16-0-0

[Brass]

So not only is everyone who doesn't root for the Patriots a hater, everyone who doesn't congratulate their fan base is now a hater, too?

You people kill me.

When you say something like ":censored: the fans", it's very hard for you not to get the label of a "hater".

You kill me.

[slapshot]

Please.

I don't like people telling me I can't be happy that my favorite team because I've seen all the highs and lows in its history. That I'm not allowed to publicly celebrate my favorite team completing an undefeated regular season because they won a Super Bowl 3 years ago. That I can't enjoy anything because the team has won championships in the past.

Most people here don't even know what they like or don't like. They just pile against the teams getting the most media coverage, and jump on the bandwagon.

But Patriots/Boston fans aren't allowed to defend themselves against all the stereotypes because we're seen as "arrogant".

I've congratulated people who were fans of a team that won a championship. I didn't feel guilty about it. I actually felt happy for them.

A fan of a team has every right to talk about its past just as much as its present. I would not begrudge a Colts fan for tlaking about the 1-15 or 2-14 years.

Not liking the Patriots doesn't make you a hater. Not liking them because they are media-obsessed or recent champions, or because it's trendy does.

And not liking its fans because of that also makes you a hater.

[nwtrailtrekker]

i dont think i actually hate the New England Patriots, i just hate their bandwagon fans, the women who are happy for the Pats because "Tom is a cutie", and ESPN's nonstop coverage and overall bias for the Patriots.

oh, and the cheating.

I'm proud of players, though. The 50-something guys that go out every Sunday (or Monday or Thursday or Saturday or Katilsday) and play as a team and manage to win week in and week out. Cause despite what we've seen this year, parody still exists in the NFL, and on any given week, the Oakland Raiders could beat the Pats.

Congrats to the players on an amazing season

with that said, it will mean NOTHING when the Seahawks take em out in the Super Bowl

[Sport]

I said it after the first time they played, "they'll lose to the Colts." If that happens, then it might be sad. If they don't win the super bowl then they're just the best 16-0 team to never win the super bowl. If they don't win the super bowl, then they aren't even the greatest Patriots team ever. They have to win the super bowl or this means nothing. Ask the 98 Minnesota Vikings if they are one of the greatest teams ever.

[Billy B]

I'm happy that the Patriots completed their undefeated season, but I agree that they need to win the Super Bowl or they should be ranked among the '34 Bears (who would've won if it weren't for the Giants' sneakers). I've like the Patriots as my 2nd team (which is nowhere close to the Bears at top) since they played the Bears in either 2000 or '01. I'm not claiming to be a Patriots fan, so don't lay down the bandwagon tag, I just like to see them win.

[Mac the Knife]

I said it after the first time they played, "they'll lose to the Colts." If that happens, then it might be sad. If they don't win the super bowl then they're just the best 16-0 team to never win the super bowl. If they don't win the super bowl, then they aren't even the greatest Patriots team ever. They have to win the super bowl or this means nothing. Ask the 98 Minnesota Vikings if they are one of the greatest teams ever.

Well, I don't know if they'll win it all or not, nor will I have a real rooting interest for or against them doing so unless they happen to face one of my two preferred teams in the playoffs (Cleveland or Pittsburgh; growing up in Youngstown, Ohio, I actually support both except when playing each other). What I do know is that if they fail to win Super Bowl XLII now, they'll be seen for all time (by fans and media alike) as the most spectacular team that ever fell short of a championship in any sport in American history.

So while the pressure might have been on them to win out during the regular season, starting in about 10 days, once the Wild Card Playoff round dust has settled, the REAL pressure begins.

I still say kudos to Patriot fans though. Long-suffering or not, three out of four snobbish or not, they're still deserving of at least a congratulations.

[TFoA]

Congrats to the Pats for going 16-0. They might be dirty, cheating, sore winners, but they are still winners. Congrats to em!

Here's to hoping that they can actually win the Lombardi Trophy so that they won't end up a trivia question for generations to come.

[JQK]

very easy to go undefeated when the refs give you calls, and sit on their flags when Rodney Harrison molests opponents.

Congratulations on cheating, getting caught, and having the entire league suck your d*ck in the process.

The Yankess of football, hated by all.

[JustForFun]

very easy to go undefeated when the refs give you calls, and sit on their flags when Rodney Harrison molests opponents.

Congratulations on cheating, getting caught, and having the entire league suck your d*ck in the process.

Someone's bitter! That's OK, though - I felt exactly the same way about the Cowboys back in the 1990s. Man, I hated that team. And that's what makes sports fun - not just rooting FOR a team but also rooting AGAINST a team you particularly can't stand.

If the Pats are the team everyone roots against, I guess we're doing pretty well. And I imagine that's what those Cowboys fans back in the '90s thought, too.

[rmered]

very easy to go undefeated when the refs give you calls, and sit on their flags when Rodney Harrison molests opponents.

Congratulations on cheating, getting caught, and having the entire league suck your d*ck in the process.

The Yankess of football, hated by all.

The highest compliment of all.

[SDX]

Great achievement, though don't think they will be truly held in high regard unless they win the superbowl

[CheeseHusker]

The seasons of picking Eugene Chung, Irving Fryar (instead of Jerry Rice) and Chris Singleton (instead of Junior Seau or Cortez Kennedy)

Irving Fryar was drafted in 1984, Jerry Rice was drafted in 1985.

[DEAD!]

All I'm saying is, while the fans don't win the championship directly, without the fans there would be no team.

No, without players, there wouldn't be a team.

You forgot "I am a Patriot"....

That did cross my mind as I went to bed.... but I thought that mindset was reserved for St Louis...

[Fred T. Jane]

That did cross my mind as I went to bed.... but I thought that mindset was reserved for St Louis...

When should we expect a quote from a poorly-written hagiography (aren't they all?) telling us they're right?

[Burning River]

Congratulations to the Patriots! Although, I am pretty impatial I was rooting for the Giants at first. Then for some reason... as the game wore on I found myself pulling for the Patriots. I actually took more enjoyment from seeing the Giants lose the game. Seeing them lose the lead ESPECIALLY at home, seeing NY fans get in a tizzy was very satisfying. Yes, New England/Boston fans can be obnoxious. All fans get obnoxious when their team is doing well. They are nothing like New York fans.

For me personally, the Titans-Colts Game is a bigger game. C'mon COLTS!!

[Coast2CoastAM2006]

The way the game went on it really looked like the giants would pull off the upset. yet came up short. Which is nothing new, they've been doing that too the cowboys recently as well. every game it looks like they would win, then do something to screw things up and the cowboys would win. not that i am complaining or anything. But they seem to have a history of doing that.

but thats an awsome patriots team, Brady no doubt will be in the hall of fame.

I call it:

Patriots win super bowl.

Mark that down IT IS happening.

[Dilbert]

Really to me it doesnt mater if they are 16-0-0, if they win the Super Bowl then I think this would be quite an acomplishment. I do have a feeling that they will choke in the playoffs though.

[njmeadowlanders]

I've witnessed two 2-14 seasons (1981 and 1992), a 1-15 season (1991) and at least three 5-win seasons. I didn't get to watch the team on TV unless they were on the road. I didn't even know they wore red until I caught the occasional sports highlight on the news. The Patriots didn't even win a playoff game that I remembered until I was 13. Both Super Bowl appearances were catastrophes.

For most my life, the Patriots were the least likely team to be a world champion, much less one considered the dominant force in the league. Even after the first 2 Super Bowl wins, it didn't seem real.

Now it does. I am happy that my team is the best in the league, the one that dominates just about every opponent it faces, the one that is the hands-down favorite to win the whole thing.

Don't blame the team for the coverage. Blame the media.

These things go in cycles. There were the Cowboys and Steelers of the 70s, the 49ers of the 80s, the Cowboys (again) and the Bills of the 90s. Most likely there will be another team to replace the Patriots as media darlings and league enforcers.

To all you haters that don't like me just because of the teams I support, that happen to be in the city that no one likes anymore, go * yourselves. I am enjoying this until it ends.

....so basically it's being a die-hard Jet fan without the winning?

Oh...I get it...and I'm 110% jealous...

Anyway, off to the Meadowlands for the bigger of the two NFL games there this weekend (pause*not*)...but I wanna boo Herm and close the book on what's been a miserable autumn for me (Mets, Jets, etc.).

But yeah, going 16-0 isn't anything to scoff at...

[quantum]

Aside from the Packers winning the Super Bowl, I'm for the Pats just so I don't have to hear about the '72 Dolphins anymore.

[Don]

Mel Gibson is proud.