Who cares? They have 6 already. Let's see any other team in the next 50 years get 6 in 20 years. ;)

+1. I'm a lifelong Patriots, Red Sox and Bruins fan. I remember sitting through that 1-15 season back in '90 or '91. But because you wear that patch on your arm you still watch and support the team. I also remember watching the Bears/Pats Superbowl as well in '86. 46-10 IIRC.

Quite frankly, I'm tired of all the debate about New England. I'm not hating, just fatigued. There's definitely going to be a changing of the guard. I only hope that there's not another dynasty in waiting because that would just be ridiculous.

That being said, I'm a Steelers fan but not a lifelong one. I'm just a homer. With that said, this season has been an embarrassment - but not nearly as embarrassing as last season. I will say that they completely choked these last two weeks though.

I wish I had a dollar every time I heard this. Of course if you say this year after year, then one year you’ll be right. Did you also know that the moon affects the rise of tides?

"Time beats everybody. It's undefeated."-Rocky Balboa

Wow, the Pats haters are out in full force.

Ummmm...ever heard of the Steelers? And you’re right, no one really cares...except Pats fans ;)

I’ve always been amused at Pats fans sensitivity. Anyone who doesn’t care for the Pats are “haters”. Heaven forbid anyone have a preference for another team, and dislike your team.

People are entitled to their opinions. It’s not that serious folks. We’re talking about a game.

How is it that acknowledging the Pats have had the greatest run in NFL history, have the best coach in NFL history, and among the best quarterbacks in NFL history makes someone a Pats hater?

I understand that if you're a long time New England dweller who was there through the lean years and who's been riding this wave with them for nearly 20 years (TWENTY YEARS!) you'd still be a fan. It almost never happens - you can maybe point to the Yankees over the years, the Celtics during the Auerbach years, UCLA during Wooden as comparable, but even the justly revered Vince Lombardi would be in awe of what the Pats have done. Maybe they should rename it the Belichek trophy after he retires... So I get why you're a fan - I would be too.

But surely you must understand why fans of the many other fine franchises out there, even while respecting fully what the Patriots have done, would be righteously sick and tired of seeing them continue to do it and anxiously await the fall of the current empire... If they're NOT your team, and they're obviously NOT the team of the vast majority of football fans, you'd be sick of them too. The story line in the NFL has been boringly predictable lately. One of these years father time is gonna finally take his full toll on Tom's miraculously maintained youth and the NFL will be more fun for "the rest of us" than it has been over the past many years. That's not HATING anyone, it's just being sick of the team that's effectively been the bully of the league for a loooooong time.

I'm a Philly guy, but I'm lucky enough to spend winters down in North Carolina near one of our daughters, and I was down here two years ago when the Eagles pulled out a Super Bowl win, FINALLY JUST ONE SINGLE SUPER BOWL WIN (after decades of futility despite some great teams). You can't imagine how that felt unless you were old enough to have experienced the same futility with the Pats and then that first one over the Rams probably felt about the same. Jeez, I enjoyed seeing the Pats emerge - the young team finally overtaking the older superpowers in the game and putting their stamp on it. They were great, it was exciting. I was happy for them and for all of their fans even though I was a Vermeil fan (see, "Philly guy"). So a week or so after that game, I already had my Eagles Super Bowl hat or sweatshirt or something, and I'm in a bar down here with my wife and daughter and now son in law, just having a nice day. And some young gal in a Patriots sweatshirt walks over to me and doesn't bother to even acknowledge that the Eagles beat the Patriots - she started off by saying "get back to me when you've won FIVE of them"!

I know not all Patriots fans are that obnoxious. Well, I'm pretty sure. OK, I'm guessing some aren't. But that's another downside of dynasties and empires. Their fans get a real sense of entitlement that's very VERY ugly and will come back to bite them in the butt someday. I'm not saying you're like this, but labeling anyone who doesn't love your Pats with the same enthusiasm you do as a "hater" is pretty much along those lines...

The next 50 years. Free agency and salary caps are a whole other thing.

...moving right along...how about those Browns? Kitchen finally got let go. Weren't they supposed to win it all this year?

I'm not gloating because I'm a fair weather Steelers fan. I have good friends in Ohio but they gloat about Ohio State so it all comes out even. We had a good run with Rothlisberger and Crosby for well over a decade so I'm thinking that lean times are acomin'. In fact, if our baseball team suddenly got good I'd be worried that the End Times were coming!

Seriously, in this day and age I've come to realize that sports are almost a religion to some and with fantasy leagues and now sports betting becoming legal it's reached a fever pitch. As was said, it's all just a game. The only losers are the ones paying for the stadiums and being charged exorbitant rates to have to even walk in.

I watch sports for entertainment, even college sports has gone off into the money world, (coach salaries, physical plant, rich alumni etc.)

"The only losers are the ones paying for the stadiums and being charged exorbitant rates to have to even walk in."

I agree with this a lot!

Fog

Raiders have played their last game in Oakland, moving to Vegas next year. Wow!!! All these team moves, still can't get used to LA Chargers....

So, you guys have no sense of humor? Sorry if I elevated your blood pressure. :rolleyes:

I think the most notable word in that sentence is "young". As a Pats fan for 40+ years who grew up 20 minutes from Foxborough, I'm not unhappy there will be a thinning of the herd of fans who decided they liked the Patriots (and the Red Sox) around 2003 or 2004. Anyone who's been around long enough to remember the aluminum benches at Schaefer/Sullivan/Foxboro Stadium understands this has been something special and likely won't been seen again. There was a time when we were just happy to be playing meaningful games in December. I'm enjoying it for all it's worth, and I figure anything after Brady's 2008 knee injury is gravy.)

So no, we're not all like that, and I'm guessing not all Eagles fans would throw snowballs at Santa Claus either.

That Eagles team had a great, gutsy run. (When the Super Bowl pairing was set, I remember a young - again with the young - colleague crowing about how the Eagles didn't stand a chance. Right, I said, when has a team with a back up quarterback come in and upset the hottest offense in the league? Oh yeah, 2001 Pats over the Rams.)

Ray - Belated congratulations from a Pats fan and good luck this post-season.

Wow That 49's / Seattle game was looking rather blah for the first half... 2nd half was a bit more exciting. IMHO Seattle should've one that... only because of the missed call of PI and that delay of game in the last seconds... sigh :rolleyes:
It was looking all 49'rs for awhile, Russell Wilson looked like a different players between the 1st and 2nd.... turned out to be a good game....

I’m not mad. I just don’t understand the logic. Isn’t every team supposed to try their hardest every game, every season, to win it all?
It seems like some people want the Pats to stop trying to win only because they’ve done it too often.

I don't think anyone wants them to stop trying. We're just ready for them to start losing. It's not like the other teams in the league who have NOT had a 20 year dynasty fell short of that lofty standard because they weren't trying. All credit to the Patriots for an amazing run. They should go down with all guns blazing, but just as you want them to keep winning, I'd rather they stop. I'm tired of it - I'm not saying they should be or you should be...

I was not in Philly then - I was a little kid from Baltimore who loved the Colts and was busy having my heart broken by Joe Namath. But having lived here for 25 years and talking to a lot of lifers, my clear understanding is that Santa had it coming...

I didn't think the Eagles had a chance after Wentz went down in December. Before that I thought they were odds on to win the Super Bowl. But when he went down, I thought they had no shot, given how bad Foles looked in his first few games. Then after that Minnesota blow out, where Foles turned into God, I figured the Eagles would dominate the Pats. I was surprised it took holding on at the end to win it. They weren't a fluke - they were incredibly an incredibly dominant team all year. It was an amazing game to watch and I'm glad the Pats gave them that much of a fight - it meant more to beat the best at their best, or close to it. But they weren't a young team about to go on a run of dominance - most of our really good guys that year were in their primes and have gotten old quickly, and mostly hurt a lot too.

Thanks, appreciate it! But we have no business BEING in the post-season this year. I guess anything can happen, and our practice squad has done an amazing job of rising to the occasion, albeit against mostly terrible competition. I think there's an outside chance we beat Seattle, but if we do, that's it - I don't see us being competitive with anyone else still standing in the NFC. Hope I'm wrong. And I'm glad you folks had a great run, but I'm gonna have trouble wishing you and your team luck in the post season for a while to come yet. Maybe once this is well and truly over and they suck for a few years, I'll be ready to be happy for the Pats again. But I just can't do it right now...

But I can still wish you and all other Pats fans a Happy New Year!

-Ray

The difference between pre-season predictions and actual results is pretty interesting. Listed below are the number of wins above or below the pre-season predictions that were published by 538.com.

Baltimore +6 (i.e., six more wins than predicted)
San Francisco +6
Green Bay +5
Kansas City +2
New Orleans +2
Seattle +2
Houston +2
Buffalo +2
New England +1
Minnesota +1
Tennessee +1
Oakland +1
Indianapolis 0 (i.e., same number of wins as predicted)
Denver 0
NY Jets 0
Tampa Bay 0
Arizona 0
Miami 0
LA Rams -1 (i.e., one fewer wins than predicted)
Philadelphia -1
Pittsburgh -1
Chicago -1
Dallas -1
Atlanta -1
Cleveland -2
Jacksonville -2
NY Giants -2
Carolina -3
Washington -3
Detroit -4
Cincinnati -4
LA Chargers -5

Obviously, Baltimore, San Francisco and Green Bay performed well above expectations. Detroit, Cincinnati and LA Chargers performed well below expectations.

Dallas, whom everyone seems to think was a colossal bust, only had one fewer wins than predicted, the same as Philadelphia. New England actually had one more win than predicted.

Indeed! Very good game. Rooting for my Hawks, but hat's off to San Fran. Now it's a new season. Seattle at Philly should be another great game. Philly is tough and has found a way to win with so many starters out.... ala the Hawks. I like the fact neither team uses injuries as an excuse.

All the teams in it have a chance. I do believe it will be either KC or Baltimore against San Fran or New Orleans... although I'm hoping it's the Hawks!

So many great players making great, amazing plays. Kittle, Brees, Mahones, Wilson, Henry, Jackson, Wentz, Diggs, Rogers, et Al..... going to be a fun post season.

Hard to believe that the Patriots performed above expectations according to this pre-season prediction (+1).

I guess the same “jokes” get old year after year. Many think that we Pats fans are spoiled, and maybe we are. But we do deal with constant hating, and it can be exhausting.

I’ll enjoy the fact that I’ll get to see the Pats this Saturday, even if it’s for the last time this season. But I do think the Chiefs will take it all this year.

A build on Dr. Spivey's comment - shareholders of the Green Bay Packers also get free admission to the Shareholders meeting at Lambeau Field, essentially a 2 hour July afternoon love-fest for the green 'n gold. I got to enjoy it (along with food and a lovely tour about the stadium) with my kids in 2013.

The Shareholder Certificate is also considered a key part of an authentic "Packer Shrine", an essential element of many homes in and near Green Bay. :D

The team is certainly overly romanticized, and in the end of course it is a business proposition. But the love of the Packers in the Green Bay community is something special - bordering on fanatical - that I have not seen the likes of anywhere else in America. There are many awesome examples of team passion in many places, but this seems unique in US sports.

Oakland, L.A., Las Vegas,....and where ever the money stops next...
 

Interesting side note...County of Alameda sold their shares to the Oakland A's for the stadium. Looks like the A's will build a new water front stadium and use the coliseum while it's under construction...but no NFL;)