Welcome to Pats Pulpit

Hello and welcome to SBNation's Pats Pulpit.  I've seen a lot of new contributors to the site, so I wanted to take a moment to tell you about this little corner of the sports blogosphere.  As you've probably surmised, this is a New England Patriots fan site.  We do our level best to keep track of all things Patriots as well as provide well written and thoughtful commentary from the fan's perspective.

SBNation is a family of sites providing a great platform for us to interact.  Are you looking for information on Lance Armstrong's return to the Tour de France?  Our most excellent  Podium Cafe has what you need.  How about Mixed Martial Arts?  The nationally recognized Bloody Elbow has got you covered.  Oh...football.  Right.  We have EVERY NFL team in our family.

Rules, rules, rules...there's always rules.  While I try not to be too heavy handed, there needs to be some guidelines, so I've pulled together Community Guidelines for interacting on this site.  Please take a moment to read them as they sum up, in general, how one should carry themselves on this site.  We can't legislate morality, but we do try to make this a fun and informative place to visit and interact.

Now, a bit about me.  My username is MaPatsFan, the Ma being Massachusetts (I never said I was original!).  I am a father of two girls, 20 and 16, living in Northern Massachusetts.  Throughout High School, I was more interested in music than sports.  I've been a part-time musician for many years and concentrated fully on that, to the exclusion of all else, for a long time.  Then, the sports bug bit me, more particularly, the professional football bug.  I've always enjoyed writing and this forum gives me the chance to do that writing about a subject I truly love: the New England Patriots.

If you've made it this far, thanks.  I do enjoy writing.  Immensely.  But, I enjoy interaction even more.  The stories you see on this site, from myself and co-writers, are just the beginning.  It is EXPECTED that you add your thoughts and commentary to make the stories more than what they started out to be.  These are living documents, made better by YOUR input.  I'm constantly jazzed to see all the smart folks providing their thoughts and making this a better place.  With that being said, please take a moment to visit the Commenting Guide.  FanPosts (section to the right) are a great way to start your own thread or commentary.  If written well and the timing is right, I will sometimes "Front Page" your entry and you'll become famous. ;-)  FanShots, also to the right, are good for quick hits and links.

The off season is relatively dead, but things will more than pick up during training camp and, once the season starts, we'll be hopping with pre and post game analysis, interaction with upcoming rivals, and game day threads to keep your thoughts flowing during a matchup.  Is it September yet?

Thanks for reading and GO PATRIOTS!!