The Idea That Any Patriots Fan Would Ditch the Team Because of Trump is Fake News
@jerrythornton1 i need to call in the heavy artillery for this crap: https://t.co/NmarXwtyUS
— Caillou (@TheRealCaillou) January 12, 2017
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SB Nation – For over a decade now, people outside of New England have reviled the Patriots for turning winning into a science and, many believe, cheating to do so. Pats fans doubled-down in response, and a fierce loyalty took root in Massachusetts that, through the sagas of Spygate and Deflategate, seemed unshakeable.
But recently, that blind faith has faced its greatest test in the form of the team’s connection to Republican president-elect Donald Trump.
The trouble began when Patriots reporters spotted Brady with a Make America Great Again hat in his locker in Foxboro in the fall of 2015. … Over the past year and a half, the team’s ties to Trump have only grown stronger. …
No matter how anyone feels about the team or the president-elect, the two have become as woven into each other’s histories as Trump’s hair is to his head. The difference is that while the rest of the country doesn’t really have a stake in this connection, Patriots fans in liberal Massachusetts who find Trump abhorrent have to grapple with the emotional implications. Patriotism in the age of Trump, it turns out, is a tricky thing to navigate.
I’ve heard this piece of fiction before. As a matter of fact, when I was on WEEI I actually talked to a caller or two claiming to be Patriots fans who couldn’t get past the fact that Brady, Belichick and Mr. Kraft were friends of the Donald and swore they’d never support the team again. Well to steal a line, that story is a failing pile of garbage.
I’m not saying you have to like Trump. On the contrary. God knows I have a ton of people I care about who have gone way off the deep end with Trump Derangement Syndrome. Who can’t type a sentence on social media that isn’t filled with vitriol for America’s first orange president. I get it. More power to them.
But it’s a simple formula: You can’t claim to be a Pats fan and say you’d give that up over politics. Because if you walk away from the No. 1 dynasty in the history of North American pro team sports (as chosen by NFL.com) because you don’t like PEE-OTUS, then you were never a fan in the first place. You were a poser. A bandwagon jumper. A fraud who was along for the ride because it was the fashionable thing to do. Period. End of discussion.
I have my issues with Trump too. He’s got the oratory skills of a 7-year-old and still has to answer for the crimes of putting Gary Busey and Andrew Dice Clay on network TV. But I supported him precisely because he’s friends with Brady, Belichick and Mr. Kraft. Because in a world where calling the Patriots cheaters and liars makes you a hero in the media and front row seats at the ESPYs, Trump stuck by his friends. And to their credit, the Pats Holy Trinity stuck by him. Call me a one-issue voter, but that was good enough for me. The other Republicans, Bernie and Hillary had plenty of opportunity to try to close the Pander Gap and get my vote and too, and they took a pass. I won’t apologize for rewarding loyalty. You didn’t have to vote for The Donald, but you have to appreciate that he stuck by them when no one else in the public eye would.
Again, you can’t claim you were ever a Pats fan if their friendships are enough to make you drop your sword and leave your post at the Wall. But if you do, there’s the door. Good riddance. Go piss up a rope. There’ll just be more room on the sidewalk at the next Duckboat parade for the rest of us. Have fun rooting for the Giants or going leaf-peeping all next Fall. You won’t be missed. Sad.
