I need to find something to do during the Super Bowl that doesn’t involve football. (Although I might check in at the end just in case- that worked well last year.)
@sammydog01 I usually don’t know the Superbowl is on until the week after when everyone asked me if I watched and I always answer “no, who was in it”. Not my favourite sport… Too slow and too many stops.
Why does everyone hate the Patriots? I may or may not be from one town over from where the Patriots play and may or may not be wearing Patriots underwear. Both of which would not influence me at all if they were both to be true - which I’m not saying they are…
@zinimusprime And there have been at least two sizable controversies suggesting cheating on the Patriots part (Spygate and Deflategate). Patriot fans will dismiss these as sour grapes, and even among non-Patriot fans, the prevailing opinion is that any competitive advantage gained, if any, was probably minimal. However the Pats were severely disciplined by the league in both cases, and critics would claim that it is indicative to the overall modus operandi of the organization.
@DrWorm tl/dr; I’m not saying they didn’t do it. I AM saying it’s also everyone else’s MO and it makes no difference in the results. Ergo, everyone should untwist their knickers.
Full version:
The whole reason for complaining about the cheating is that it provides a competitive edge. However, if everyone is doing the same thing, then is it providing the competitive edge? And if not, then is it really a big deal. Did they get caught taping? Yup. Was everyone else doing it? Yup. Was there some nuance to the wording of the rule for videotaping that BB thought he’d be able to leverage and wiggle his way out of the punishment? Yup. Did Tom Brady like his throwing balls on the softer side? Probably. Were his equipment guys taking a little of the edge off the balls? Probably. Were the refs that inspected balls doing as good of a job as the league said they were? Probably not. Does Aaron Rodgers over-inflate his balls because he likes them that way? Probably. Did Peyton Manning get HGH delivered to his house under his wife’s name and then hire tough guys to scare people into silence? Yup. Have the Patriots kept winning after all of this happened? Yup, as exhibited in their 4 out of 5 super bowl visits since then with a 2-1 record those games (hopefully 3-1 soon).
So they got caught doing something that hasn’t impacted their ability to win and every other team does the same things and they don’t get the same publicity. Unfortunately, the Patriots will never get a fair shake in this because they’ve been so good so no one is inclined to (which I get). But at some point, people just need to stop using monikers like “Cheatriots” because they sound like butt hurt babies. Root for them or against them - I don’t care. Having someone to root for an against is part of what makes sports so great. But the cheating stigma is a cheap way out. If they hadn’t won since the scandals I’d have nothing to stand on, but at this point it’s safe to say it really didn’t make any difference. Also, go check out https://yourteamcheats.com/ and then come back and tell me that the crap the Patriots get compared to the rest of the league is commensurate with the difference in their infractions compared to the rest of the league. If logic prevails then I think we’ll agree.
I will also say that this has been the most civil Patriots hate that I have ever received and it makes me have hope for society that we can engage in a sports topic, have differing opinions, and discuss it like adults.
@zinimusprime tl;dr My main point was that, real or not, the cheating stigma is a component why many hate the Patriots.
Anytime a Patriots fan claims “The Pats don’t cheat any more than any other team, you just hate them because they win” it makes people hate them even more. Patriot fans are entitled to make the first half of that statement, but not the second. Claiming someone’s opinion is flawed is reasonable, claiming someones’ opinion is not even their real opinion is a dick move.
I totally expected a Patriot fan to bring up https://yourteamcheats.com/ . I don’t think its scoring system “penalizes” a team in the same way that the average fan does. For example,
A single spying incident probably weighs more in the public’s mind than a half dozen different PED suspensions. Largely because fans don’t see an individual transgression as damning to the player’s organization as a violation attributed to the organization itself.
Things like tampering and salary cap violations, which truth be told, probably have a bigger impact than under-inflated footballs, does not resonate with fans. It doesn’t smack of these 45 guys having an unfair advantage over the other 45 guys.
I am not even sure how something like Bountygate even falls under the realm of “cheating”. Wrong? Absolutely. Punishable? Yes. A good reason to hate on a team? Sure. Does it provide a competitive advantage? I don’t even see how it can even be twisted that way.
@zinimusprime No matter what happens the Patriots always find a way to win. The franchise is that good. If someone is not a Pats fan they will always bring up the past, even though they continue to win in the present.
If I were not a Pats fan I would probably hate them too. But I would respect that team for being able to achieve that level of success year after year.
Last year’s game was kind of crazy for me, a lifelong Eagles fan. My buddy and I were returning from vacation and our plane landed somewhere around the end of the first quarter. My buddy’s wife was DVR’ing the game for us. We had to make it through Newark airport, baggage claim, customs, a shuttle to the lot where we had parked the car, the checkout counter at said lot, and back to his house all while trying to ignore tv’s and people sharing the score. If it wasn’t for the fact that he lives in New Jersey and I was staying at his house that night, I would’ve known what happened as I drive right through Philly to get home. Finally around 12:30 am we got to sit down and watch the game, somehow having managed to avoid knowing the outcome. As we were on Austrian time, 6 hours ahead, it was like we were watching it at 6:30 am, fighting to stay awake. Watching our Eagles finally win it was like an entire dream sequence. I remember turning to him at the end of the game, shaking my head and saying, “they really did it - they won the Super Bowl.” Know how Ralphie goes to bed with that smile on his face when he finally gets his Red Ryder? Yeah, that was me.
@cinoclav I’m still butt hurt over the loss. The only thing that really pissed me off about the loss was that they changed how they officiated the catch rule right before the most important game of the year, which I think would have made a difference. I’m not sure the outcome would have been different, but it’s possible and that’s a complaint against the league and not the Eagles. Other than that and BB being an idiot and benching Butler, Philly beat the Pats fair and square. They earned it and I hate every bit of it.
That roughing the passer call where the chiefs defenders arm just grazed saint tom’s face mask while the pats pass rushers were attempting to RG3 Mahomes all game, diving at his knees, almost succeeded near the end. Lucky Mahomes is young and thik. The only good thing to come out of that game? I’m a little in love with Tony Romo.
@mtb002 I agree that the roughing call on the chiefs was a ticky tack penelaty, but there were a lot of calls/non-calls on both sides of the ball that game (Berry mauled Gronk all game). Also, the going low thing only applies when the QB is not running away from the rush (ie he’s looking to pass). Once he tucks the ball to evade a rusher he’s considered a ball carrier. If he remains behind the line of scrimmage and then sets to throw after scrambling around the rule is back in affect.
It’s not like I’m overwhelmingly excited or anything. I mean… been there… done that… bought the t-shirt… nine times.
It probably raises the bar a bit when your quarterback is statistically more likely to play in the AFC Championship game during a given season than any given quarterback is of completing a given pass.
Yeah, you heard that right.
Drew Brees, the current leader in Career Pass Completion Percentage has a 67.3% completion percentage. Remember that number, 67.3% because it’s important.
Now, let’s look at Tom Brady’s NFL career. Technically he’s played 18 years, but he was the third backup for one (What a shame that is. Just imagine, we could have started this saga a year earlier!) and played less than a half a quarter’s worth of football in 2008 so I’m going to use 16 as a basis here.
Now, in that time he’s played in 13 AFC Championship games, or 81.6% of the seasons he’s been a starting quarterback. It gets hard to get too excited about going to the AFC Championship when it’s so damned consistent.
But wait, you say, what about winning the AFC Championship and going on to play in the Super Bowl? Well, you know, that’s a bit more special but he’s won nine of them now so we’re still looking at a 56.3% chance, that’s better than the chances of a professional golfer in the PGA Tour sinking a putt five feet from the cup on the first try.
Hell, let’s throw those two seasons back in and see where we’re at just for fun. So on the basis of 18 seasons he’s still got a 72.2% chance of appearing in the AFC Championship game, still annihilating Brees’ PCP by a healthy margin, and a 50% chance of playing in the Super Bowl.
Why did I even bother throwing out those two seasons in the first place?
Heck, even people shining laser pointers in his face aren’t enough to cost him the game. #Lasergate
Honestly, I’m looking forward to the Patriots’ game against the Rams on February 3rd, but the real excitement will come when the Lombardi Trophy is being handed over to Kraft & Co. for the sixth time.
@f00l I’ll be watching for the commercials… and the off chance we lose so that I can be properly disappointed in our boys… also the nearly inevitable trophy awarding ceremony… and the privilege of watching the finest coach quarterback combo of all time.
@mfladd Thanks, I snuck in the back, don’t tell anybody.
I will happily concede that the Brady/Billichick combo is the greatest of all time, never to be topped, supreme GOAT’s of the NFL, if they both promise to just retire after this one and finally let someone else have a turn.
Patriots beat the Chiefs. Again. I was sad to see it.
Can we go off topic a minute though? The officiating in that game was awful. Terrible. The roughing the passer call against the Chiefs was rather gratuitous. There were some the other way too, but for reals, Refs. Get your shit together.
/giphy Patriots Superbowl
/giphy DAG NABBIT
My fault. I hadn’t watched the Chiefs much this year, but I had the game on while playing RDR2 split-screen. I jinxed 'em.
@medz I was wanting them to go all the way.
@medz @SenorYEETZ I love the Chiefs!
@medz I read that as R2-D2 at first.
/giphy R2-D2
@medz @PooltoyWolf I read R2D2 EVERYTIME someone abbreviates that game…drives me batty…
@earlyre @medz -brain wavelength-
(and I didn’t bring this subject up first
@mfladd
/giphy I’m gonna hate
@sligett lol
@sligett This is awesome.
@sligett From wikipedia, of course.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/01/19/latest-edit-afc-championship-wikipedia-page-one-team-gets-play-new-england-patriots/
I need to find something to do during the Super Bowl that doesn’t involve football. (Although I might check in at the end just in case- that worked well last year.)
@sammydog01 You could stay in the kitchen prepping and fetching snacks for the menfolks…make little football-shaped meatloafs…stuff like that.
@sammydog01 I’ll probably be playing RDR2.
/image you alright, boy? arthur
@sammydog01 I Just want to watch it for the commercials.
@therealjrn The womenfolk in our house are the football fans. Did you know my daughter is the Meh fantasy football champion?
@medz Maybe I’ll figure out Lego Batman. Or just go punch Robin a bunch.
@SenorYEETZ You can get those online. How about the Puppy Bowl?
/giphy Puppy Bowl
@sammydog01
I do now!
@sammydog01 I usually don’t know the Superbowl is on until the week after when everyone asked me if I watched and I always answer “no, who was in it”. Not my favourite sport… Too slow and too many stops.
Why does everyone hate the Patriots? I may or may not be from one town over from where the Patriots play and may or may not be wearing Patriots underwear. Both of which would not influence me at all if they were both to be true - which I’m not saying they are…
@zinimusprime They are good, if I was from New England I would probably be a fan too.
@zinimusprime They win too often. Plus Tom Brady.
@sammydog01 I emphatically disagree. I’m enjoying the boogers out of this (says this patriots fan of 30+ years). Plus Tom Brady.
@zinimusprime And there have been at least two sizable controversies suggesting cheating on the Patriots part (Spygate and Deflategate). Patriot fans will dismiss these as sour grapes, and even among non-Patriot fans, the prevailing opinion is that any competitive advantage gained, if any, was probably minimal. However the Pats were severely disciplined by the league in both cases, and critics would claim that it is indicative to the overall modus operandi of the organization.
@DrWorm @zinimusprime
None of this will ever be objective.
@DrWorm tl/dr; I’m not saying they didn’t do it. I AM saying it’s also everyone else’s MO and it makes no difference in the results. Ergo, everyone should untwist their knickers.
Full version:
The whole reason for complaining about the cheating is that it provides a competitive edge. However, if everyone is doing the same thing, then is it providing the competitive edge? And if not, then is it really a big deal. Did they get caught taping? Yup. Was everyone else doing it? Yup. Was there some nuance to the wording of the rule for videotaping that BB thought he’d be able to leverage and wiggle his way out of the punishment? Yup. Did Tom Brady like his throwing balls on the softer side? Probably. Were his equipment guys taking a little of the edge off the balls? Probably. Were the refs that inspected balls doing as good of a job as the league said they were? Probably not. Does Aaron Rodgers over-inflate his balls because he likes them that way? Probably. Did Peyton Manning get HGH delivered to his house under his wife’s name and then hire tough guys to scare people into silence? Yup. Have the Patriots kept winning after all of this happened? Yup, as exhibited in their 4 out of 5 super bowl visits since then with a 2-1 record those games (hopefully 3-1 soon).
So they got caught doing something that hasn’t impacted their ability to win and every other team does the same things and they don’t get the same publicity. Unfortunately, the Patriots will never get a fair shake in this because they’ve been so good so no one is inclined to (which I get). But at some point, people just need to stop using monikers like “Cheatriots” because they sound like butt hurt babies. Root for them or against them - I don’t care. Having someone to root for an against is part of what makes sports so great. But the cheating stigma is a cheap way out. If they hadn’t won since the scandals I’d have nothing to stand on, but at this point it’s safe to say it really didn’t make any difference. Also, go check out https://yourteamcheats.com/ and then come back and tell me that the crap the Patriots get compared to the rest of the league is commensurate with the difference in their infractions compared to the rest of the league. If logic prevails then I think we’ll agree.
I will also say that this has been the most civil Patriots hate that I have ever received and it makes me have hope for society that we can engage in a sports topic, have differing opinions, and discuss it like adults.
@zinimusprime tl;dr My main point was that, real or not, the cheating stigma is a component why many hate the Patriots.
Anytime a Patriots fan claims “The Pats don’t cheat any more than any other team, you just hate them because they win” it makes people hate them even more. Patriot fans are entitled to make the first half of that statement, but not the second. Claiming someone’s opinion is flawed is reasonable, claiming someones’ opinion is not even their real opinion is a dick move.
I totally expected a Patriot fan to bring up https://yourteamcheats.com/ . I don’t think its scoring system “penalizes” a team in the same way that the average fan does. For example,
@DrWorm I feel like we generally agree. Good talk!
@DrWorm @zinimusprime
tl/dr Glad you guys are friends now.
/giphy best buddies
@DrWorm @sammydog01 I feel like I’m the dog in this situation…
@zinimusprime No matter what happens the Patriots always find a way to win. The franchise is that good. If someone is not a Pats fan they will always bring up the past, even though they continue to win in the present.
If I were not a Pats fan I would probably hate them too. But I would respect that team for being able to achieve that level of success year after year.
/wootstalker https://shirt.woot.com/offers/national-meh-league
National Meh League
Price: $19.00
Condition: Probably New
/giphy “rude Patriots”
I’m gonna tell the teacher patrick
@kaleb15002 Are you friends with Patrick from Spongebob? Can you introduce me?
/giphy Patrick Spongebob
https://aaf.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIuLSx65CC4AIVUR-tBh2cgwLJEAAYASAAEgLG4vD_BwE
Is arena football still a thing?
@therealjrn They have a team here.
@therealjrn AAF is starting up in about 3 weeks.
@Targaryen Is that what that link was? I did not know what is was but it looked sketchy as all get out.
@therealjrn They just announced a new team coming to Atlantic City. I give it two seasons.
/giphy shake it off
@blndfayth ok was hoping for t sizzle but go pats
/giphy hate hate hate
/giphy play play play play
@blndfayth oh god ok nvm
@blndfayth That big bird is way better looking than Brady.
Last year’s game was kind of crazy for me, a lifelong Eagles fan. My buddy and I were returning from vacation and our plane landed somewhere around the end of the first quarter. My buddy’s wife was DVR’ing the game for us. We had to make it through Newark airport, baggage claim, customs, a shuttle to the lot where we had parked the car, the checkout counter at said lot, and back to his house all while trying to ignore tv’s and people sharing the score. If it wasn’t for the fact that he lives in New Jersey and I was staying at his house that night, I would’ve known what happened as I drive right through Philly to get home. Finally around 12:30 am we got to sit down and watch the game, somehow having managed to avoid knowing the outcome. As we were on Austrian time, 6 hours ahead, it was like we were watching it at 6:30 am, fighting to stay awake. Watching our Eagles finally win it was like an entire dream sequence. I remember turning to him at the end of the game, shaking my head and saying, “they really did it - they won the Super Bowl.” Know how Ralphie goes to bed with that smile on his face when he finally gets his Red Ryder? Yeah, that was me.
P.S. Go Rams!
@cinoclav I’m still butt hurt over the loss. The only thing that really pissed me off about the loss was that they changed how they officiated the catch rule right before the most important game of the year, which I think would have made a difference. I’m not sure the outcome would have been different, but it’s possible and that’s a complaint against the league and not the Eagles. Other than that and BB being an idiot and benching Butler, Philly beat the Pats fair and square. They earned it and I hate every bit of it.
At least it ain’t the Steeler’s.
/giphy gross steelers
That said, I still hope the rams win.
@tnhillbillygal I like the Steelers. Brady doesn’t play for them.
@sammydog01 i can’t stand Brady but the steelers are my LEAST favorite team followed right behind by the pats.
@sammydog01 @tnhillbillygal Whoever’s team wins, I look forward to either dishing out or receiving copious amounts of flack.
That roughing the passer call where the chiefs defenders arm just grazed saint tom’s face mask while the pats pass rushers were attempting to RG3 Mahomes all game, diving at his knees, almost succeeded near the end. Lucky Mahomes is young and thik. The only good thing to come out of that game? I’m a little in love with Tony Romo.
@mtb002 I agree that the roughing call on the chiefs was a ticky tack penelaty, but there were a lot of calls/non-calls on both sides of the ball that game (Berry mauled Gronk all game). Also, the going low thing only applies when the QB is not running away from the rush (ie he’s looking to pass). Once he tucks the ball to evade a rusher he’s considered a ball carrier. If he remains behind the line of scrimmage and then sets to throw after scrambling around the rule is back in affect.
It’s not like I’m overwhelmingly excited or anything. I mean… been there… done that… bought the t-shirt… nine times.
It probably raises the bar a bit when your quarterback is statistically more likely to play in the AFC Championship game during a given season than any given quarterback is of completing a given pass.
Yeah, you heard that right.
Drew Brees, the current leader in Career Pass Completion Percentage has a 67.3% completion percentage. Remember that number, 67.3% because it’s important.
Now, let’s look at Tom Brady’s NFL career. Technically he’s played 18 years, but he was the third backup for one (What a shame that is. Just imagine, we could have started this saga a year earlier!) and played less than a half a quarter’s worth of football in 2008 so I’m going to use 16 as a basis here.
Now, in that time he’s played in 13 AFC Championship games, or 81.6% of the seasons he’s been a starting quarterback. It gets hard to get too excited about going to the AFC Championship when it’s so damned consistent.
But wait, you say, what about winning the AFC Championship and going on to play in the Super Bowl? Well, you know, that’s a bit more special but he’s won nine of them now so we’re still looking at a 56.3% chance, that’s better than the chances of a professional golfer in the PGA Tour sinking a putt five feet from the cup on the first try.
Hell, let’s throw those two seasons back in and see where we’re at just for fun. So on the basis of 18 seasons he’s still got a 72.2% chance of appearing in the AFC Championship game, still annihilating Brees’ PCP by a healthy margin, and a 50% chance of playing in the Super Bowl.
Why did I even bother throwing out those two seasons in the first place?
Heck, even people shining laser pointers in his face aren’t enough to cost him the game. #Lasergate
Honestly, I’m looking forward to the Patriots’ game against the Rams on February 3rd, but the real excitement will come when the Lombardi Trophy is being handed over to Kraft & Co. for the sixth time.
Maybe @mfladd can be pumped on my behalf?
@jbartus
Gosh. I’m very sorry to find that you are so depressed about this event.
/giphy Pats
@f00l depressed is putting it a bit strongly. I am content.
@jbartus
You team is so dominant, I figure you could use a little teasing.
I’m sure you’re so depressed that you won’t be able to watch the SB.
@f00l @jbartus
Good to see you around!
@f00l I’ll be watching for the commercials… and the off chance we lose so that I can be properly disappointed in our boys… also the nearly inevitable trophy awarding ceremony… and the privilege of watching the finest coach quarterback combo of all time.
@mfladd Thanks, I snuck in the back, don’t tell anybody.
I will happily concede that the Brady/Billichick combo is the greatest of all time, never to be topped, supreme GOAT’s of the NFL, if they both promise to just retire after this one and finally let someone else have a turn.
I regret that Jerry Jones sucks as a team manager.
: (
@f00l The league is better when the Cowboys are relevant and I agree with your assessment. This I am sad too.
@f00l @zinimusprime The Cowboys are second on my NFL hate list. I don’t even know why. Maybe because I live in Redskin country?
@sammydog01 @zinimusprime
If only the Cowboys were relevant enough to hate.
: (
I miss Tom Landry.
@f00l @sammydog01 I would expect nothing less.
@f00l You and Jimmy Johnson.
@cranky1950
/giphy amusing cranky
Well I guess my dad’s a happy camper then.
NOT a Patriots fan, but will root for them to win in the hope that Brady will then retire. Please, Tom. Retire.
Patriots beat the Chiefs. Again. I was sad to see it.
Can we go off topic a minute though? The officiating in that game was awful. Terrible. The roughing the passer call against the Chiefs was rather gratuitous. There were some the other way too, but for reals, Refs. Get your shit together.
@capguncowboy I totally agree
Brady recently stated there was ZERO chance he would retire after this Super Bowl. Looks like I’ll be rooting for the Rams then.
I dont want people to get hurt, but at this point Brady is a caricature, and I hope Aaron Donald knocks his ass into last week, multiple times
@mtb002 Looks like the Pats will wear their white jerseys so hoping for grass stains at least. Lots of grass stains.