[dirtymac]

I have been a Patriots fan since 1974. It was really really difficult to be a fan in those days. They were only just considered an NFL team. Oh there were some bright spots here and there but mostly just dismal for the next 26 years. Then everything changed. I have been wallowing in Patriots victories for the last 18 years. I believe they have been in 10 super bowls and have won 5 of them. I call them the cardiac kids.

[Rummyfan]

Steve Grogan. Russ Francis. Sam Hunt. Irving Fryar... the Pats did have talent back in those days. But the Super Bowl shellacking by the Bears set them back five years. Tony Eason never recovered.

And as an old Colts fan, I always liked Raymond Berry as coach.

[Rummyfan]

And enjoy these days while they last!

[SamAdams76]

I go back that far with the Patriots as well and I remember the days well when they were an embarrassing team to root for. Remember the fans getting electrocuted after pulling down the goalpost? Head Coach Chuck Fairbanks accepting a college coaching job right into the middle of the 1976 playoffs? All that drama with Bill Parcells and Drew Bledsoe?

I think the Patriots were banned from Monday Night football for a decade or so due to the heavy drinking and rowdiness of the fans.

Trivia: The Patriots played one of their last MNF games (before the ban) on December 8, 1980 - the night that John Lennon was shot. Much of America learned of the assassination through Howard Cosell as that game was in progress.

I also remember when Drew Bledsoe got injured in one of the first games of the 2001 season (right after 9/11). I figured the season was lost for the Patriots, especially as they were relying on some unknown backup QB who was drafted in the sixth round to carry them through. That of course, was Tom Brady, who went on to carry the Pats to their first of many Super Bowl victories that season.

Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. Those are the two people behind the unprecedented success of the past 20 years. Everybody else revolved around them. (Both Trump supporters by the way.)

It's a shame I cannot appreciate the final years of their glorious careers. I gave up my cable several years ago and I don't even bother going to a sports bar to watch football anymore due to the kneeling crap. But I do catch the Patriot's highlights on YouTube after the games are over. It's the least I can do.

It is simply the greatest dynasty in the history of professional sports. The likes of which we will likely never see again.