They Hate Us Cause They Ain’t Us

They Hate Us Cause They Aint Us

Tea Goncalves, Staff Writer

The New England Patriots are by far the most hated team in the NFL. Fans of other teams usually despise the Patriots. Most people say they are no-good cheaters, but I think it’s just jealousy. They hate us cause they ain’t us.

Since I was born in 2001 the Patriots have won four Super Bowls, the team with the most wins in the 21st century. Some can argue that they are the best team in football at the moment, which I believe they have proven.

However their success has led to a lot of controversy and hatred toward their organization.

In the beginning of their success, it wasn’t overly obvious that they were hated. However as the years have gone on, the Patriots have been in the news more often for their alleged “cheating.”

Cheating is illegal because everyone wants a fair playing field, which is completely understandable. However the NFL rarely calls other teams out for their cheating scandals.

After the 2015 AFC Championship game the New England Patriots were accused of deflating their footballs, which is illegal throughout the league. However after months of investigation it became more clear that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell had one goal in mind, a guilty conviction for Tom Brady.  

During the entirety of “Deflategate” new information about other quarterbacks surfaced. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packer’s quarterback, admitted to adjusting the air pressure of footballs to meet his personal preferences, saying “I like to push the limit to how much air we can put in the football, even go over what [the NFL] allows you to do and see if the officials take air out of it.”

This is just as bad as deflating footballs, but Rodgers was never punished for the illegal action. Now if this had been Brady, he would have gotten punished for such an action.

Jeff Blake, ex-quarterback for the New York Jets, revealed that he would often deflate footballs as “removing air from footballs was common.” This was a violation of NFL protocol and the same offense Brady was punished for, the only difference, Blake was never prosecuted nor punished by the NFL.

In 2007 the New England Patriots were accused of videotaping from unapproved sideline locations in their game against the New York Jets. Coach Bill Belichick was fined $500,000, the Patriots franchise was fined $25,000, and the team was docked their first round selection in the 2008 NFL draft.

However one year before the Jets were caught filming Patriots plays from both sidelines. To no surprise, the Jets were not punished because Goodell did not feel that the Jets were a competitive team in the league.

The NFL has been treating the Patriots unfairly for a while now, and will continue to until Goodell, or a new NFL commissioner, feels as if the Patriots are no longer a competitive team.

Opposing fans can say what they want, but it is well known that the Patriots are hated and treated poorly in the league. Fortunately the Patriots do not need any support aside from their fans, and they will prove everyone wrong when they go for their fifth Super Bowl win on Feb. 4.