Robert_Downey_Jr. said:
You can read all you want and hide behind legal rulings. I operate on likelihood. Call me crazy but I don't hold the same legal process for murderers as I do for cheating in football. If it looks like a cheater, acts like a cheater, and has multiple instances where it's pretty clear it cheated, not being proven beyond a shred of a doubt factors little into my thoughts. I'm not trying to get Tom Brady sent to jail. I'm simply pointing out the ruinous effect these controversies have had on his and his team's reputation. These things don't come out of nowhere and this isn't a "they're just good so people hate" scenario. If that were the case I would hate the Spurs or the Giants (baseball) or the Blackhawks. I don't. I also don't hate the 80s 9rs, 70s Steelers, or 60s Packers all of whom won as many or more championships. There's a reason the Patriots are singled out and it ain't all made up. There's also a reason a New England fan's usual reaction (not yours but many) is either "salty" or "let's move on" or "jealous." It's because deep down they know they're guilty and that these things don't mean a whole lot when every time you win it's surrounded by controvercy. Sorry to you Boston fans that the team's reputation is ruined and their rings tarnished. I do like the Red Sox though so further proof I'm not biased against Boston or winning teams. |
Without wishing to delve too far into this, part of where I think much of the annoyance on the side of Patriots fans comes from is the fact that some people, as soon as the Patriots get accused of anything suspicious, immediately believe in it whole heartedly, and then continue to support these claims despite them being refuted long ago. A couple examples of this would be the taping walkthroughs report that was redacted by the Boston Herald in 2007, and the 11 out of 12 balls being 2 PSI under the limit by ESPN this year that was later proven false. I've heard these claims repeatedly brought back out, and people tend to get frustrated when the same false assertions continue to pervade every discussion about New England. Since this is the internet, people tend to handle things in the worst way possible, which means the general response to a bland, simplistic "you guys cheated" winds up being "you're just salty."
I will say, though, the Patriots were hated long before Spygate. I remember walking into a new school on my first day in 2005 with a Patriots' hat on, and the first thing just about everyone said to me was "I hate your team" or some variation thereof. Hating teams usually does have quite a bit to do with winning, and I'd argue that's at least partially the case as to why everyone's so quick to believe anything bad that's reported on them. Teams like the Spurs tend to get hated less because, while they've been dominant, there's been an equally dominant team that's far more hate-able through most of their dynasty, whether that be the Lakers of the early 2000s or the Heat between 2010 and 2014.
TL;DR: Much of the reason why people respond with salty is they're tired of hearing same old disproven arguments which sadly tend to exist in society, and respond in the least mature way possible due to the wonderfulness of the internet.
