I keep hearing that everyone else hates the Patriots. I’ve never understood this.
I keep hearing that everyone else hates the Patriots.
I’ve never understood this.
A small part, I think, is fans here are seen as bombastic.
But the organization isn't — Bill Belichick disapproves of distractions, so the only thing anyone ever says, including owner Bob Kraft, is, “It was a team effort.”
So why have they become bad guys?
I decided to Google around to see.
The first reason is obvious.
Jealousy.
The Patriots have made the playoffs 15 of the last 17 years and the Super Bowl seven of the last 16 (not including this year); and won five.
That would tick you off if you lived in Cleveland, where they haven’t seen a postseason since around the time the iPod hit the market — 2002.
I’d sympathize with the jealousy if the Patriots had ridden a fat payroll. But football has a salary cap — every team spends around $150 million a year on talent. The Patriots were even under it this year.
So we’re not richer.
But we do have advantages, including this guy named Tom Brady.
People hate Tom Brady. But ask why, and all you get is: he's pretty, with a supermodel wife and good at football.
Admittedly, he's low-key, not an extrovert like Peyton Manning, and when you’re a celeb, that can come off as surly. I think Brady's health focus on things such as avocado ice cream is an issue, too. In New England, we like what that says about his discipline, but outsiders see him as robotic and can't relate to a guy who won't eat cheeseburgers.
There's also the New York Yankees factor. Sports dynasties are seen as evil empires. In an industry of revolving doors, folks resent teams with continuity. How dare the Patriots have one QB since 2001 while squads like the Dolphins, a rival we play twice a year, has had 17.
Then there's The Coach. You know, the guy who smiles twice a year and gives grouchy one-syllable answers. And those ill-fitting hoodies — he even looks like Darth Vader. But he’s our Darth Vader. And a football genius.
No, he isn’t, cry the haters; he’s a cheater.
That’s based in part on Spygate, when the Patriots were fined for taping a team's signals from the sidelines during one game. Truth is, it’s legal to tape from other locations and part of the game is figuring out the other guys’ calls. Plus — that was 2007.
Yeah — then how about Deflategate?
Brady’s four-game suspension was not about soft footballs. The NFL dropped that charge. He was punished for refusing to cop to a bum rap and give his cellphone to Lord Roger’s witch-hunters, who doubtless would’ve leaked random texts to gossip rags.
Most people don't know that.
But they do know that despite that suspension, the Patriots still won the Super Bowl last year.
And are the best team of an era.
Because they're insanely competitive. More than anything else — including making friends — the Patriots care about winning.
Which also makes the rest of the country hate us.
But on some grudging level, you know what?
They also respect us.
We’ll take it.
— mpatinki@providencejournal.com
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