Why I Have a Problem with Some New England Patriots Fans
There is no coincidence that when ESPN took a poll, the New England Patriots were regarded as the most hated sports franchise. If you are wondering, it has nothing to do with the 5 Vince Lombardi trophies that makes America hate the Patriots - it's their fans (and their cheating). If the amount of hate towards a sports team correlated with their championship wins, then the most hated teams would be: the New York Yankees (27 Commissioner's trophies), the Montreal Canadiens (24 Stanley Cups), the Boston Celtics (17 Larry O'Brien trophies), and the Pittsburgh Steelers (6 Vince Lombardi trophies). While the Yankees are up there, the other three sports franchises are nowhere near as high up as the Patriots are on the polls and lists of most hated sports franchises.
Whenever the Patriots are trailing in a game or lose a game, somehow, it's magically always the referees' fault. It can never be that there were too many errant throws by Tom Brady in a single game, too many turnovers, or a bad misplay by one of the Patriots' players. Being mad or even sad about your favorite sports team losing is perfectly understandable but making excuses for professional athletes when they lose is not acceptable at all. Conversely, instead of coming up with random conspiracy theories about why the Patriots lose a game, hold all of the players accountable for not performing well enough.
I fear that some Patriots fans think that Rob Gronkowski is a genius or something. Ironically, the majority of the Patriots fans that I talk to know that smarts are not Gronk' strong suit. I even know a lifetime fan of the Pats that hates Gronk and despises his injury proneness.
How can some New England Patriots fans possibly defend Spygate and the usage of deflated footballs (Deflategate)? When Spygate was uncovered by NFL investigations in 2007, some Patriots fans tried to act like nothing happened. The NFL handed down a (weak) four-game penalty to the New England franchise because of the tactics that they used to actively cheat during games. If the Patriots are soooo legendary, why did they need Spygate? In terms of the deflated footballs, I LOVE how some Patriots fans try to deflect from the issue at hand by talking about how much they beat the Indianapolis Colts by (45-7). Whether the Colts lost by 1 point, 38 points, or 100 points, nothing changes what occurred; unless of course, some Patriots fans want to exhibit further ignorance. The under-inflated footballs that were used in the 2015 AFC Championship game were just another suspicious act by this NFL franchise.
Next, some New England Patriots have the strange tendency of playing the victim in all situations and they are huge conspiracy theorists. To any idiotic Patriots fans that think that Roger Goodell and the NFL is out to get their favorite team, what planet do you live on? What NFL team has not been penalized for numerous reasons? If there is anything close to a conspiracy in the NFL, how about looking at the officiating that seems to always rule in the Patriots' favor. I know many Patriots fans that have acknowledged that when New England plays at Gillette Stadium, they receive calls during a game that no other team gets. There's getting a call to go your way because you are the home team and then there's what New England gets blessed with.
I know Bill Belichick is a smart guy but how smart was he for trading Jimmy Garroppolo? Once he arrived to San Francisco after being traded for a second-round pick, Garroppolo was 5-0 in the games that he started. Additionally, three of his wins came against playoff teams - the Tennessee Titans, the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Los Angeles Rams. In those three particular victories, the 49ers scored 25 points, 44 points, and 34 points, respectively. Against the strong Titans defense, he threw for 381 yards and a touchdown. Then, in the next week, he threw for 21/30, 242 yards, and 2 touchdowns vs. Jacksonville, one of the best defenses in the entire NFL.
I have zero problem with any dedicated sports fan that has been rooting on their favorite sports team(s) for a lengthy duration of time. However, I do have a major problem with fake sports fans. Fittingly, numerous Patriots "fans" come out of the woodwork only when the New England football team is already in the playoffs or in the Super Bowl? Where are all of those Pats "fans" during the entire regular season? No one likes a bandwagoner.
I respect the New England Patriots winning. I respect Tom Brady. I just do not respect all New England Patriots fans. (I hope that none of the aforementioned problems apply to any of my faithful Rhode Island MBB fans.)
If any Patriots fan is crying about this, don't worry because it's not like I've never seen that before.
