Enough hating on the Patriots

Most people that know me know that Im originally from Boston and have been in Florida for almost 6 years. We Bostonians are die-hard sports fans, so when I moved I brought my sports allegiances with me. I am a die-hard Red Sox, Celtics, Patriots, and Bruins fan. Ok, so I kinda gave up on hockey altogether, but I still manage to keep up with the B's in the standings. After dealing with years upon years of turmoil as a Red Sox fan, watching my beloved Celtics transform from an NBA dynasty to an embarrassment, and dealing with crappy Patriots teams, I finally caught a break. I had began to LOATHE Drew Bledsoe during the 2001-'02 season because he was a loser. He just had this "loser funk" about him that, no matter how good he appeared, you just knew he would never win it all. I was begging for a change and didnt mind waiting another 5 years if it meant finding a winning QB. Well, I got my wish when Bledsoe got his clock cleaned against the Jets and in walked Tom Brady.

The Patriots went on to win the next 3 out of 5 Superbowls and we Bostonians FINALLY had a winner to rally around. It was uncanny what this team did to Boston Sports spirits. I felt that their model of, "no superstars, no ridiculous contracts", should be applied to every team in life. Isnt that the American way? Be typecast as the underdog, disrespected by the media, and then use that as fuel, work hard as a unit and succeed? Apparently not everyone shares the same sentiments. After the Pats went on to win another 2 Superbowls, the haters came out of the closet. Im sure that more than half of these people were rooting for the Pats to win that 1st SB, but after watching them dispel another 2 teams they began to hate on them.

I guess I really dont understand how you can hate on this team? Their QB is the ultimate role model - doesnt cheat with steriods, doesnt blame teammates for losses, doesnt whore himself out in advertisements. Their coach is the ultimate football geek. He loves the game and formulates a strategy to beat his opponent. He also keeps all the bullshit out of the media's hands, which is quite possibly the thing I love most about the Patriots and also possibly why others hate on them. For some reason, fans and the media love to hear all the bullshit. Drama like Terrell Owens causing problems on every team because of his ridicluous ego, and other guys that ridicule teams with celebration dances, trash talking, etc. when theyre losing the game. Its stuff like this that the Patriots dont stand for. They also wont pay people ridiculous contracts based on 1 year of good performance. The mentality is this - If you want to win, take what we give you and come put in 150% every day and youll achieve Championship status. Its worked with many guys so far and its awesome to see it still continue. Guys like Deion Branch and David Givens who wanted ridiculous contracts were shown the door. New guys that were total jobbers on other teams came in and whattya know, we're in the AFC Finals.

Given all of this, I just dont see how people can hate on the Patriots outside of being just plain jealous that it isnt their team winning. If Tom Brady & Co. were to start acting like assholes, Id understand the logic behind hating on this team. Until then, stop with the jealousy and stop your crying. The Pats have a good chance to head to the big dance again this year, and it would be perfect because theyll be in my (somewhat new) backyard and Id be going to the game!