Why do people call Patriots' fans bandwagoners?

[TbSB5]

Kind of makes no sense that people say Patriot fans only started following the team in 2001 when Brady came in

But...I think people are kind of forgetting the Patriots went 10 years without winning a SB even after Brady came in. The gap from 2004 to 2014.

That isn't exactly a definition of a "bandwagoner". See: Seahawk fans. THOSE are bandwagoners. Golden State Warrior fans. THOSE are bandwagoners.

 

[lusdawg]

It’s a loser mentality thing. Their teams can’t beat the perennial winners that are our New England Patriots, so they grasp at straws and spew this nonsense. That simple, really...

 

[BostonWolverine]

This talk just comes from internet trolls. Best to ignore them.

 

[Pats1989]

Since 94 ( When the sellouts began), the Patriots have been a good ( 94, 96, 97, 98, ) to elite ( 01-present) franchise. They haven't given fans any reason to really turn away...even in non SB winning years.

Before 94, they were an afterthought in Boston. They had a blackout streak over three years or so.

Only thing I can come up with.

 

[cmasspatsfan]

When any team starts winning super bowls they pick up casual fans. I know some people that follow them not that didn't in the 80s or even 90s, but that's every team in the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL. When a team starts winning that's the place to be. The one's saying this root for teams that are no different.

 

[VegasGuy]

Can't speak for everyone, but I've been a fan since around 1976.

That puts me at 12 years old. Realistic timeline

 

[Jackson 2]

See me in 5 years. Ghost town. Ever been on a game day thread? When Brady and BB leave, this board and the fanbase in general will look like the f###### Titanic...

 

[jri37]

Depends who is making the claim. My kids don't know anything else but playoffs and successes. Those trolls could be the same age in the early to mid twenties. I rember the pit of misery days so the talk really doesn't bother me.

 

[Observer]

Because the Pats wagon keeps on rolling and rolling

 

[Palm Beach Pats Fan]

Because anyone under age 25 or so has not likely watched a Patriots team kick off a game where they were not in contention for a Super Bowl. When that last happened, Bill Clinton was president. It was game 16, 2000 season. So, just by the sheer length of this unprecedented run, certain fans have no knowledge of how amazing this run has been because they cannot imagine a losing team.

 

[VegasGuy]

Because the Pats wagon keeps on rolling and rolling

And growing and growing

 

[Kontradiction]

Because anyone under age 25 or so has not likely watched a Patriots team kick off a game where they were not in contention for a Super Bowl. When that last happened, Bill Clinton was president. It was game 16, 2000 season. So, just by the sheer length of this unprecedented run, certain fans have no knowledge of how amazing this run has been because they cannot imagine a losing team.

I only somewhat remember the Carroll years and the Pats/Packers Super Bowl was the first game I watched. I am 31. The Patriots have been in contention for Super Bowls since the year before I was eligible to drive. I have since gotten a degree in Mass Communications then went back to get my MBA.

 

[Soliel]

Don’t know. Been a fan from the 70s onward.

 

[Angelpats]

You can tell the bandwagoners from true fans easily. They only care about winning, if there is one hiccup, one int, or we are down 7-0 in the first half they say our team sucks and we have lost.

 

[Chris Stevenson]

One word: jealousy

They are so jealous of boston fans having so many titles in the last 15 years, they will make up things about the fans. All the other franchises had dynasties earlier in their longstanding existences, so they know they can’t call sox, bruins or celts fans bandwagoners.

 

[patchick]

There's no way of even knowing whether young Patriots' fans are "bandwagoners." They haven't had a chance to wander in the desert yet.

This team has been so very good for so very long that you have an entire generation of native New Englanders who can't remember any Patriots team before Brady and Belichick. Amazing, really.

 

[PatriotsFan87]

There's no way of even knowing whether young Patriots' fans are "bandwagoners." They haven't had a chance to wander in the desert yet.

This team has been so very good for so very long that you have an entire generation of native New Englanders who can't remember any Patriots team before Brady and Belichick. Amazing, really.

Good post. I look at it like having bandwagon fans is a first world problem.

Right before the mid nineties there was an awful stretch of about 5 years where the patriots averaged 3.8 wins per year for 5 years. I remember that stretch being very miserable. In the last 17 years the patriots have averaged only 3.62 losses per year. Crazy.

While it is true the bandwagon has grown, this franchise has grown greater numbers of loyal fans too. So it is a good problem to have.

 

[FourierSeries]

They're trying to troll you.

Stop being so soft.

 

[Ian]

I can't say much - I'm a bandwagoner. I followed them casually when I was a kid starting in 1990, but my real interest in the team started in 1994 when they started winning and then later went to a Super Bowl at the end of the 1996 season. I started the site in 1997 because it got me so fired up and I jumped on

But because of that run, I started going to training camp at Bryant College back in 1998 where just a handful of people would attend practices during the Pete Carroll years and you could stand right on the sideline and watch everything going on pretty easily. Getting autographs for the kids was easy. They had one big year and then Parcells left, and the optimism waned during the "border war" years. It was a different time.

Now there are thousands of people there and it all changed when the team had their incredible run that obviously started in 2001 when, like me, people got excited. It's a natural progression, which like my experience, winning and championships obviously plays a part in - and winning a Super Bowl completely changed the landscape here.

The unprecedented run where they've won 10+ in every year since 2003 is unreal and there's now an entire generation who doesn't know what 8-8 or 5-11 feels like (or even worse like the early 90s). That's going to be a strange experience when it eventually happens, and while I'm curious to watch it play out - I'm not looking forward to it. I've said it before, this isn't normal and should be appreciated. This will be the era we're all someday talking about when it eventually ends. That's why it's important to at least enjoy it now. It won't last forever.

That's also why it's important for all of us to never give up in the first quarter/first half - or really until the final whistle. We've all experienced some incredible wins and we've learned that it's never over with this team.

 

[RobertWeathers]

There's no way of even knowing whether young Patriots' fans are "bandwagoners." They haven't had a chance to wander in the desert yet.

This team has been so very good for so very long that you have an entire generation of native New Englanders who can't remember any Patriots team before Brady and Belichick. Amazing, really.

The minute this team hits 8-8 the fan base will thin out by 25%