Before spygate what did you think of Pats?

[BBMogulLover21]

Okay all this is my question to you all.... I know that the Pats are very much hated trust me I know because I remember how many people teased me when the Pats lost... however I dont remember being teased as much in the past about being a Pats fan so my question to you all is:

A: What was your opinion of the Pats before Spygate

B: Ever since Spygate has happened how drastically has your opinion on the Pats changed

Basically I want to see how many of you all hate the Pats solely on Spygate or if its something else.... like their perfection that they had accomplished up until the Superbowl...

[asianinvasion]

A: Good team but not a dynasty like the Steelers of the 70's, the 49er's of the 80's or the Cowboys of the 90's. Wanted Brady to quit.

B: Team in mystery. How many wins were actually legit. How do you get caught cheating?

[benglfn]

It all comes down to the coach. He's just a dirtbag that everybody hates.

I had the same opinion of the team befor this season. Good team w/ an SOB as coach.

Brady showed alot of class after the SuperBowl, too bad the coach does not have a little.

[Rongar]

As a fan of the Bucs; the Packers; and the Colts; I've long feared and respected them...next season, for me, they'll continue to be the team to beat.

[Alloutwar]

a) before spygate, I really didn't care about the Pats at all; I was from NE, but seriously, I would rather watch just about any other sport. They won superbowls, they were a great team, maybe Dynasty, yadda yadda.

b) after Spygate, I was upset at first...I hate cheating, steroiding, lying...but soon I was kind of impressed with how Bellicheck just went out and beat everyone, week after week, almost mercilessly, as if to prove a point. By the time it came out that other teams had been doing the same thing (was it Jets? whoever called the Pats on it) I was really hoping they would go 19 and 0, to undo the damage and really prove that they are the best, hand down, no matter what.

In the end I am kind of glad they didn't win the superbowl; I hate when the same team wins divisions or championships year after year (Yankees), and I see a lot of football fans (who appear to be a tad more hateful than baseball fans) really take a negative view of the Pats. I get guff occassionally, just for being from New England...and I don't give a rat's about football!

But after all the negative backlash, it sort of makes me want to be a real Pats fan. They played amazingly well all season, I think they removed any taint from the spygate stuff, and they came close to winning yet ANOTHER superbowl. I am definitely impressed.

[BBMogulLover21]

Based on the responses if I can... I want to add two more questions, sorry guys I just want to know where all the hate comes from

C) If the Pats hadnt had the spygate situation would you have had a different opinion on Superbowl day... and MAYBE just MAYBE would have been rooting for Pats? Reason I ask this is because Im sorry I cant help but remember first SB they won this decade versus Rams how everyone was all happy for them and they were saying it was a Cinderella story and people were praising them for wanting to come out as a team not being mentioned player by player like most of the time.

D) If Bill wasn't the head coach lets say he quit... would people now suddenly just start liking them more or is the franchise now tainted?

[CatKnight]

A) Hatred. I didn't care one bit for Bellichek or Brady. I despise Kraft.

I lived near Hartford when he made a deal to move the team. In Connecticut everything was in motion including finishing up/upgrading the stadium in East Hartford for them to use. Then we find out Kraft's been playing us for a fool - it was a ploy to force concessions from the Massachusetts Legislature.

Scum.

B) It didn't change. Spygate reinforced my opinion by adding a new dimension. Not only are they scum, now they're cheating scum who can't even win games on their own merit. People like Rongar are free to respect and fear them. If Spygate changed anything, it turned hatred into contempt.

Spygate casts a long shadow over the past several years. How many of these wins were because the Pats were good, as opposed to Bellichek practicing covert espionage? I wouldn't go so far as to say it puts an asterisk next to their 18-1 run, but it does add a flicker of doubt to their alleged greatness.

C) No. I cannot conceive of a situation where I would root for the Patriots.

This is regardless of Spygate, and would even be true if Kraft hadn't pulled his **** in Hartford (though to a lesser degree.) When they played the Rams they were the underdogs. At that point, IIRC, New England had only been in the Super Bowl once, and then they were slaughtered by the Bears.

Now...this is old hack to them. They are the perennial favorites. Even ignoring any question of how legitimate their success is at this point, I tend to be happier when championships change hands on a regular basis. I believe long term dynasties (like the Yanks for many years in baseball) are bad for a sport, and NE's quickly approaching that point.

D) I couldn't care less about Bellichek. Whatever he did, it was with the tacit consent of the front office. Otherwise they would have reacted very strongly to the penalties (the insufficient penalties) the NFL invoked. Get the Krafts out of there and we can talk again.

[etothep]

reason i hate the pats is due to the bandwagon fans

[RickD]

Never liked the Pats. After Spygate the opinion never changed. Spygate is just stupid. Pats got caught cheating....ok they made a bonehead mistake. Everyone does it....I don't agree with it and think the whole league should be cracked down on for this but no the Pats were not liked by me before than so my 2 cents.

[beerchaser]

This appears to me to be a "baiting" question, to try and draw people into a "hey, we were 18-0" debate. Well, I don't give a ****. NE has enough talent on their team that they didn't need to stoop to something like this... Belicheck and company did something they knew was wrong, and they got caught. They should have the book thrown at them. If others are doing it, I hope to God that they get caught too.

[RickD]

I agree....catch them take away some cash...heavy cash....and move on!

[boomboom]

All they did was some video taping... What should be the question, with that talent on the team, why didn't they win every year?

Spygate is stupid, who cares. It isn't a big deal. I hate the pats because I hate everything that has to do with Boston. (sorry, I used to like the Sox, but they turned into the Yankees)

[Arctic Blast]

A. I respected their talent on the field. I also know that Pats fans have seen a lot of years of godawful football, so I was glad to see them get a team to cheer for.

B. I still respect the team on the field...my opinion of Belichick has changed a little, thought I already thought he was an insufferable whiner.

C. I wanted the Giants to win because I was tired of the Pats hype this year. I'm not even blaming the team for it, but it's ridiculous to be watching a game that doesn't even INVOLVE the freakin' Patriots, and yet that's all the stupid announcers want to talk about. Enough already!

D. I do think opinion would come up a little, because most people's primary problem with the team does seem to stem from Belichick and his childish conduct.

[Rongar]

Everybody is supposed to "love a winner", but I wonder if the reverse is true?

Look at how the Yankees are reviled, here, and Manchester United and Arsenal Over There...those who don't devotedly support these (seemingly)invincible teams, wax ferocious agin 'em ...love & hatred, alike, stirred up by the media, of course.

Rather like the real world...I'll bet nobody loved the Romans, much, in their heyday, nor the Brits in theirs, nor the America of today (even before the Bush era), and, probably, China, will be feared, thus hated, down the road.

As the saying goes "You can't create an Empirelette without breaking heads"
...and the surviving soreheads will have nowt nice to say about you.

[Wassit3]

Rather like the real world...I'll bet nobody loved the Romans, much, in their heyday, nor the Brits in theirs, nor the America of today (even before the Bush era), and, probably, China, will be feared, thus hated, down the road.

As the saying goes "You can't create an Empirelette without breaking heads"
...and the surviving soreheads will have nowt nice to say about you.

true, too true

[MeetDaMets]

I dont hate the Pats.

I can understand how others might equate the spygate thing with steroids,
and therefore have the same visceral reaction.

People dont like feeling completely fooled into believing in anothers greatness.

As for spygate itself, i need more evidence.

then again I refused to believe OJ could have done anything malicious.
it simply took a little time to accept that someone i respected that much,
could actually be pond scum.

[CatKnight]

Of course, these whiny fans without any sense of class aren't doing the Pats much of a favor in my opinion either. (Not referring to anyone here. That petition they have going is just hilarious, however.)

[Arctic Blast]

They have a petition out now demanding that Goodell and the NFL analyze the last 1:40 of the Super Bowl, because they were 'jipped' somehow. It's sad and ridiculous. I can't remember the last time I encountered a segment of a fanbase this far off their rockers.