After BB and Tom ride off into the sunset...

Will you still watch the Patriots and the NFL?


  • Total voters
    135

Section15Box113

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Inside Lou Gorman's Head
Will you still watch the Patriots and the NFL?

There's a lot of discussion in the Punishment thread that some are ready to step away from the game when they do, whether due to Goodell's leadership, the handling of the concussion issue, or other reasons.

I can say right now, without equivocation, that I will still be here. I enjoy the game and am a Patriots fan, not just a Belichick/Brady fan. I was here for 2-12 in 1981-82. I was here for Rod Rust and Dick MacPherson. I'll be here for the next chapter as well.

What say you, SOSH?
 
 
 
Edit: added a poll.  If I've missed an option, PM me and I'll add it to the list.
 

Norm Siebern

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May 12, 2003
7,123
Western MD
Will I watch the Patriots? On free TV? Maybe, probably. Will I watch the NFL? Will I pay for it (NFL Package, anything beyond basic cable, even to watch the Patriots?) ? No. Not as long as Goodell is the commissioner.
 

TheoShmeo

Skrub's sympathy case
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Jul 19, 2005
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Yes.  For me, this is not even a question.  I root for the Laundry.
 
It's wicked pissah awesome that Kraft/Belichick/Brady have delivered a Dynasty, and I have never liked an organization top to bottom more than these Patriots, but I've been around since it was "Plunkett to Vataha" and I can't imagine leaving.
 

Ralphwiggum

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Jun 27, 2012
9,827
Needham, MA
Yes without question.  I love the Pats and I love NFL football.  There may reach a point where the concussion/player health issues finally start bothering me enough to stop watching, but I'm not close to that yet.
 
Goodell is a buffoon but he's not why I watch.
 

NortheasternPJ

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Nov 16, 2004
19,272
Absolutely yes.

I may drop my season tickets though but I've come close to that for a couple years based upon the hassle to get there, prices, the home experience is getting so much better and the constant prime time games. I haven't yet because of those two because I feel like I need to see this out.
 

MuppetAsteriskTalk

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Feb 19, 2015
5,398
Depends on what happens. If some of the worst case predictions happen then I might be done. As I mentioned in the other thread, I have no interest in watching the NFL turn into the WWF.
 

Norm Siebern

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May 12, 2003
7,123
Western MD
Life is fucking short. I've got better things to do than watch what will essentially be the WWE for even only three hours a week. And that is what this has become. When a player might be suspended for half a season because he "may have been generally aware" that he might have broken a rule, then this is the WWE.

I'll spend more time with my kids, I'll read a book, I'll clean the house. But I won't give even three hours of my time when the reward for that is that some imperious judge at a whim gets to wipe out any of my emotional investment. Why bother.

And for those who ask why invest my emotions, if I dont, why bother to watch in the first place?
 

Ed Hillel

Wants to be startin somethin
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Dec 12, 2007
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I love the on the field product, but hate pretty much everything else about what the league has become under Goodell, with the exception of the headshots. I will keep watching, but dance a jig when he's gone.
 

PBDWake

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May 1, 2008
3,686
Peabody, MA
I imagine that it'll depend on a lot of the success of the time. If Brady to Jimmy G (or whomever it is) is Montana to Young, even my disdain for Goodell is going to have a tough time keeping me away from the TV on Sunday. If we fall to the bottom of the ladder, that will probably make a decision to step away (although likely not entirely) a lot easier. Most likely, we're probably sliding into something in the middle, like the Cassel year, or the current Bengals (hopefully minus the woeful round 1 performances). I imagine I'll keep watching when I'm home for the games, especially as long as we have a guy like Gronk. But I won't be hosting any gameday parties, I won't be scheduling plans around games, and I won't devour coverage the way I do now.
 

Jungleland

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Aug 2, 2009
2,351
I can't even begin to imagine what it would take to get me to stop watching the NFL, and my favorite coach and player retiring wouldn't even come close to a blip on that radar. Honestly we're probably talking the league taking a callous response to an on-field death for me to rethink my fanhood.
 
I find the notion that its only redeeming value left is the BB/TB to be borderline laughable, but then again I often forget that there are plenty here who don't love football the most of the 4 US major sports + soccer.
 

SMU_Sox

queer eye for the next pats guy
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Jul 20, 2009
8,878
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Ed Hillel said:
I love the on the field product, but hate pretty much everything else about what the league has become under Goodell, with the exception of the headshots. I will keep watching, but dance a jig when he's gone.
My thoughts exactly.
I cancelled my sports package after the draft and have scaled down to basic cable. The Thursday games are usually awful anyway and I am ornery enough to not waste an extra $20 or whatever it was a month supporting the NFL Network or channels I don't even watch. Goodell needs to go and he needs to go at least a year ago.
The damage done to players through injuries (concussions and otherwise) makes me feel guilty but I'd be lying if I said it has made me watch less football on TV. I don't cheer for huge hits. But monetarily (aside from scaling down my tv bill) I'm still spending at the same level.
 

bernardsamuel

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Jan 4, 2006
195
Denver, only physically
I'll continue to root the team on when I'm in a nursing home and can't even remember Tom Brady.  ...because I still will remember how it was in the old days when the team sucked, and it was a matter of rooting for the team on a game-by-game basis, even if there were no hopes to make the playoffs.
 

dbn

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Feb 10, 2007
7,785
La Mancha.
As long as teams continue to honor our armed forces out of gratitude and partiotism, I will support the NFL.
 
Oh, wait.
 
I voted the first option. 
 

SeoulSoxFan

I Want to Hit the World with Rocket Punch
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Jun 27, 2006
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I actually love this fucking team even more. Somehow, the team with 4 SB wins and the best record over the last decade-plus has become the under dog.
 
M

MentalDisabldLst

Guest
I'm a bandwagon Patriots fan; if Kraft hadn't gone to my college and have a bunch of stuff named after him (including a center for student life at which I watched SB38 and 39), I probably wouldn't have really become a fan.  Baseball's the only sport of the major US pro sports that I really love.  Brady and Belichick have made watching the Pats enjoyable in the same way that Pierce, Garnett and Allen made watching the Celtics enjoyable.  But it just isn't worth my time to watch the C's anymore, and I'm sure the day will come, not long after the architects of our dynasty head off into the sunset, when I just realize sometime while watching football "hey wait, this whole thing is really annoying and obnoxious, there are lengthy commercial breaks all over the place and the end product just isn't interesting", and I'll go do something else with my time.
 
Perhaps the greatest thing about baseball is that there are so many beautiful things to follow about a given game even if the winner isn't in doubt.  Every at-bat is interesting, every rookie or prospect might have their potential be materializing before our eyes.  In the NFL the players arrive largely fully-formed, and those that manage to last more than a handful of years rarely get any better; we're mostly just watching the tactics and countermeasures of the various coaches, and how good players are at executing against those.  Watching Belichick and Brady is like watching vintage Pedro sometimes - they're so much better than everyone else at what they do that it can be hilarious to watch.  Something tells me that McDaniels and Garoppolo will probably not crackle with the same electricity.
 

Grimace-HS

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Jun 8, 2012
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Absolutely....I started really watching just before Irving Fryar got drafted and have been hooked ever since.  The teaser Super Bowl appearance in 1986 made me believe that reaching the Super Bowl was at least possible, and anything can happen in this sport (three straight underdog road playoff wins to get there); and this is in contrast to the NBA where only a handful of teams have a legitimate chance.  And when they dipped a bit in the late 1980s and early 1990s, I started to see the draft in a whole new light (and sadly at that time was the highlight of the season).  This BB/Brady era has been phenomenal and I don't ever expect it to be repeated, but I am sure I will keep watching.
 

joeflah

New Member
Feb 1, 2015
57
Started following Pats in their first season, listened to games on a 1930's radio with my great grandfather. As far as TV went, the Giants were the home team in Boston. Over the last 5 years I haven't watched any NFL games that the Pats aren't playing in, including Super Bowls. That will continue until the day I die. Waaaaaaaayyyyy to many assholes in league leadership, team ownership, coaching and on/off the field.
 

twibnotes

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Jul 16, 2005
20,232
I will watch the Pats post Brady and Belichick but not as religiously.

If it matters, I will not watch the games for which Brady is suspended. I hope a lot of Pats fans align on that - have to hit the shield in the pocket book.
 

grsharky7

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Jul 15, 2005
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I'll still be watching, however the way the NFL is going I may not be watching 20 years from now. To many rule changes, the concussion issue, and WWF style antics will eventually catch up to them and the product will suffer.
 

ivanvamp

captain obvious
Jul 18, 2005
6,104
RedOctober3829 said:
Will always watch the Patriots.  This bullshit will not stop me one iota from enjoying them.
 
Bingo.
 
I've been a Pats' fan since the mid-late 70s.  Not gonna change.  Not gonna stop watching.  
 

Yaz4Ever

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Used to go to Bryant to watch them in training camp as a kid. No reason to stop watching them when this era comes to a close.
 

bankshot1

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Feb 12, 2003
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where I was last at
I can honestly say I've been a Pats fan since day 1.
 
Nothing the NFL does to them will change my fandom.
 
When BB and Brady hang them up, I'll hope the next iteration is successful and entertaining.
 
Fuck Goodell
 

JimBoSox9

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Nov 1, 2005
16,667
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I don't see myself not following the Pats, but it feels like it'll be pretty easy to check out on the rest of the League
 

GeorgeCostanza

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May 16, 2009
7,286
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I'm probably done. Mostly because of the violence but clown shoes commish sure doesn't help. Someone is going to eventually die on TV playing this game and I don't want to see it. I cringe, get all emotional, and just feel wrong watching when there is even a big hit.
 

Al Zarilla

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Dec 8, 2005
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Bob Montgomery's Helmet Hat said:
No question about it.  Sunday has always been about NFL games.
Same. When I was in college, long before B & B arrived in NE, on Sundays I'd have plenty of homework and/or labs to finish up, but at the same time I'd manage to still get in watching most of three games. I'll still watch. Also, football is especially easy to DVR and step through nowadays because the time between plays is so consistent. Just use the forward click 25 second button.
 

Tito's Pullover

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MuppetAsteriskTalk said:
Depends on what happens. If some of the worst case predictions happen then I might be done. As I mentioned in the other thread, I have no interest in watching the NFL turn into the WWF.
  
Norm Siebern said:
When a player might be suspended for half a season because he "may have been generally aware" that he might have broken a rule, then this is the WWE.
  
grsharky7 said:
I'll still be watching, however the way the NFL is going I may not be watching 20 years from now. To many rule changes, the concussion issue, and WWF style antics will eventually catch up to them and the product will suffer.
The WWE comparison is interesting, but if someone was scripting the NFL (or "booking" it to us a pro wrestling term) they would be canned for this latest nonsense storyline. In a league full of murderers, rapists, wife beaters and child abusers, rampant with drug use and homophobia, we're supposed to buy that the biggest "heel" is the guy who played with slightly softer balls - which is something the aforementioned nefarious characters also did and everybody knows it.

The WWE analogy would be a guy who we're supposed to boo because a few years ago his manager filmed his matches from ringside, in defiance of Mr. McMahon's memo ordering managers could only tape matches from the entrance ramp. And now, we're supposed to froth at the mouth because he squashed his opponent in a #1 contender's match with his boots tied slightly too tight, even though he went on to win the belt two weeks later in a epic match where Earl Hebner was in charge of overseeing boot tightness.

A more apt comparison would be a terrible television show that used to be good, but you just know is going to have an unsatisfying finish. I would say that the NFL is Dexter, and Super Bowl XLIX is the amazing season four finale where I should have stopped watching. I have no interest in watching the NFL and the media inexplicably turn Brady into a lumberjack.
 

Korady

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Aug 23, 2014
8
I'll keep watching, but I don't get to see too many games living on the west coast anyways since I don't get Sunday Ticket. If they had something like Ballstreams I'd pay to watch all the Pats games thougj.
 

Dahabenzapple2

Mr. McGuire / Axl's Counter
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Jun 20, 2011
8,926
Wayne, NJ
I've been a Pats fan since I can remember. Since "Nance, Garrett, Long Bomb"

I remember being 9-10 when Joe Kapp was the hope.

I have no way not to be a Pats fan.

All the supposed football non-Patriots fans in the NY area can go scratch.

Every time I hear some BS - I repeat 4 time Super Bowl champion going for number 5.

I will watch to the end as I have no choice. I was at a training camp once in probably 1968 with my Dad so there is no way to break that chain.
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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Jul 2, 2006
22,345
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I can't imagine stepping away from the game because the QB and coach move on, which is something that happens all the time for most sports teams.  I can see myself paying less attention over time due to (a) growing family/work/time obligations and only having so much bandwidth to spend on sports fandom and (b) moral qualms related to the concussion issue, which is something that gnaws at me and that I haven't really resolved yet in my mind.  Nothing related to Goodell's action or to the retirements of Brady or BB is likely to factor much into the equation.
 

dcmissle

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I don't know how watching both successions -- from BB to whoever and TB to whoever -- would not be compelling. I don't think they will happen at exactly the same time. But if they do, that would be doubly compelling.

Actually, there are three successions, and the one from Bob to Jonathan is probably the most important.
 

RFDA2000

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Nov 16, 2005
367
I voted not as much, but that's basically because I'm in the "has toddler" point in my life (with presumably more to come) where I'm not really going to make time for things I'm not 100% excited about.  I'm not sure how that will develop over the years, but for now, if the Pats aren't contenders and I have four hours free, I'm golfing.
 

ALiveH

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Apr 23, 2010
1,104
I'll still watch but only while doing the bare minimum to benefit the NFL bottom line.  That means no NFL Sunday Ticket, no NFL branded merchandise and not going to any NFL games.  I've already decided to do all of the above going forward.
 

Papelbon's Poutine

Homeland Security
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Dec 4, 2005
19,615
Portsmouth, NH
twibnotes said:
I will watch the Pats post Brady and Belichick but not as religiously.

If it matters, I will not watch the games for which Brady is suspended. I hope a lot of Pats fans align on that - have to hit the shield in the pocket book.
The NFL has already sold TV rights until 2022. If literally not a single person watched, it would cost the NFL exactly zero cents.

You're attempt to hit the NFL in the pocket book will be about as effective as Slappy McBluelips' efforts in 2004.
 

NortheasternPJ

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Nov 16, 2004
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Papelbon's Poutine said:
The NFL has already sold TV rights until 2022. If literally not a single person watched, it would cost the NFL exactly zero cents.

You're attempt to hit the NFL in the pocket book will be about as effective as Slappy McBluelips' efforts in 2004.
This. Plus if Jimmy g does start a few games those are going to be must watch in the context of this thread.
 

Norm Siebern

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May 12, 2003
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Papelbon's Poutine said:
The NFL has already sold TV rights until 2022. If literally not a single person watched, it would cost the NFL exactly zero cents.

You're attempt to hit the NFL in the pocket book will be about as effective as Slappy McBluelips' efforts in 2004.
 
This is true. But if ratings slip and profits from merchandise dip, Goodell is one step closer to being fired. And the next time satelite TV has to pay for the rights, perhaps they look at how the NFL has somehow fucked the golden goose and they pay less and less.
 
I have been a sports fan, and in this specific case a Patriots' fan my whole life, and I invest my emotions into the on the field competition. But when that on the field competition no longer matters, when decisions are made in a boardroom by lawyers because some team got butt hurt due to getting crushed and whined its way to making the on field conclusion moot, then it no longer is entertaining for me. 
 

loshjott

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Dec 30, 2004
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I voted that I'd watch less once BB and TB retire, due to their departures and the violence of the game.
 
But I know that's bullcrap and I'm an addict and will likely keep watching.
 

soxhop411

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Dec 4, 2009
46,277
If this 8 game suspension thing is true I'm done until Goodell is fired
 

ragnarok725

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Nov 28, 2003
6,364
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A first round pick and four games... 
 
I honestly would have laughed at this thread all the way up until this thing broke. I might actually be done with the NFL. It's enough for me to question how much I care about sports in general, really. It's me to wrap my mind around what has actually happened here. Is this real life? It genuinely feels like Vince McMahon stuff. Why do we even invest the emotion?
 

Stitch01

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Jul 15, 2005
18,155
Boston
Yeah I cant buy Sunday Ticket this year and probably cant do Red Zone.  Not that it will matter dick all, but just feel terrible giving money to this league right now.  Probably bad that this is the tipping point rather than the domestic violence/player conduct stuff, but is what it is.
 

Obstructed View

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Feb 13, 2006
324
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I've been a Pats fan (in Canada) since 1977, when I turned 4. Have watched, listened, streamed, done whatever I could to get all the games. I chose a school on the East Coast to go to law school because I saw they carried the Pats on local TV. Die hard. I'll say this: loyalty matters. If Kraft doesn't go public in loudly denouncing the league and/or league officials for this travesty, I'm done until Goodell is gone or Kraft sells the team. Never watched the WWF, not going to start now.
 

Moonlight Graham

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Jul 31, 2005
62
I don't know what I'll do when they leave, but I know what I'm doing now. I just resigned from my fantasy football leagues. I'll watch the Pats, but I'm done with the rest of the league until Roger's gone. No fantasy football will make it a lot easier to avoid watching this league's product.
 

Ferm Sheller

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Mar 5, 2007
20,404
If Brady sits out 4 games next year (and, honestly, even if it turns out that he doesn't have to) and he goes on to lead them to victory in SB 50, I'll have no reason to watch another NFL game again.  You couldn't top that and every other subsequent NFL game/season would pale in comparison. 
 
 
EDIT: I'm not saying I won't watch, I'm just saying the NFL (and maybe all sports) would never be the same to me if Brady leads the Pats to a win in SB 50.
 

Stitch01

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Jul 15, 2005
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Boston
I certainly will shed fewer tears when the NFL is a relic of the past in a generation or so and when the full year work stoppage comes when the CBA comes up with a memory of BB, Kraft, and Brady telling Rog to eat shit on the podium after a repeat.