The Latest Wave of Patriot-hating and Where it Comes From

Very well-written and I openly admit that I despise the Patriots. I am that person you described as a professional with a home, a marriage, etc. (well, I hope I’m that person!). I did root for the Patriots against the Rams, DESPITE the fact that at the time I was a Raiders fan (long story)… damn we hosted a party with Sam Adams beer, Boston baked beans, and Boston cream pie! Perhaps the seeds of my hatred were actually planted in the AFCCG that year (when it seemed that a new rule was pulled out just for the Pats… I know it existed but when had it ever been used?!?!) But it definitely grew to a fever pitch when it was revealed that illegal methods were used to provide an advantage of still-unknown size.

That said, I wouldn’t shower hatred on Belichick for the call he made on Sunday, and not because of how it turned out for my team. I posted this on Stampede Blue, but my barometer was my blood pressure the moment I saw the Pats offense take the field once again on 4th and 2. It was the right call to go for it, but the play call should have been run. I wish Dungy had ever been so bold.

as there was little nation wide hatred when they were actually winning Super Bowls. The were the model team, they perfected “next man up”. They were a tough, strong, smart football team that was well respected. As I Colts fan I even respected their greatness.

I think it all changed nationwide in 2006, with the “dancing out on midfeild” game, where people suddenly realized that the Pats were not all quiet choirboys that went out and did their job, but just as arrogant as more teams. Also, everyone agreed that Belichick was a classless fool. For me that day came in Super Bowl XXXIX, when they did the TO “flap your amrs” TD celebration. I found that totally pitiful.

Anyway, the real hatred started reached its head in the 16-0 season, and I think it has to do with Belichick more than anything.

As a Patriots fan who lives in the Midwest, I certainly have met more than a handful of people who simply hate Boston. The reasons they articulate are varied, whether it because they perceive the town to be snobby or elitist (even though most of the guys I know who level this charge have never been there) — sometimes (read: oftentimes) even the politics of the Northeast get cited as their reasoning.

Whatever the reason, I can say with certainty that in at least some cases of Hatriotism out where I live, there is a thorough dislike of the New England area, and as the most prominent and visible representation of that area, the Pats (and Sox) become the focal point for the resentment.

I remember when I was 23, and was seeing a new doctor for my annual checkup. He asked where I was from, and when I told him, he made backhanded compliments to me about how, “It was good that I branched out from the area, unlike a lot of other New Englanders who stayed isolated in their shell.” I was pretty shocked that my doctor would say that, honestly. Especially given that, anywhere you go in the nation, you’ll find a large percentage of the people have been living in the same region for a long time…

…when you write a good post – when the comments are passionate and lengthy. Congrats ProfessorTodd for stating exactly what has been bounding around in my foggy head in a clear and concise manner. You nailed this. Rec’d.

My dislike grew as I saw clips such as Wes Welker catching a ball to seal the 2003(?) AFCCG and then yelling into the defender’s face, “You fucking SUCK!” And most recently, Teddy Bruschi (who I had once respected) claiming that ours wasn’t really a rivalry until the Colts beat the Pats in the 2006 AFCCG – so does that mean that with the past 6 games, the Colts can now claim “we own you” and we don’t view it as a rivalry? Not hardly!

Another point to chew on… if it were pure envy, I should dislike the Steelers twice as much as I do the Pats. They’ve gone through Indy as many times to get to the SB as the Pats have, and yet I have almost no emotion towards them (other than when we play head-to-head). I rooted for the Cards last year because I always like the underdog, but didn’t begrudge the Steelers for winning their sixth title. Though for the record, I firmly believe that Holmes didn’t get his other toe down as it was wrapped around his left
foot :-)

Anyway, agree with McGarry – you can tell you’ve written a good post by the passionate, lengthy comments in response.

To handle all of the data that people process they develop schema – roughly speaking it is like a folder that holds all of our data on a subject.

For instance, people were sent in to talk to a grad student in his office. After the brief meeting, they were quizzed on what was in his office. Nearly all of them said he had books in there even though there were no books at all. They just thought that a grad student would have books in his office. Their schema said so.

Based on your relationship with your grandmother(s), your expect grandmothers to behave a certain way. The same hold for all your relationships.

You see a big guy with tattoos, spiked hair and body-piercings approach a little old lady. What do you think? If he gives her a hug, some money, and changes her tire, does that throw you a little? Are you happier or upset because your first thought was wrong?

Some people call it pidgeon-holing. You put people in categories like they are SUPPOSED to act, but really it’s just how you EXPECT them to act. If they act according to your schema, you were right! People like to be right and have all the answers. If they act contrary to your expectations, however, do you admit you were wrong or do you blame them for acting wrongly?

Bill Belichick is not your typical coach. He doesn’t fit the mold. Under Bill, the Patriots are not your typical team. The pre-conceived ideas get broken. Do you change your thought processes to accomodate that or lash out because they defied your schema? That is the source of the hatred in my opinion.

The irrational rash of abhorrance towards the Patriots/Belichick really unnerves the hell out of me. It’s been exacerbated even more so taking recent events into consideration.

The greatest coaches of all time are legends for one reason: defiance of conventional standards. Belichick especially embodies that reason. I mean, have you ever seen any head coach become successful because of a strict adherence to convention? Never! And that’s what pisses off the more uptight fans and pundits of the game. He hasn’t, doesn’t, and very likely never will compromise himself or his way of doing things just to appeal to those people.

Again, best post I have ever read, and I encourage Bill to keep on doing things HIS way!

i think that vid where he said " u fkin suck" had to be what Marlin Jackson said before or during the game….i’ve never seen him trash talk before. though i think he hates the steelers more than the Colts after the ryan clark hit

The problem with the Patriots and the Red Sox and the Yankees so on and so forth. Is that no one west of Pennsylvania really gives a crap. Yet the national sports media monopoly ESPN insists on ramming them down our throats at every opportunity. So I have a relative disdain for the region as a whole. I understand that it is a business and you get your ratings from the East Coast markets but for the love of God give it a rest. We get so sick and tired of hearing Patriots this, Yankees that. ESPN will broadcast nearly a full half hour dedicated to one east coast team at a time. I DON’T CARE!

That and Tom Brady comes off as an arrogant douche.

The only thing the media loves more than the Pats is controversy. Of course the other teams hate the Pats, cause the Pats win stuff. Media is definitely not against Patties, and most of ESPN and NFL defend the decision, and say that Faulk got it, even though I disagree. And there’s really no secret to the methods either. People are just dumb. BB goes out and buys young players later in rounds for less money, and brings in staff that can train them appropriately. Coaches have lulled themselves into buying players they think need no training, i.e Matt Stafford, Michael Crabtree, Ryan Leaf, etc… Marques Colston of the Saints and half of the Patriots are proof that less money with better training can make a top-notch player. But don’t kid yourselves into thinking that the media hates you. Just the opposite, they have an irrational what I term “man-love” with BB and Brady to the point of a cult.

My dislike of the Pats started back when they played the Rams in the Super Bowl. I live just outside St. Louis on the Illinois side of the river, and this town was very excited to have a football team again. It had been a while since the Cardinals went to Arizona, and the Rams were not that great when they first got here. Then when the GSOT came in, it had looked like we could potentially have a good, elite team that would be contenders for years. What upset me about the Pats wasn’t the alleged spying incident, and actually didn’t have anything really to do with the team themselves. It was the field crew shoveling off the snow for that game winning field goal, when they wouldn’t do that when the Rams had kicked field goals. It was more of a blow to my city pride, as we were on the verge of having 2 great teams here, the Rams and the baseball Cardinals. I know St. Louis may not be the best city in the country and has its fair share of problems, but I still loving living here and really would not want to live anywhere else. Regardless, it was one game and I got over it after a week or so and the Pats went back to being simply disliked because they were in the Phins division.

Then when they were winning more Super Bowls, I started to dislike them more again because Miami wasn’t doing so good. It’s part of the inter-divisional rivalry, you don’t really want to see any of your rivals do well if your team is not doing great. There was also the sting of regret and jealousy after seeing how good Welker was doing for you guys after we had traded him away. That, and the comments he made to the media shortly after he was traded about wanting to get out of Miami and get on a good team stung a bit more.

The only time that I would say that I could use the word ‘hate’ for the Pats was during the ‘07 season. Any true Dolphins fan gets defensive and a little touchy when a team starts to get close to having a perfect season. It may be selfish and irrational, but it is a record that we are very proud of and would like to keep being the only team to accomplish that feat. When they finished the regular season 16-0 was really the only time that I really cared or got upset about the whole Spygate incident. The Pats looked to be unstoppable, and the irrational part of me wanted to use that as an excuse of why they shouldn’t be credited with a perfect season. After their loss to the Giants, I calmed down and was thinking more level headed.

As it is now, I dislike the Pats simply because they are a division rival and they are a good team, which always presents a tough challenge for the Dolphins. But I do respect them for what they have done and have been able to accomplish. And while I may not like Brady or some of the other players personally, I do respect that they are great athletes and good at the game of football.

Yes, I really DO think you are a professor. Who else would use ten paragraphs and three sub-paragraphs to say, “Waaaaa!”

So, how’s that degree serving you. “Would you like fries with that?” Seriously, bro, methinks thou dost whine too much.

See y’all in eight days. The Perfect Storm is brewing and the eye is in the Superdome. Welcome to the Big Easy!

I think Pats hatred can be pretty completely explained by the following:

1. ESPN/SI. Someone said it earlier, but it’s true that people living west of 95 really don’t give a crap about teams from Boston or New York. And the degree to which the Patriots (as well as the Yankees and Red Sox) get rammed down people’s throats by the national sports media is just too much. To non-Boston/NY fans, these teams are sort of like over-exposed celebrities; at some point you get so sick of hearing about something that you start to hate it. I won’t take anything away from what Belichick, Brady, et al have accomplished, but people like Peter King really need to give it a rest.

2. Bill Simmons. I realize that Boston fans are divided in how they feel about Simmons, but most non-Boston people find him intolerable. We think he’s a shallow, front-running jackass who turns into a wailing drama queen whenever a Boston team loses a big game or series. And a lot of people do associate him with the Pats. It’s unfair, but until ESPN fires him that’s how it is.

3. Bandwagon fans. The curse of success. I know some very cool Pats fans, and I’ll be the first to admit that the Steeler Nation has plenty of obnoxious bandwagon f—-bags of our own. But I have had some terrible experiences talking to Pats bandwagoners. I only had to hear racist ranting about Mike Tomlin about 3 times last season before I decided not to talk football in Boston anymore. Again, not saying that all Pats fans are like this. But there are a lot of a—holes out there giving you guys a very bad name.

4. Spygate. For me, this falls into the “what’s done is done” category. I would guess that taping defenses gave the Pats some advantages in goal-line situations, but nothing more than that. I think any suggestion that your 3 titles are “tainted” is silly, and it’s just sour grapes from people who take their less successful teams way too seriously. I’ve heard the “the NFL refs fix every big game for the Steelers” line enough times that I sympathize; haters are part of the price of success. Nevertheless, there are a lot of people out there who simply won’t let this go.