In Response to Super Post

The nice thing about being a contributor here is that I get to reply with a full-on post... so I will!

I was the cohort that was at that game, and though I was also rooting for the Patriots, I can understand why others weren't. The key, ironically enough, is in this part of the Super Post:

With that stated, as far as NFL teams go I admit my leanings are toward the Patriots. Why, because they've been good for the past ten years? Quite the opposite, in fact. When I was a child I had the athletic ability of the average tarantula (those who have been in Gabbs, NV for the annual tarantula migration know what I'm talking about), and when we would pick team names, me being the one who could care less at the time, I would ask of the others: "Which team sucks the most?" Unanimously, they would blurt out: "Oh, the Patriots are terrible!" and so I always went with the Patriots as my one-on-one team name.

In short, the reason my cohort became a Patriots fan was because they were terrible. They were the ultimate underdog. I understand. That's how I became a Rams fan. I was originally raised in Torrance, a suburb of Los Angeles, and I had a choice - I could either become a Raiders fan like all of the "cool kids", or I could become a Rams fan. Since I wasn't cool, guess what I did? It's the same way I became a Clippers fan. It's also the same way I became an Angels fan.

It's also the same way a lot of people became New York Giants fans that night.

To be honest, the Patriots weren't particularly likable this year. If your team played them, they probably ran up the score against you. If your team was the Jets, they also cheated against you. Their coach, though brilliant, is socially callous and inherently unfriendly. Tom Brady is not only a brilliant and amazing quarterback - he's a brilliant and amazing quarterback that goes out with supermodels. Not "supermodel", mind you - we're talking plural supermodels. If you're a Raiders fan, you probably have some Randy Moss hate mail in your AutoText, ready to go out at a moment's notice. The list goes on like this. Meanwhile, you turn on the radio, or you turn on ESPN, and what do you see? Patriots, Patriots, Patriots... nothing but the Patriots. Show after show after talking head after vapid personality expounding on how brilliant they are, how historic they are, how they do all the right things (provided a camcorder isn't involved, of course), how they're all so humble and righteous and...

Ugh.

Americans love heroes. Americans also love underdogs. There's a reason for this - heroes and underdogs, at least in the American tradition, are humble people that get the job done. We can relate to that. We do that every day we go to work, take care of the kids, or clean our bathrooms. What Americans can't stand is ostentatious success. We simply don't handle having someone else's success thrown in our faces all that well. Do you know why the NBA's ratings continue to plummet? Because the entire league is full of "me first" guys who are the opposite of humble. The Patriots, well, sure, their players are humble... but the organization sure as hell isn't. Humble organizations don't point cameras at opposing coordinators after winning three Super Bowls. Humble organizations don't prepare elaborate post-Super Bowl parties to celebrate their undefeated season before it even happens. Humble organizations don't run up the score like some kind of college powerhouse each and every game.

I can understand why nobody likes the Patriots. It has nothing to do with the small lives of small-minded people or anything like that. It's just that the Patriots were ruthlessly efficient, brutal, and effective, and "ruthless" and "cuddly" rarely go well together.

I was still rooting for them anyways.