I am becoming fascinated with all the opinions I'm hearing about the NFL Playoffs. I've always been a big sports fan, but as I talked about here I don't really have a favorite team. Yes, I decided to root for the Colts as long as Tony Dungy is their head coach, but they lost last week so now it's back to just enjoying the games no matter who is playing.
(By the way, if Dungy retires like many think he will, my allegiance to the Colts is over!)
So, as the Playoffs heat up with the AFC and NFC Championship games this weekend, I've been hearing a lot about people's feelings toward the New England Patriots. It seems almost everyone I talk to around here (northern Indiana) dislikes the Patriots - some with violent hatred and some with mild disgust.
The more I hear about it, the more it makes me wonder why people feel this way. I understand the Patriots have become kind of a rival/nemesis to the Colts and that probably explains a lot of it. But I get the sense that it's more than that.
From what I hear, the main reasons for the hatred are (1) because the Patriots got caught cheating; (2) because the Patriots ran up the score on weak opponents; (3) because the Patriots win so much (3 Super Bowl wins since 2002 and currently undefeated this season).
To try to understand this more, I've installed a poll at the top right corner of this blog where you can vote to show why you despise the Patriots. There's also an option to say that you don't hate them, just in case. Have fun!
3 comments:
I live just outside of Indy. So, 95% of people are Colts fans and many go to the games and wear Colts jerseys to church!
The hatred was very strong before the "cheating" scandal.
I think they hate them because:
-They are currently "the team" of the NFL
-They crushed Indy in the '04 and '05 playoffs
-They are more clutch under pressure...a major fault of Indy
I am a Bears fan...so I have an unbiased opinion. But I am glad when Indy loses so I don't have to see anymore jerseys in church.
Wow, could be the shortest someone has liked a team.
Anyway, the Patriots are a bunch of cheaters, jerks, and they have no class. That pretty much sums it up.
My vote will go with they win too much.
Reason being, my disdain is because they are the team that is, when it gets down to it, better than the Colts... this season and this decade. This is the basis for the best rivalries... in Basketball it was the Celtics and Lakers in the 80s and the Bulls and Pistons in the 80s; in Football the Cowboys and Bills in the 90s...
The other stuff, punk for a coach, running up the score, cheating... all stuff (legitimate or not) that fuels a hatred that is simply rooted in the fact that they are the team to beat.
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