The Culture Surrounding the New England Patriots

2015-04-13T12:56:19-04:00

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

Response by PO3 Steven Sherrill made Apr 13 at 2015 1:08 PM

2015-04-13T13:08:57-04:00

One problem that they Patriots have is that it seems that each time they have a season that ends with a championship, there is some scandal that is also attached. It could be coincidence, but when enough coincidences stack up, it becomes less likely to be coincidence, and more likely that there is something to it.
I am a Vikings fan, so we have had little in the way of playoff success lately, and no Super Bowl success. You are correct that people tend to focus on the controversy rather than the effort, but that is the way of our modern society. It is kind of sad that we like to see people, teams, etc... make it to the top so that we can watch them fall from grace.
Yes ultimately all of the preperation, planning, practice, meetings, training, drafting, cutting, and hard work that go into any sports team boils down to the performance on the field. When any part of the process comes into question, that is what gets focused on.

Response by SSgt Joe V. made Apr 13 at 2015 1:13 PM

2015-04-13T13:13:31-04:00

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!

Response by PO3 Steven Sherrill made Apr 13 at 2015 1:26 PM

2015-04-13T13:26:34-04:00

Just for fun.

Response by PO3 Steven Sherrill made Apr 13 at 2015 1:32 PM

2015-04-13T13:32:52-04:00

There is another side to this, and that is Elitism. Elite players in all sports get treated differently than the "run of the mill" players. In hockey, you will see elite players get away with things they shouldn't, and you will see the refs protect them from unnescessary contact. The league cannot afford to be without its superstars. In Baseball, the steroid abuse was overlooked for so long because these guys were hitting the ball off the planet, and making money for the league. In Football this holds true as well. An elite quarterback Vs a Defensive lineman who are they going to side with, the elite quarterback that sells tickets. Aside from Patriots Fans and Raiders Fans, how many people can name the person that hit Brady on the tuck rule play without googling it? I certainly can't.

Response by PO3 Steven Sherrill made Apr 13 at 2015 1:47 PM

2015-04-13T13:47:04-04:00

There is another reason the media doesn't like Belichick. He is as friendly to the media as sitting on a cactus is to the tooshy. Nobody likes feeling ignored. If Belichick's relationship with the media was a marriage, they would be filing for divorce.

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 13 at 2015 9:02 PM

2015-04-13T21:02:28-04:00

The Patriots are, undeniably, the best team in the League. People are always going to attack the best. Spygate was so long ago, personally I don't see the big deal with taping the signals, when its perfectly legal to photograph them. That being said, rules are the rules and Patriots paid their penalty for their "crime". Deflagate was just a way for teams who got beat to cry, without seeming like sore losers. It was all disproved, the end. If people want to talk about the "integrity" of the game, how about all the criminals playing the game. I'm not talking traffic tickets. People will ALWAYS find something to complain about. Its life. And yes I am a Patriots fan.

Response by LTC Stephen C. made Apr 13 at 2015 11:36 PM

2015-04-13T23:36:06-04:00

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!

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 17 at 2015 4:22 PM

2015-04-17T16:22:54-04:00

I was born an raised in NH and I love all my NE sports teams. Really I could care less what other people think and haters are always gonna hate. I have loved my Pats even when we never won a game and really that was not so long ago. The only thing that gets me going is if someone calls me a band wagon jumper. Eveyone "cheats" just some get caught and others do not. One thing I have loved about my team is they do not stand for drams. You cause issues you are gone. And when you look at all the changes the team makes, no one is safe. I thought Welker and Hernandez loss was gonna hurt us but it did not or even the time Brady was out we still found ways to win. We win becasue of teamwork and great coaching not cheating.