Add Category
Updated
It takes a lot to make the Philadelphia Eagles sentimental favourites.
Eagles fans are notorious throughout sport for being so ornery that they notoriously once booed Santa Claus.
And yet, the broad consensus among neutral fans is that they'd rather see celebrations in the City of Brotherly Love than another ticker tape parade in Boston.
So why all the hate for the Patriots?
Here are a few good reasons:
They win too much
The Patriots are playing for a record-equalling sixth NFL championship today, having raised the Vince Lombardi Trophy in 2002, '04, '05, '15 and '17.
They also lost Super Bowls in '86, '97, '08 and '12.
You don't have that much success without stepping on the toes of a lot of fans.
Sure the Pittsburgh Steelers have won the big show six times already, but four of those wins came before 1981 and have largely faded from the collective memory of NFL fans.
That leaves the Patriots to wear the bullseye all by themselves.
Tom Brady
The Patriots' golden run began soon after the California native took over as starting quarterback in 2001, making him the face of the evil empire.
It doesn't help that it's such a damn good-looking face. Or that it's a face in its 41st year and still shows no signs of ageing. Or that it's photographed so frequently with his wife, Brazilian supermodel Giselle Bundchen.
Also fuelling the jealousy-hate is the fact he's in the middle of a $55 million contract while most players his vintage are busy putting on post-retirement kilograms.
There's also the smugness, notably but not exclusively on display in the series of cartoons he posts demeaning opposition teams after each victory.
Trump aligned
Brady, head coach Bill Belichick and owner Robert Kraft all have links to Donald Trump.
Until a couple of years ago, the relationships between a rich guy and a bunch of sports identities didn't raise many eyebrows.
And then Mr Trump ran for president. And won.
During his campaign, Mr Trump announced he had the support of Belichick and Brady, rankling many in a sport with a large base of African-American players and fans.
The Patriots were also the first championship team to visit the Trump White House, an honour that has been declined by other teams making a statement against the President's controversial policies.
After the visit, Kraft gave his commemorative Super Bowl ring to his old friend Mr Trump.
They cheat
When Brady was suspended for the first four games of the 2016 season over the "deflategate" saga, many fans felt it was a punishment well overdue for the team.
The NFL ruled the Patriots had illegally underinflated the balls Brady used in a 2015 playoff game, making them easier to throw and catch. (Each team uses its own set of balls in an NFL game.)
The incident capped years of allegations against New England that led to fines for sneaking into and filming a rival team's training sessions.
They have also been accused of illegally filming opposition teams' coded signals in order to predict what plays were coming next.
Grumpy Belichick
So much success. So little joy.
Along with Brady, the Patriots' ornery head coach has been the other key ingredient of New England's success, and has shouldered his share of the derision that has gone with it.
The dark art of the Patriots' intelligence-gathering on other teams is widely considered to have been masterminded by Belichick, and he does little to shrug his villainous persona.
He's rarely seen without his trademark torn hoodie, and his seemingly permanent scowl only melts every year or two when he collects another trophy on Super Bowl day.
Topics: american-football, sport, united-states
First posted