

Anyway one day during the offseason, after the 1990 season, my buddy Jonathan and his friend Kirk Minihane (yes that Kirk Minihane) and I were sitting around talking about sports. Kirk mentioned some team and said they sucked as bad as the Patriots and then Jonathan sarcastically mentioned that the Pats were not that bad because they did have that one glorious win. Those comments kind of pissed me off and at that moment I realized that I must be a Patriots fan.

My username and picture are based on that 1990 season of when Rod Rust was the coach of the Pats. At 1-15 I had entered Pats fandom on the bottom floor. I never would have dreamed it would get as good as it is now.

 

[AtomicDawg]

The date is September 26, 1993. I'm 4 years old. My dad is in the house for reasons I can't come up with. He has the TV on (blasting like it's a damn house party) and I can hear chattering and cheering. I don't really know what's going on inside the TV, but I'm doing my best to follow the action. I see a bunch of green people with white helmets on and they are on the bottom of the screen. Next to them, I see a bunch of guys on the other side with silver clothes and silver helmets on. The green people seem to do something good, because he jumps out of his chair immediately and starts yelling at the top of his lungs.

Now, I hated my Dad. I mean, I DESPISED him. Well, I loved him because I'm obligated to doing so (it's in the binding family contract you sign unknowingly as soon as you come out of the womb), but I didn't like him around me. Things have gotten a bit better since then but yeah, not so much back then. So, anything that made him feel good, I didn't like. Knowing this, I start to cringe a little, then focus my attention back to the TV.

The silver guys are next up to do whatever it is they are doing. If the green people are the ones giving my dad joy, I'm going to put all my emphasis on the silver people and cheer my heart out for them. So, I start to smile quietly and put my energy to them. (This game happened to be the game in which the Pats lost, 45-7, bringing them to 0-4 for the year, ending up 5-11.)

When I got a bit older, I started to take over the TV, especially on Sundays, when my dad would watch the "green team"; I would try to find the "silver team" and root for them. I found out that their name was the Patriots. I liked the name, so I researched them some more and really started to like them for their undying passion, heart and willingness to win every game they were in. I especially loved when I could watch the games by myself and root for them on my own.

So that's how I became a Patriots fan. A rebellion of sorts from the man who gave me birth (he's a Packers now....donno what made him change his mind...) and a curious boy who eventually hit the jackpot.

 

[QuantumMechanic]

1976.

And one of my favorite pre-2001 memories was being in the stands in 1978 when NE won their first ever AFCE crown by beating Buffalo.

 

[Zeus]

1976.

And one of my favorite pre-2001 memories was being in the stands in 1978 when NE won their first ever AFCE crown by beating Buffalo.

Game winning FG kicked by the immortal David Posey.

 

[Pat the Pats Fan]

Grew up in Baltimore. Mom and Dad were season ticket holders for the Colts since day one. Mom would give up her seat to my brother or me in the 60's to go to the games with my Dad. My brother and mother died in the mid 70's so my Dad and I kept going to the games. Irsay stole the team out of Baltimore one cold March night. I think my Dad cried more than me. Anyway, we started following the Pats from a distance due to Raymond Berry being head coach. I moved to New Hampshire for my job in '91 and became a permanent fan. I have watched every game since, live or on TV (mostly TV due to several more job moves). I left New England for New Jersey in '96 and then Maryland in '02 and now North Carolina in '14. Directv and Sunday ticket is a necessity in my household.

 

[QuantumMechanic]

Game winning FG kicked by the immortal David Posey.

The game winning FG happened after Buffalo was forced into a safety. My vague recollection was that BUF was leading by 3 and got to 4th down and had to punt from deep in its own end. NE got enough of a rush -- or perhaps even broke through -- so that the BUF punter decided not to risk it and just took the intentional safety, allowing NE to cut the BUF lead to 1.

What I can't remember is whether the subsequent safety kick was a bad one and NE got great field position, or if the kick was OK and NE got a good return, or if the kick was OK and NE got an short return and just had a good drive to set up the winning FG.

 

[1960Pats]

Grew up in Baltimore. Mom and Dad were season ticket holders for the Colts since day one. Mom would give up her seat to my brother or me in the 60's to go to the games with my Dad. My brother and mother died in the mid 70's so my Dad and I kept going to the games. Irsay stole the team out of Baltimore one cold March night. I think my Dad cried more than me. Anyway, we started following the Pats from a distance due to Raymond Berry being head coach. I moved to New Hampshire for my job in '91 and became a permanent fan. I have watched every game since, live or on TV (mostly TV due to several more job moves). I left New England for New Jersey in '96 and then Maryland in '02 and now North Carolina in '14. Directv and Sunday ticket is a necessity in my household.

I wasn't necessarily a Colts fan but I was also furious at Irsay for taking the team away the way he did. I also didn't care for the fact that the NFL let him take away the team's name and history from the city of Baltimore. In honor of fans like you and your family I have never once put the word Colts and the city of Indianapolis together.

As a kid I was also a big fan of Johnny Unitas, who came to my HS in the late 60's as a guest speaker.

Mike Curtis taking out the fan who grabbed the football as the teams were huddled is also a great Colts memory

 

[lurker1965]

1976. Yes, that was a bandwagon year. Yes, I''m old.

 

[QuantumMechanic]

I wasn't necessarily a Colts fan but I was also furious at Irsay for taking the team away the way he did. I also didn't care for the fact that the NFL let him take away the team's name and history from the city of Baltimore.

You need to redirect some of that fury towards the Maryland legislature. Irsay snuck out of town because the state was about to seize the team by eminent domain. He got out just in time -- the seizure was authorized the day after he left, IIRC. I don't blame him (or any owner of any business) from doing the exact same thing under those circumstances.

This is not to say that Irsay was a good person or had integrity, mind you.

 

[abdul7]

Grew up in Bahrain going to an American High School. My late father wanted one of his sons to go to Harvard,,so i kept asking ,,,where is Harvard ?
My friends would say in Boston,Massachusetts,,,so now i grow up loving the Bee Gees song " Massachusetts ".
I was not good enough to get to Harvard and ended up in London, Uk and followed any team from Boston,,and than that 1985 Team took my heart ,,Steve Grogan a warrior and loved Hannah ,,and Irvin Frayer who i thought was Super lightning fast !!
That was the Team that really made me a die hard fan of the Pats and no shame in losing to that 85Bears Team.
Many years after ,,i kept the faith telling many that the Patriots would win one Super Bowl not knowing what was going to unfold in my lifetime. Some here my cousins or close friends still remember me about what i said in the 90s,,,all either 49ers ,,or Cowboys or Redskins.
So thats how an Arab from Bahrain became a fan of the Pats.

 

[jri37]

1976, I was 8 years old.
Heartbreak.

I was 11 and it most certainly was. Especially since everyone in my family were Giant fans.

 

[Delicate Genius]

It was either during the 2000 or 2001 season, can't remember. I became a fan because I liked the jerseys, haha. I got on board just in time for the start of this ride.

Didn't become a 'diehard' until the 2003 season though. The first entire game I watched was Week 1 when they got stomped in Buffalo (aka the "they hate their coach" game). Since then I've seen every game but one. I live in Western Canada so I've only been able to get to one game (in San Fran in 2008). I plan on going to Gillette one day to finally see a home game and Brady.