Posted on Apr 13, 2015
The Culture Surrounding the New England Patriots
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Hello to all. This is my first post here on RallyPoint. From what I've seen throughout these forums, there's a very logical and intelligent group of individuals here and that's encouraging.
Let me start this off by saying that I'm a New England Patriots fan, and I'm blessed to have grown up watching them in the Tom Brady-Bill Belichick era. Comments aside regarding the controversial end to Super Bowl XLIX, I believe the Patriots truly earned that victory. Kudos to the Seattle Seahawks for a well-played game despite plenty of defensive injuries.
The real reason for this topic is to discuss the culture that surrounds the New England Patriots today. The Spygate controversy occurred at the start of the 2007 season. Prior to that, there were false allegations of the Pats taping the St. Louis Rams' walkthroughs prior to Super Bowl XXXVI. Of course now we still have an unresolved controversy in 'Deflategate', where reporters first said that "11 of 12 footballs were underinflated", however the story has change and only the intercepted ball by Indianapolis Colts LB D'Qwell Jackson was found to be underinflated by 2 psi of air, the rest being "a tick under". Attorney Ted Wells is leading the investigation into Deflategate, but things seem to be going in favor of the Patriots at this point.
These controversies, including the now-illegal formations used against the Baltimore Ravens in the Divisional game, have given the Patriots a stigma of "bending the rules, but not breaking them" and "compromising the integrity of the game", with plenty of allegations of cheating. Last I checked, in the United States one is innocent until proven guilty, but ever since Spygate it seems that people are quick to point at the Patriots and call them cheaters without any legitimate evidence to back up their claim. Some people are quick to mention Spygate (as if it was the Boston Massacre or something), yet aren't able to explain what Spygate was or why it's even a big deal.
Following a simple misinterpretation of the memo the NFL released prior to the Spygate controversy (the one regarding camera placement for sideline taping of practices/games), the Patriots (and Bill Belichick) were fined heavily and the Pats docked a first-round draft pick. It's not like the New York Jets or any other team hadn't taped practices from the sidelines before, it's that the Patriots were labelled as the scapegoats. I prefer not to argue the 'every team does it' argument, though it's strange to heavily punish one team for something everybody does.
The thing that really ticks me off about the huge Pats haters are the complete lack of respect for the hard work the players put in. They act like Tom Brady wouldn't be as good of a QB without events like Spygate or Deflategate (now the Tuck Rule is one I'll give to Raiders fans.. while it WAS a rule, it was a dumb one and that should have been ruled a fumble). You can't tell me Rob Gronkowski wouldn't be as dominant without Deflategate, or that Rob Ninkovich and Chandler Jones wouldn't be so disruptive on the ends without it. They're just great players, and it says a lot to assume a whole organization cheats based on the minor mistakes of a few.|
In closing, I'm not trying to tell anyone they can't hate on the Patriots.. just hate on them because of something legitimate. They're a successful franchise and naturally fans of less-successful franchises will be salty, but that doesn't warrant you to discredit the sweat and determination players like Julian Edelman, Nate Solder, Vince Wilfork and many others showed in fighting for that Lombardi Trophy.
I understand this is long, and I'm probably going to have people tell me that no matter what I say there'll be haters. I suppose at the end of the day people will stick with what they like and disregard what they dislike.
Invite others to respond by typing @name
Let me start this off by saying that I'm a New England Patriots fan, and I'm blessed to have grown up watching them in the Tom Brady-Bill Belichick era. Comments aside regarding the controversial end to Super Bowl XLIX, I believe the Patriots truly earned that victory. Kudos to the Seattle Seahawks for a well-played game despite plenty of defensive injuries.
The real reason for this topic is to discuss the culture that surrounds the New England Patriots today. The Spygate controversy occurred at the start of the 2007 season. Prior to that, there were false allegations of the Pats taping the St. Louis Rams' walkthroughs prior to Super Bowl XXXVI. Of course now we still have an unresolved controversy in 'Deflategate', where reporters first said that "11 of 12 footballs were underinflated", however the story has change and only the intercepted ball by Indianapolis Colts LB D'Qwell Jackson was found to be underinflated by 2 psi of air, the rest being "a tick under". Attorney Ted Wells is leading the investigation into Deflategate, but things seem to be going in favor of the Patriots at this point.
These controversies, including the now-illegal formations used against the Baltimore Ravens in the Divisional game, have given the Patriots a stigma of "bending the rules, but not breaking them" and "compromising the integrity of the game", with plenty of allegations of cheating. Last I checked, in the United States one is innocent until proven guilty, but ever since Spygate it seems that people are quick to point at the Patriots and call them cheaters without any legitimate evidence to back up their claim. Some people are quick to mention Spygate (as if it was the Boston Massacre or something), yet aren't able to explain what Spygate was or why it's even a big deal.
Following a simple misinterpretation of the memo the NFL released prior to the Spygate controversy (the one regarding camera placement for sideline taping of practices/games), the Patriots (and Bill Belichick) were fined heavily and the Pats docked a first-round draft pick. It's not like the New York Jets or any other team hadn't taped practices from the sidelines before, it's that the Patriots were labelled as the scapegoats. I prefer not to argue the 'every team does it' argument, though it's strange to heavily punish one team for something everybody does.
The thing that really ticks me off about the huge Pats haters are the complete lack of respect for the hard work the players put in. They act like Tom Brady wouldn't be as good of a QB without events like Spygate or Deflategate (now the Tuck Rule is one I'll give to Raiders fans.. while it WAS a rule, it was a dumb one and that should have been ruled a fumble). You can't tell me Rob Gronkowski wouldn't be as dominant without Deflategate, or that Rob Ninkovich and Chandler Jones wouldn't be so disruptive on the ends without it. They're just great players, and it says a lot to assume a whole organization cheats based on the minor mistakes of a few.|
In closing, I'm not trying to tell anyone they can't hate on the Patriots.. just hate on them because of something legitimate. They're a successful franchise and naturally fans of less-successful franchises will be salty, but that doesn't warrant you to discredit the sweat and determination players like Julian Edelman, Nate Solder, Vince Wilfork and many others showed in fighting for that Lombardi Trophy.
I understand this is long, and I'm probably going to have people tell me that no matter what I say there'll be haters. I suppose at the end of the day people will stick with what they like and disregard what they dislike.
Invite others to respond by typing @name
NFL
New England Patriots
Football
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 8
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PO3 Steven Sherrill
I agree with SGT Richard H. that far too much has been made of what the Seahawks did wrong. Not enough has been made about the DB who read the play perfectly, timed his move perfectly, and came away with the pick. I say read it and timed it perfectly because I know that when you are inside the five yard line, there is not a lot of room to maneuver. As that play demonstrated, there is zero margin for error.
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SGT Richard H.
SPC Patrick Caldwell & PO3 Steven Sherrill It's really just football. There has only been one perfect season (1972 Dolphins) in the 50 year history of the Superbowl era (it's not perfect if you don't win the Superbowl...sorry). What that tells us is that no matter who we support, we all get to learn how to lose sometime.
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SPC Patrick Caldwell
While I don't call the 2007 Patriots' season perfect by any means, it was probably as close to it as you can get in the modern 16-game season era. The New York Giants were simply the better football team in Super Bowl XLII. That Giants' defense was fierce and held the Patriots to 7 points in the first 57 or so minutes of play. The Patriots! Considered one of the greatest offenses of all-time! It's a testament to how badly the Giants wanted it and how much they put in to earn it. Although even as I say that, let's take a look back at that David Tyree helmet catch. How did the refs NOT call holding on the Giants O-linemen (#63)? That was basically grappling. I'm not trying to take away from the skill it took Eli to manuever out of danger, or Tyree's poise in maintaining possession.. simply want to know why such blatant offensive holding wasn't called. It taught Brady a lesson though; he was laughing when asked if the Giants could hold them to 14 points before the Super Bowl, and what do you think happened? He definitely learned to put tongue in cheek and not to act like a game is won when it's a 60-minute game.
I think the Vikings will win a Super Bowl in the next decade, no doubt about it. Bridgewater is promising and I think they'll continue to implement Cordarrelle Patterson in their game plan (or at least I hope they do).
I think the Vikings will win a Super Bowl in the next decade, no doubt about it. Bridgewater is promising and I think they'll continue to implement Cordarrelle Patterson in their game plan (or at least I hope they do).
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New England fan by default...born 20 minutes outside Boston - My opinion is that the media needs to make it interesting. Apparently the non-New England fans get tired of seeing the same face at the big game and voila...scandals are born. In my line of work in the military, these guys would be seen as innovators - willing to push and bend the rules a little and work hard at it, for success. A little below board, maybe, but fun as hell to watch!
Edit - In no way, shape or form am I comparing, as PO3 Steven Sherrill so eloquently put it, 'these spoiled-rich assholes' to our troops (a case can be made for the Pat Tillman type). And yes, it is all about the dollar!
Edit - In no way, shape or form am I comparing, as PO3 Steven Sherrill so eloquently put it, 'these spoiled-rich assholes' to our troops (a case can be made for the Pat Tillman type). And yes, it is all about the dollar!
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SPC Patrick Caldwell
I couldn't agree more with you, PO2 William Allen Crowder. Standard of living in the region is somewhat low, and understandably enough with how much the population increases. It makes me appreciate Maine that much more because it's still got such natural, pristine beauty. Maine allows us to open carry, although the growing stigma surrounding possession of firearms is concerning. I truly hope that stigma changes.. the Second Amendment is one we should be proud of, not fear.
I do feel bad for the way Drew Bledsoe's tenure in New England ended, but let's face it.. the impact it made on the New England franchise was ideal for it. It brought them 3 Lombardi Trophies in 4 years. I didn't wish for Bledsoe to be injured, and I highly doubt Belichick did either.. but it gave Tom Brady the opportunity to show why he deserved to be the starting QB. Bledsoe was good, but Tom Brady earned the starting job after that 2001 season he played.
I do feel bad for the way Drew Bledsoe's tenure in New England ended, but let's face it.. the impact it made on the New England franchise was ideal for it. It brought them 3 Lombardi Trophies in 4 years. I didn't wish for Bledsoe to be injured, and I highly doubt Belichick did either.. but it gave Tom Brady the opportunity to show why he deserved to be the starting QB. Bledsoe was good, but Tom Brady earned the starting job after that 2001 season he played.
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SPC Patrick Caldwell
PO2 William Allen Crowder, I appreciate the compliment. I just try to hold off on senseless bias and focus on facts revolving the Patriots. I may be a fan, but to be a fan doesn't mean I go spouting, "#PatsNation, baby! We're better than everybody!" haha.
SSgt Joe V., I'm not sure but you seem classy to me, if that counts.
SSgt Joe V., I'm not sure but you seem classy to me, if that counts.
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SSgt Joe V.
I don't know that the word classy and I have ever been used in the same sentence, so for that, thank you SPC Patrick Caldwell
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Well, SPC Patrick Caldwell, it's professional football. Despite all the "bad" things that happen, they still get wins, to include the Super Bowl. The NFL doesn't take the wins back, so I guess it's OK. A number of years ago the Oakland Raiders were considered the bad boys. Now they're not. I wouldn't worry about it!
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SPC Patrick Caldwell
LTC Stephen C., it may not be a personal vendetta but I feel someone should address the culture surrounding the Patriots. It's similar to the culture surrounding the New York Yankees in baseball. I think back to the early 2003 when Aaron Boone hit that home run off a Tim Wakefield pitch in the ALCS to go to the World Series. It left a bitter taste in Red Sox fans' mouths no doubt, but to hate the Yankees because they won is ridiculous. It's better to think of the positives surrounding the season you had instead of being bitter because you couldn't make it all the way. Bottom line; there can only be one winner, and being the loser isn't a bad thing (especially on that stage).
I don't demand respect for the Patriots' organization, I simply seek answers from people who "hate them with a burning passion". It wouldn't be the end of the world if people keep hating to hate, but I sure would like to understand the logic in it.
I don't demand respect for the Patriots' organization, I simply seek answers from people who "hate them with a burning passion". It wouldn't be the end of the world if people keep hating to hate, but I sure would like to understand the logic in it.
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