All good things come to an end. For Patriots fans, we've have it good for a long time now. The Patriots have been a dominant force in the NFL since I was 10 years old- all I have known as a dedicated football fan is that New England is going to be competitive year in and year out. With the combination of Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, and a shrewd front office, the Patriots have posted a decade-plus of success. Three Lombardi Trophies, five AFC Championships, and the most Division titles in a ten year period- all of which will overshadow the countless records Tom and company racked up in the same period.
History will show how special this team has been. But what the Patriots have created is a fan base that expects to win the Super Bowl every single year. Though we have not seen a Lombardi Trophy in New England since the 2004 regular season team, the Patriots remain a feared franchise and are always a favorite to go far into the playoffs.
But regardless of how well a team performs, fans of any sport always become infatuated with certain players. The Patriots have seen there fair share of fan-favorites come and go: Ty Law, Lawyer Milloy, Willie McGinest, Richard Seymour, et al. But when a team is focused on winning, they fill their roster will players who can execute, not guys that are popular on twitter. Because of that, sometimes our favorites are traded or leave for our rivals. It hurts, it stings, and it becomes easy to feel betrayed.
For New England fans, we have experienced two constants: Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. And it does not appear that they will be going anywhere anytime soon, Brady just signed a very humble contract extension that will keep him in a Flying Elvis helmet until he's 40 years old- that's five more years for those who are counting. Besides these two stalwarts, the Patriots are a team of constant change.
This week, fans experienced a wrath of mixed emotions when we learned that Wes Welker, Brady's more consistent target, chose to leave for the Denver Broncos in free agency. Very quickly the blogosphere and twitter exploded in anger that the Kraft family couldn't muscle up a few more dollars to keep Welker. They are quick to forget the Patriots didn't just let Wes walk, they offered him a deal. Instead of taking the hometown discount like Brady, he simply chose to play for another deal for more money.
I'm not criticizing Welker, I love him and the way he plays. But before we jump to the blame game, we have to identify that is was his choice to leave. He gave New England fans the Johnny Damon treatment- leave your home team where you are loved and go play for a rival for more money. In the NFL today, I cannot blame a guy that gets the snot beat out of him every time he goes over the middle to go for the deal that offers the most coin. Welker only has so many seasons left in the tank, so if playing for Denver is what's best for him, God bless. Thanks for the memories.
A lot of fans were angry when Lawyer Milloy was let go. But a 17-1 run to another Super Bowl title helped us forget about him. But this is Belichick's style. The whole team is greater than the sum of its parts. When one star leaves, he can easily be replaced; welcome to New England Danny Amendola (a receiver, by the way, who has better stats pre-Patriots than Wes did with Miami). We cannot be sure how long this run will last. As long as this "Patriot Way" with Tom and Bill at the helm remain a constant, New England fans can remain hopeful for another Lombardi Trophy year in and year out.
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