I received an email from friend and fellow Steelers blogging compatriot Cotter from One For The Other Thumb. He talked about Patriots fans, and their need to gloat. Adding to the gloating, the Patriots fans continually make excuses for Spygate and Rodney Harrison's HGH use.
What the f**k is wrong with these assholes? I don't understand. Their team got caught videotaping other team's signals on the sidelines. But what, we made this up? That's not cheating? God damn frustrating man. Have you seen this exchange? -http://www.blitzburghreport.com/did-you-hear-that-anthony-smith-guaranteed-a-steelers-victory/
It's like they were waiting for us to lose so they could talk shit.
I don't get it.
After the Patriots won, Patriots fans bragged all over several Steelers blogs, including this one. I have links to several of the blogs further down in this post so you can check 'em out for yourselves.
Here's my thoughts:
The frustrating thing about Patriots fans (I refuse to use the nickname for the team, it only empowers Patriots fans) is that their recent string of success has completely blinded them. After the Celtics boom, there was little to celebrate in Boston. The Red Sox sucked, the Patriots sucked, the Bruins sucked.
Now, the Patriots success coupled with multiple Red Sox titles has overloaded the Boston ego, and they feel untouchable. Back in college, I had a real good buddy (two of 'em, actually) from Boston. They were typical Sox and Patriots fans. Evan and Bart were their names. They came from upper-class families, played lacrosse, wore pastel Polo shirts, talked traditional Masshole talk...the whole deal. Even after a hard night of partying, RAs would come to my room to separate myself and Evan for getting into Patriots/Steelers arguments. I loved the dude like a brother, but we always stressed our team's importance.
Despite all the concrete evidence I could give, Ev's argument would come down to, "3 Super Bowls...Tom Brady...Belichick...the Sox." I don't know why the Sox were thrown in there, but their success helped justify the Patriots' greatness. Now, the Sox only had one recent World Series title at the time, but that was a bragging point.
I'd counter with, "5 Super Bowls...Noll...Cowher...the laundry list of HOFers...the name Rooney...etc." Every bragging point Evan had, I'd counter with something better on our side. Hell, we were even at St. Vincent College, the Steelers' training camp, next to a dorm called Rooney Hall.
However, since the Patriots had 3 Super Bowls in the past decade, their organization was far superior. It reminds me of when me and you verbally jousted with Browns fans several weeks back. They continually used data from 60+ years ago to justify that Cleveland was superior to the Steelers. Likewise, Patriots fans use much more recent data, blindly omitting the fact that their team was an NFL afterthought prior to the 21st Century.
Which brings me to the cheating, Rodney Harrison and the idiot anonymous commenters on sites like Curtain, Doubt About It and here at PSaMP. Its like New England got a collective hardon when Anthony Smith guaranteed a win. When the Patriots won, their ego overflowed. Instead of high-fiving other Patriots fans, they felt the need to brag all over Steelers blogs. Now, I don't know about you, but even though I spent the week prior to the (second) Browns game on a Browns site defending the Steelers (here and here), I didn't go back once to gloat after we won. Gloating would've been classless. Browns fans repeatedly called us classless, as did the Patriots fans. But the Patriots fans decided to gloat. I'm dumbfounded how that math worked out.
Now, Patriots fans feel the need to stroke their ego so much, that this win over the Steelers now wiped the slate clean for all the wrongdoings from earlier in the season. Since Anthony Smith opened his mouth...and New England won...the Patriots are absolved of Spygate, or Rodney Harrison's HGH use. I asked a Patriots fan, "Would you be so smug if the Jets were caught videotaping the Patriots...then won the game?" No answer. And when I created a list of athletes/teams forfeiting games due to cheating/rules violations, the list wasn't good enough. I cited Olympic athletes and Tour de France riders stripped of championships for doping, the Black Sox, Michigan's Fab 5 having to remove their Final 4 banner for rules violations and Oklahoma football forfeiting the entire 2005 season's wins because of rules violations by the athletes and their coaches. The response...only the Black Sox were a pro team...and they willingly gave up their championship. Now, I guess cheating is different in the pros than it is in college, or in the Olympics, or the Tour de France. Cheating in the pros only gets you a draft pick docked, evidence immediately destroyed and your coach fined. And the pros are supposed to be the role models.
The Patriots knowingly cheated with the videotaping. Rodney Harrison doped, something that would've gotten him banned for life in the Olympics or Tour. Sam, from DAI said it best:
'...from the NFL rulebook:
"No video recording devices of any kind are permitted to be in use in the coaches' booth, on the field, or in the locker room during the game." They also say all video for coaching purposes must be shot from locations "enclosed on all sides with a roof overhead." How is that hard to interpret? I've never seen an entire fanbase so quick to defend something so indefensible.'
Now, he was talking about Spygate, but the last part covers Harrison, too. If the Steelers were caught cheating, or some player on the team was busted for a banned substance, I'd be the first person to chastise that team/player. New England fans would rather make excuses than explanations.
And its not just the fans. "Well done is better than well said." That Tom Brady quote was forced down our throats by the CBS crew calling the game, since Anthony Smith made that blatant guarantee. However, Tom Brady did not once come out and criticize Harrison for being fined $5k for taunting Brian Billick the week before. I guess a win erases wrongdoings...on several levels.
We've accepted the loss. There was no shifting blame. Anthony Smith made a mistake. The Patriots won. Now, Patriots fans have another rung on the ladder to run away from Spygate and Harrison's doping...at least in their minds. I don't know if they'll ever see the light.
All I know is that I'll be here to put them in their place.
