Who Was A Fan During The Dark Years

[MassPats38]

Late '70s watching Grogan heave the ball to Stanley Morgan in coverage. I went to many games during the dark days, when you were just happy to see the Pats have a chance to win. My attitude has been "these are the good old days" since the Pats won the title in 2001.

I agree this loss was not heart wrenching. The annoying non-playoff losses that bother me at all come at the hands of the Jets, Ravens, Colts and Broncos (as I hate everything about the Jets and Ravens 24/7 and strongly dislike parts of the other two). These losses can some times give the team direction and focus, and do not end the season.

The Pats really did not play well last night and lost by a TD to a potential Super Bowl team. Hopefully that loss creates a better attitude and focus, along with plenty of teaching points that will help the team improve down the road. What I want is the best team possible for the playoffs. Much can happen after Thanksgiving.

 

[Urgent]

Yeah, 1970's for me too. The Steve Grogan-Stanley Morgan era.
Lot of cold aluminum seats, and listening to Sox games in the dirt parking lots.

 

[IllegalContact]

I've been a fan since they moved to foxboro..........

relatively speaking, since krafts ownership, there has not been a down year

 

[Geezer Butler]

Started watching as a youngster in the Grogan era, I definitely remember turning the game on and wondering why the Patriots weren't on for the black outs. Amazing to me what the team has become since then. No matter how disappointing these losses can be, really it's been all gravy for me since 2001.

 

[InRodWeRust]

I got into football after my buddy introduced me to the Nintendo game Tecmo Bowl. There was no New England in that game so I picked the closest team which was the Giants. I rooted for them in the 1990 Super Bowl and was hooked on football ever since.

Following that I decided to start on the ground floor by rooting for the Patriots right after their 1-15 season. My username is a tribute to that awful team lead by Rod Rust.

 

[dtbrks]

i started watching around 79-80.

 

[RelocatedPatFan]

Since late 70's and stealing sips of Schlitz beer from my dad.

 

[Patsfanin Philly]

Fan since 1968. Went through some real down years but didn't really care. I wasn't really into it until they hired Chuck Fairbanks. They finally started drafting some true talent and then came 1974. The bad news Patriots start off the year 6-1 and Bob Windsor tears up his knee beating NFC Champion Vikings. All the injuries mount up and they finish at 7-7. .

Been a fan since '71 and have seen it all.. In the rain versus Houston, no in a monsoon where they lost 6-0 on a fumbled punt returned and took a date to a Pats game in '81 and took my kids to multiple games in '07, opening day in the Meadowlands and weeks 16 at Gillette and week 17 versus NYG to cap 16-0...... Was in Glendale for SB49 at the urging of my wife ( "you don't know if they'll get back there- Look at Det and Buf" so I went)
Windsor's TD was one of the gutsiest plays I have ever seen. He knew he had to score or they lost and he willed himself over the line, torn knee and all............would love to see the video if it's available.. Having seen the bad, I enjoy the good.....

 

[GaryfromTO]

Fan since 1977 . And yeah, there were some pretty dark years

 

[OhExaulted1]

I watched games back in 1981, 82 around there.

Last night sucked and I have some concerns with this team but nothing, nothing was as bad as what we had to endure from 1989-1992.

That's my time frame as well. I liked Tony Collins alot. The only game I've ever attended was at the end of the '92 season against Mia. They were 2-13 going into it. Zolak was the starter and got knocked out. They missed a short FG at the end and it went into OT. Gametime temp was 16 degrees to start. The only reason I stood gor the whole game was I was afraid my *** would get frozen to the aluminum bleachers seats covered in beer spills.

After that game we got Parcells and drafted Bledsoe. It was indeed dark times. Almost lost the team to St. Louis.

 

[bobbutts]

I started in the Grogan and Eason times and really became a fan with Tuna and Bledsoe. Considered giving up when Bledsoe got injured as it was difficult to watch on the west coast and I felt that they would suck without Drew. Glad I didn't give up at that point lol.

 

[scott99]

1976. I was living in NY and started dating a guy from Boston. Dumped the guy, kept the team. The dirt parking lots were swamps in heavy rain. The only thing that kept you on the edge of your seat in those days were the ice-cold bleachers.

Those benches were horrendous. I went to my 1st Pat's game at Foxborough on Sept 9th, 1979 (about a month before my 17th birthday), Pats vs Jets, it was the best game I ever went to. Pats won 56-3. I'll never forget it. EIGHT Touchdowns (and extra points). Most fun I ever had at a game. My poor parents and sister were rooting for the Jets lol.

 

[PatsDeb]

I've been a Patriots fan since 2004. I've risen with the many ups and few ( Brady injury, playoff defeats) downs. Who on here was a fan before Kraft arrived? A time when blackouts, fan apathy were a common sight. How has that made you appreciate, and furthermore deal with heart wrenching losses like tonight? Just curious.

I've been a Pats fan since the mid-70's. Last night's loss was a bummer & puts me in a bad mood for a few days (because you get used to the excellence, the ability to pull a rabbit out of a hat, etc.), but it does not rise to the level of heart-wrenching. That distinction for me was only the Super Bowl at the end of the 2007 season, and even that was tempered a lot, for me, with the win in 2014 (erased the demons in the same building). Also, most of the time a regular season loss, no matter when it occurs, does not equal disaster for the entire season, particularly when you are still 7-2.

I appreciate the ride the Pats have given us for the last (incredible!!) 15 years. I am not sure any other team has seen such stable "excellence" before or since. We'll all be bumming when BB, Brady or both retire. A return to the bottom of the ladder will not be fun. But we really can't complain; we've been at the top for so long now.

 

[SEA_Pat]

These threads come up with regularity so won't belabour the board with stories told over and over again, but 1974 was the start.

Yes, perspective is a great thing, and I simply can't get that upset about the Patriots any more given the unbelievable run we've had, which is far and away the best ever by any team in the NFL and will likely never be repeated or exceeded. I've also seen how easy it is to lose in the league, and how small differences, individual plays, bad calls, funky bounces and other things can lead to losses instead of wins.

It's not surprising that those who've been on board only since the glory days seem to think anything other than 16-0 and a blowout is unacceptable. It's hella annoying though. Those fans will be a mess when Brady is gone and reality strikes.

 

[QuantumMechanic]

Those benches were horrendous. I went to my 1st Pat's game at Foxborough on Sept 9th, 1979 (about a month before my 17th birthday), Pats vs Jets, it was the best game I ever went to. Pats won 56-3. I'll never forget it. EIGHT Touchdowns (and extra points). Most fun I ever had at a game. My poor parents and sister were rooting for the Jets lol.

That's why one took those minichairs to the game.

 

[SalemPats]

I've been a Patriots fan since 2004. I've risen with the many ups and few ( Brady injury, playoff defeats) downs. Who on here was a fan before Kraft arrived? A time when blackouts, fan apathy were a common sight. How has that made you appreciate, and furthermore deal with heart wrenching losses like tonight? Just curious.

The first game i went to with in '86 (just a young kid) and would go to 2 games every year. Even went to a game where Flutie was our starting QB. The team was not very good, but we had a division with Marino and Kelly. I kind of understand how the fins, bills and jets feel going against Brady and already being down

 

[CheekyDave]

fan since 1968, I never ever ever complain about anything. this is valhallah after dealing with the first 20 or so years. Totally understand why a fan from 2000 would be wanting sucess every year, Im just thrilled we are a great team.

 

[jagkho]

Fan since '71. Earliest memories were of Plunkett and Vataha, and shortly afterwards those strong 70's teams with Haynes, Francis, Hannah, Grogan and Cunningham. And dont forget Mini Mack Herron who gave us a lot of excitement in some middling years.

 

[Lansdowne]

Lifelong Boston sports fan. The Celtics were my first love, and sadly for me it didn't happen until after Larry Bird had just retired. That's around the time when I grew a love for pro sports and started following the local teams. The Patriots caught my attention in 1994 when Bledsoe broke the pass attempt record and it was talked about in school the next day. 1996 was when I started watching religiously. Even as the team trended downward in each subsequent season, I watched all the time. Even when they were losing to the likes of Ray Lucas, Koy Detmer, Damon Huard, Charlie Batch, Doug Pederson... it was like, WTF, we have Drew freaking Bledsoe, one of the AFC's household names at QB, why do we keep losing to these scrubs? I never experienced the true dark times, in that I remember life before Brady but not life before Bledsoe.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

I've been a Patriots fan since 2004. I've risen with the many ups and few ( Brady injury, playoff defeats) downs. Who on here was a fan before Kraft arrived? A time when blackouts, fan apathy were a common sight. How has that made you appreciate, and furthermore deal with heart wrenching losses like tonight? Just curious.

When you can't get the ball into the end zone with four tries from the one, it's not "heart wrenching." "Roughing the Passer" was heart wrenching. Tyree was heart wrenching. Last night wasn't heart wrenching. The other guys just played better.

My nick says it all. First game was watching them beat the reigning SB Champ Dolphins in 1974.
Been through it all since then.