The life of a Patriots fan

Patrick LaLiberte
Staff Writer

  Growing up in Massachusetts, it wasn’t hard to become a fan of the professional sports teams in the area. The Red Sox won eight World Series, the Bruins and Celtics were always interesting, and the Patriots were a modern-day dynasty. Everyone in New England loved all of these teams, especially Tom Brady and the Patriots. Tom Brady is talked about as a god and the best quarterback of all time. I never really gave any thought to what everyone else in the country thought of Tom Brady and the Patriots; I had no idea that being a Patriots fan would attract so much unwanted attention. Every time I mention anything about the Patriots, I get bombarded by NFL fanatics telling me that Tom Brady sucks, Bill Belichick is a cheater, and the Patriots get away with penalties because the referees are biased. To me, all of this is nonsense, but this seems to be the general belief of every non-Patriots fan.

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​The New England Patriots are probably the most hated sports team of all time, and supporting them in any way is considered a sin to any NFL fan outside of New England. I can’t even wear my favorite Brady jersey after a big win without being harassed by random people on the streets, calling them the “Cheatriots” and yelling about deflated footballs. Even after the Patriots completed the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history a few nights ago on Feb. 5, they still get no respect from anyone. I’m sure it won’t be long until Bill Belichick is being questioned for suspiciously winning the coin toss in overtime. But even with all of the hate against the Patriots, it’s hard to get mad when Tom Brady just won his fifth ring, and the Patriots are once again Super Bowl champions. It just gets really annoying having to deal with random people freaking out on me because I’m wearing a Gronkowski jersey. So every time someone starts yelling in my face about how the Patriots cheated their way to victory and Tom Brady is overrated, I just sit back and remember the real reason everybody hates the Patriots: they hate us because they ain’t us.