While Patriots Nation revels in yet another Super Bowl appearance (ho-hum), at the risk of sounding like my grandparents, let me tell you about MY Patriots childhood.
They were a team that rarely won games, forget championships. The stadium was short on comfort with metal benches acting as the "premium" seats. Owner Victor Kiam threatened to move the team to St. Louis. And under his stewardship, a culture of sexual harassment permeated the locker room (google Lisa Olsen).
Even when the Patriots made their first run at a championship in 1986, Tony Eason became the first quarterback to start a Super Bowl and not complete a single pass.
We were the fans who showed up with brown bags on our heads because of the travesty that was the New England Patriots. So while many people in the wider football world are sick of the Pats winning all of the time, we old timers never get sick of it.
After suffering the bitter taste of defeat for decades, being on the other side is so very, very sweet.
Lee Goldberg