Patriot Acts and Other Misdeeds

Well, here's my first blog entry that I think could get me into some serious trouble with Patriots Nation (assuming anyone's reading this!). First of all, let me be clear about something. While I do live in New England and am a somewhat enthusiastic sports fan (and a Red Sox fanatic), I've not had much use for the New England Patriots for a couple of years now. Why? Bill Belichick. Tom Brady. Talk of Dynasty. Talk of the “Patriot Way” (whatever that means).

Perhaps it's just the contrarian in me. Try as I might, I have a really hard time following the crowd. When I see “Patriots Nation” calling Bill Belichick a “genius” and blindly intoning “In Bill We Trust” in response to his every move (no matter how mystifying) and when I actually hear references to Tom Brady being “infallible” without a trace of irony (and from people who reallyare in a position where they ought to know better), well it all just becomes too much for me. Or maybe it's not even the team at all that is off-putting, but rather the aura of entitlement that has surrounded them these past few years courtesy of the local media and fans. What had once been a somewhat “loveable loser” identity associated with the team has, over the past 9 years, morphed into something else entirely. And as much as it pains me, that something else is arrogant and obnoxious and entitled—all characteristics that I have always associated with (gulp) the New York Yankees. Whomever it was who some time back stated that rooting for the New York Yankees was like rooting for U.S. Steel had a point. I'm thinking that rooting for the Belichickean New England Patriots is like rooting for the New York Yankees (which I guess would therefore mean it's like rooting for U.S. Steel all over again, if I remember my Euclidean geometry correctly).

So, why this post, you might be wondering? Why now? Well, I'll tell you why. After watching a really exciting Super Bowl last Sunday that saw the New Orleans Saints defeat the Indianapolis Colts (I won't say upset, because it's not like it was shocking or anything), this is what I woke up to on the morning after the Big Game: More entitlement, more defensiveness, more false chest-pounding on the part of Patriots fans. While the rest of the country was talking about the great shot in the arm the victory was for the beleaguered city of post-Katrina New Orleans, the local wags were taking a “nah-nah-nah-nah-nah” approach towards Indy that is dog-in-the-manger at its best. I mean, hey, the Patriots weren't even IN the Super Bowl, but we can still get our vicarious thrills because the Colts didn't actually WIN it. I also saw in-depth QB comparisons, not between Drew Brees and Peyton Manning, but between Manning and TOM BRADY (who, last I checked, wasn't even playing on Sunday).

Now, I understand heated rivalry (and yes, hate) as well as any sports fan. It always warms my heart to see the Yankees choke (*cough* 2004 *cough*) or the L.A. Lakers lose, mostly because of that entitlement thing again. But what in God's name is there to hate about Indianapolis or Peyton Manning? Indianapolisans (or whatever they're called) don't strike me as the entitled blowhard type. Hating Indy is like hating Kansas or Nebraska. I just can't do it. I just can't care enough. And Manning? Seems like a regular joe to me (as regular as multimillionaire joes can be).

So what can explain this sour grapes reaction among Patriots fans? All I can come up with is jealousy and, ultimately, insecurity. I think it's a “love me, love my team/quarterback/coach” mentality. For all those people who were and are so relieved that Manning lost so that Brady can still wear the mantle of supreme pigskin poobah, I can only say that I'm pretty sure that Tom Brady isn't losing any sleep over it one way or the other, and neither should you.

Rant over.