FOXBORO - The Patriots [team stats] may have struck upon a rallying cry for the 2008 season, and it is simplistically visceral.
?Everyone hates us.?
The Pats developed that feeling over the past few years while winning Super Bowls or running the table in the regular season. But it came sharply into focus following the season-ending knee injury suffered by quarterback Tom Brady [stats] on Sunday.
Shortly after Brady went down, stories were told of fans in sports bars across the nation - particularly in New York - bursting into applause at the sight of the franchise QB writhing in pain.
A Steelers fan Web site went so far as to create T-shirts trumpeting the ?Bernard Pollard Fan Club, established Sept. 7, 2008.? The shirt?s logo is the No. 12 with a line through it. Pollard is the Chiefs safety whose hit ended Brady?s season.
?That?s sad, but it makes sense,? Patriots cornerback Ellis Hobbs [stats] said. ?If you can?t beat it, then you cheer against it. If you can?t do it, then why cheer for it? That doesn?t speak for everyone, but it does speak for most. It?s sad you?ve got to do that, but it is what it is.
?They?re human. I?m human. We all make our mistakes here and there. You take it for what it is. I guarantee it didn?t wash anything off (No.) 12?s back. It doesn?t bother him any. It doesn?t bother us any. We didn?t (get forced into) this job. We signed up for it. We chose this profession. We get paid for this profession. We take the bumps and bruises with it.?
Still, Hobbs was asked, is it shocking that people would actually cheer a season-ending injury?
?It shocks me every time that (fan etiquette) gets lower and lower,? Hobbs said. ?It?s like where is it going to stop? But it is what it is.?
The New York Times [NYT] described the scene in Manhattan?s ESPN Zone when Brady hit the turf: ?Most of the people in the restaurant roared with delight.? The Times report prompted Red Sox [team stats] pitcher Curt Schilling [stats] to rip New York fans during his weekly appearance on sports radio WEEI.
It sounds sick, and yet it?s certainly not unique to rival towns. Red Sox fans cheered when Derek Jeter dislocated his shoulder in a collision with Blue Jays catcher Ken Huckaby in 2006. Heck, Pats fans themselves used to celebrate Tony Eason?s injuries, since they meant playing time for the hard-nosed Steve Grogan.
?It?s believable,? Pats left guard Logan Mankins [stats] said. ?I think that?s what makes sports great - that people are that passionate about their teams winning. When the best player in the league gets hurt, it opens things up for everyone else.
?I?m sure every other team believes they have a chance now. No one beat us with Tom last year except for one team. Now people think with Tom out that we?re not going to be any good. Everyone wants to see us lose.?
That?s the heart of the matter. Patriots safety Rodney Harrison [stats] continually laments that fans and media forget players are not robots. It nevertheless didn?t surprise him at all to hear cheers over Brady?s demise. The Patriots are that unpopular.
?It?s normal,? he said. ?Anything that happens to us, people are going to get excited about. Obviously, they don?t care for us much around the league, but I understand things are competitive and teams as well as their fans are looking at any edge they can possibly get.?
The Patriots have fed off less before.
.
?It?s always going to be doubt,? Hobbs said. ?Nothing?s more thrilling to the opposition, whether it?s the fans or teams, than to doubt someone that?s been there time and time again. They don?t want to see it. They?re thinking, ?This is going to get ?em. This is going to get ?em right here.? We look at it as an opportunity to prove them wrong.?
Mankins puts it even more succinctly.
?People are sick of seeing us win,? he said. ?But we like it, and we don?t plan on stopping.?
?Everyone hates us.?
The Pats developed that feeling over the past few years while winning Super Bowls or running the table in the regular season. But it came sharply into focus following the season-ending knee injury suffered by quarterback Tom Brady [stats] on Sunday.
Shortly after Brady went down, stories were told of fans in sports bars across the nation - particularly in New York - bursting into applause at the sight of the franchise QB writhing in pain.
A Steelers fan Web site went so far as to create T-shirts trumpeting the ?Bernard Pollard Fan Club, established Sept. 7, 2008.? The shirt?s logo is the No. 12 with a line through it. Pollard is the Chiefs safety whose hit ended Brady?s season.
?That?s sad, but it makes sense,? Patriots cornerback Ellis Hobbs [stats] said. ?If you can?t beat it, then you cheer against it. If you can?t do it, then why cheer for it? That doesn?t speak for everyone, but it does speak for most. It?s sad you?ve got to do that, but it is what it is.
?They?re human. I?m human. We all make our mistakes here and there. You take it for what it is. I guarantee it didn?t wash anything off (No.) 12?s back. It doesn?t bother him any. It doesn?t bother us any. We didn?t (get forced into) this job. We signed up for it. We chose this profession. We get paid for this profession. We take the bumps and bruises with it.?
Still, Hobbs was asked, is it shocking that people would actually cheer a season-ending injury?
?It shocks me every time that (fan etiquette) gets lower and lower,? Hobbs said. ?It?s like where is it going to stop? But it is what it is.?
The New York Times [NYT] described the scene in Manhattan?s ESPN Zone when Brady hit the turf: ?Most of the people in the restaurant roared with delight.? The Times report prompted Red Sox [team stats] pitcher Curt Schilling [stats] to rip New York fans during his weekly appearance on sports radio WEEI.
It sounds sick, and yet it?s certainly not unique to rival towns. Red Sox fans cheered when Derek Jeter dislocated his shoulder in a collision with Blue Jays catcher Ken Huckaby in 2006. Heck, Pats fans themselves used to celebrate Tony Eason?s injuries, since they meant playing time for the hard-nosed Steve Grogan.
?It?s believable,? Pats left guard Logan Mankins [stats] said. ?I think that?s what makes sports great - that people are that passionate about their teams winning. When the best player in the league gets hurt, it opens things up for everyone else.
?I?m sure every other team believes they have a chance now. No one beat us with Tom last year except for one team. Now people think with Tom out that we?re not going to be any good. Everyone wants to see us lose.?
That?s the heart of the matter. Patriots safety Rodney Harrison [stats] continually laments that fans and media forget players are not robots. It nevertheless didn?t surprise him at all to hear cheers over Brady?s demise. The Patriots are that unpopular.
?It?s normal,? he said. ?Anything that happens to us, people are going to get excited about. Obviously, they don?t care for us much around the league, but I understand things are competitive and teams as well as their fans are looking at any edge they can possibly get.?
The Patriots have fed off less before.
.
?It?s always going to be doubt,? Hobbs said. ?Nothing?s more thrilling to the opposition, whether it?s the fans or teams, than to doubt someone that?s been there time and time again. They don?t want to see it. They?re thinking, ?This is going to get ?em. This is going to get ?em right here.? We look at it as an opportunity to prove them wrong.?
Mankins puts it even more succinctly.
?People are sick of seeing us win,? he said. ?But we like it, and we don?t plan on stopping.?
Last edited:
