If you are familiar with Boston sports, you’ll understand that the fanbases revolve around the terms “underdog” and “gritty” often times. While some of these terms may apply to teams of the past, with the success that each of the four major sports franchises have had in the past two decades (11 championships total), that ideal of “grittiness” becomes moot.
The latest Boston-area team to adopt the underdog persona in the past few weeks are the New England Patriots. After their 41-28 victory against the Los Angeles Chargers in the AFC Divisional Round, quarterback Tom Brady sounded off about how outsiders didn’t believe in them.
“It’ll be a good game, they’re a good team,” Brady told said during CBS Sports’ postgame coverage. “We played them earlier this year and I know everyone thinks we suck and you know, can’t win any games. So we’ll see. It’ll be fun.”
Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski also played into the “no one believed in us trope” after the game.
“We’ve been hearing things like that forever now, for a few years,” Rob Gronkowski said postgame. “We just laugh at it, whatever, whatever they say and we just keep moving forward.”
Coming into the game, the Patriots went 11-5 and won their division. They also had the second-best record in the AFC and while their aforementioned record may not be “pristine” by Patriots standards, they still held a first-round bye. Yet, New England still somehow had a chip on their respective shoulders.
Soon after their victory, New England wide receiver Julian Edelman took to Twitter. He capitalized off of Brady and Gronkowski’s comments to push sales for a shirt that said “bet against us”. The shirt is heather grey with a solid blue Patriots logo that also has that phrase in red.
#BetAgainstUshttps://t.co/YRgqKrweob pic.twitter.com/hFU0bZaMVI
— Julian Edelman (@Edelman11) January 16, 2019
The Patriots would then go into Kansas City and knock off the AFC-leading Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game, 37-31. Brady — who was seemingly aided by a questionable roughing the passer call — made his testimony to the “non-believers” out there in a postgame interview.
“The odds were stacked against us,’’ said Brady. “It hasn’t been that way for us for a while. It certainly was this year. We fought through adversity all year.’’
Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback and current NFL on CBS color commentator Tony Romo chimed in on the Patriots usage of the term “underdog” in regards to themselves.
“I don’t know that this would work for a lot of teams,’’ said Romo. “But for the Patriots, it’s been a rallying cry. They are a team that’s been there, done that so many times that, in some way, it’s silly to think they ever should be an underdog.
“But the more success you have, that’s why it’s so hard for teams that lose in Super Bowls, or even teams that win it, to get back. Because it’s hard to regain that same exact focus. The Patriots do it better than anybody. For them to feel slighted, it only helps them maintain that focus.’’
Things only seemed to be exacerbated when Brady chanted “we’re still here” before the team was sent off to play against the Los Angeles Rams in the Super Bowl. The 41-year old quarterback finished his chant with a mic drop that was heard around the sports world.
Brady has won five Super Bowls and some may argue that this is just a self-motivation tactic. While this may be the case, it goes to prove Boston’s “chippiness” is just a facade. This is a city that is home to four championship teams in the past 20 years. The New England area is among the richest in the nation and home to some of the best and brightest universities.
*Yes, I read that link to the article and saw that Maryland is number one on “richest states in the country”, but I’m not from Montgomery County or Prince George’s County. Let me get my jokes off.*
My point is, Boston as a city playing into this underdog role just doesn’t make sense. The last team that should be doing it are the Patriots, as they have a chance to tie the Pittsburgh Steelers with six Super B0wl victories — in much less time. That Rams team that they have to face off against — they are just 2 1/2-point favorites in the championship.
The team should embrace their role as the hated villain — an organization with a storied franchise that acts like they’ve been there and done that before. They had no problems in the past with taking a businesslike approach. So, what’s the difference now? You all don’t suck. People do believe in you. Many are actually betting for you. Give up the charade and just play football on Sunday.
Follow Kyle on Twitter @KyleJAndrews_
(Photo Credit: Getty Images North America)
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