That was then: Celebrating what was

Al Zarilla

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Dec 8, 2005
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So, Brady (or BB) don't bring their other four rings because Kraft has some "spares" from each year in his house, right? Here Tom, put the new one on and these other four so we get pictures to put on the internet and piss off everyone outside of New England. I love it.
 

H78

Fists of Millennial Fury!
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Jul 22, 2009
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I love all of this...but I have to admit that the 283 diamonds thing is a bit trite and distasteful. Kind of wish they didn't intentionally do that. The Falcons aren't a team full of shitty players and coaches, I feel like they deserve a little more respect than that. Everyone knows and will always remember how that game went down.

Twitter trolling by the Bucs was funny, but the Pats with their rings? Come on...
 

H78

Fists of Millennial Fury!
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Jul 22, 2009
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But in other news, yeah, that BB pic is total boss. Love it. That pic will live on forever.
 

kenneycb

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When you're the team that came back 25 points, it's not trolling. I'm sure you can make a nice narrative about how 28-3 reminds players they should never give up, do their job, blah, blah, blah.
 

ragnarok725

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I love all of this...but I have to admit that the 283 diamonds thing is a bit trite and distasteful. Kind of wish they didn't intentionally do that. The Falcons aren't a team full of shitty players and coaches, I feel like they deserve a little more respect than that. Everyone knows and will always remember how that game went down.

Twitter trolling by the Bucs was funny, but the Pats with their rings? Come on...
As much as 28-3 sucks for Falcons fans, the Pats' rings are about their accomplishments, not the other teams' failures. To this team, "28-3" is about the odds they overcame, the way they never gave up, and the historic accomplishment that the comeback was. It's probably fun for fans to use it as eye-poking, but I doubt that's how it's intended from Kraft's perspective. They're commemorating a historic game that, unfortunately, some other team was on the wrong side of.
 
As much as 28-3 sucks for Falcons fans, the Pats' rings are about their accomplishments, not the other teams' failures. To this team, "28-3" is about the odds they overcame, the way they never gave up, and the historic accomplishment that the comeback was. It's probably fun for fans to use it as eye-poking, but I doubt that's how it's intended from Kraft's perspective. They're commemorating a historic game that, unfortunately, some other team was on the wrong side of.
Florio agrees with you.

It’s obviously no coincidence. And it’s also not really a slap at the Falcons; they know very well they blew a 28-3 lead. But the Patriots came back from that deficit, so 28-3 is more of a rallying cry for them than a shot fired at the Falcons.
 

E5 Yaz

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I love all of this...but I have to admit that the 283 diamonds thing is a bit trite and distasteful.
Have you learned nothing about Robert Kraft in all these years? The man loves to bask in the glory of the moment. I love the symbolism of the 283 diamonds; it's the Kraftian quote "Unequivocally the Sweetest" that's on the ring that trite.
 

dcmissle

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Don't much care at this point whether it's "classy" or not.

Somebody posted the schadenfruede tweets from the ATL during the first 3 quarters of the game. Never had anything against the team, owner or players -- in fact, I like them apart from Blank sticking up for Goodell during DFG. When I saw those tweets -- fuck them; I was in a mood to disinter Sherman to march again to the sea. Yes, I know -- I would not want to be saddled with Boston mediots -- it's unfair. But I no longer care about anyone else's feelings.
 

Papelbon's Poutine

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Dec 4, 2005
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Snoop has always been 'Pats friendly' so to speak. He had big ties to Willie McGinest from when Willie was at USC. If you google hard enough you can find pics of him wearing a Brady jersey and the Bledsoe era jersey (McGinest edition). There's also a story about McGinest asking BB if he could come down to the field during practice and BB not only allowed it, he asked for an autograph for his daughter. (Sorry, I'm on mobile or would link pics).
 

singaporesoxfan

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Snoop has always been 'Pats friendly' so to speak. He had big ties to Willie McGinest from when Willie was at USC. If you google hard enough you can find pics of him wearing a Brady jersey and the Bledsoe era jersey (McGinest edition). There's also a story about McGinest asking BB if he could come down to the field during practice and BB not only allowed it, he asked for an autograph for his daughter. (Sorry, I'm on mobile or would link pics).
It's stories like this that make me certain that BB is only goofing when he talks about Instaface and stuff like that. He knows mainstream pop culture.
 

Papelbon's Poutine

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Sorry, it was even better than I remembered :

FOXBORO, Mass. — It ain’t always easy being B-I-double-L, but New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick dropped it like it’s hot during Wednesday’s Patriots Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

During his speech, the 63-year-old applauded inductee Willie McGinest for his superior leadership qualities and stunning athleticism. Belichick also reminisced about the time McGinest helped his daughter Amanda meet rapper Snoop Dogg before Super Bowl XXXVIII in Houston.

No, that’s not a typo. Bill Belichick indeed once hung out with the legendary Snoop Doggy Dogg.

“The day before the game we go out and take pictures for all the families,” Belichick said. “Willie said to me before, ‘Hey, you know my boy’s here. Would it be OK if Snoop came down on the field?'”

The Patriots coach, in true OG fashion, accepted McGinest’s request.

“It was an awesome moment to go through the day and take pictures and all that,” Belichick said. “And when we come to the end, my daughter Amanda comes over to me and she is pleading with me with those big girl eyes, ‘Dad, dad, can we get a picture with Snoop?’

“So I said let me talk to Willie and see if we can swing it. So there it is, myself, my daughter, Willie and Snoop in his full length, red — the color of Willie’s Hall of Fame jacket — fur coat.”

The Patriots coach probably didn’t get his style from the famed rapper — sleeveless hoodies are more Belichick’s speed — but we do know one thing for sure: Someone definitely needs to find that picture.

http://nesn.com/2015/08/bill-belichick-told-incredible-snoop-dogg-story-during-willie-mcginest-induction/


They also went to high school together. http://www.espn.com/espn/page2/story?sportCat=nfl&page=lane/110518_long_beach_poly
 
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DavidTai

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Dec 18, 2003
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I think a large chunk of the reason Snoop Doggy Dogg is even friendly towards the Patriots is because his cousin resides in Massachusetts and is a big Patriots fan, having spent her time training in the Massachusetts area.

She's probably better known these days as Sasha Banks from the WWE.



WWE's Kofi Kingston is also a Patriots fan, having grown up in Boston.

http://www.patriots.com/news/2016/08/02/wwes-kofi-kingston-always-finds-time-patriots

 

NortheasternPJ

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Nov 16, 2004
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Wasn't sure where to put this but thank god Mike McCarthy isn't the Patriots coach.

No need for the vets to show up at a mandatory minicamp!

I much prefer No Days Off land.

 

GregHarris

beware my sexy helmet/overall ensemble
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Jun 5, 2008
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283 diamonds isn't so bad knowing the 181 diamonds the Giants got. Too soon?
 

InstaFace

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Sep 27, 2016
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283 diamonds isn't so bad knowing the 181 diamonds the Giants got. Too soon?
I thought you were serious and went and looked it up. Some of their rings were sold by their owners shortly after the game, but not even the listing (nor this other listing) said how many diamonds were there. Nor does a ring collector. It does, however, say "eleven straight on the road", presumably to tweak Packers and Cowboys fans.

I did find this GIA article that has some fun anecdotes, including:

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Oakland Raiders were such bitter rivals in the 1970s that the competition extended to their rings. The Raiders Super Bowl XI ring had 27 diamonds; the Steelers one-upped them by putting 30 diamonds in their Super Bowl XIII rings. The Raiders retaliated by putting 33 diamonds in their Super Bowl XV rings.
(...)
The average male professional sports player’s ring size is 12 or 13. For comparison, the average male non-professional athlete’s ring size is 10½. The largest size Super Bowl Ring ever produced was size 25 for William “Refrigerator” Perry, who played for the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XX. To put it in perspective, a half-dollar coin (30.61mm dia.) could pass through Perry’s ring.
 

GregHarris

beware my sexy helmet/overall ensemble
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Jun 5, 2008
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I read it on Reddit and then saw a post on it on Pats-Fans, so it's probably garbage - but honestly it sounds like something that team would do.
 

Super Nomario

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Wasn't sure where to put this but thank god Mike McCarthy isn't the Patriots coach.

No need for the vets to show up at a mandatory minicamp!

I much prefer No Days Off land.
In McCarthy's defense, there are practical reasons to do this. Veterans who already know the system take snaps at the expense of youngsters who don't.
 

BrazilianSoxFan

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Apr 11, 2006
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I think a large chunk of the reason Snoop Doggy Dogg is even friendly towards the Patriots is because his cousin resides in Massachusetts and is a big Patriots fan, having spent her time training in the Massachusetts area.

She's probably better known these days as Sasha Banks from the WWE.



WWE's Kofi Kingston is also a Patriots fan, having grown up in Boston.

http://www.patriots.com/news/2016/08/02/wwes-kofi-kingston-always-finds-time-patriots

Xavier Woods paying the bet is amazing.

 

NortheasternPJ

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Nov 16, 2004
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ESPN, continuing their trolling of the NFL universe, ranks the offseasons of all the salary-cap-era super bowl champs. There's not much rhyme or reason to how the rankings went, but the narratives are fun. Spoiler alert: they liked the current Pats' offseason.
It's amazing the Patriots didn't fall off a cliff after 2004. I know 2005 wasn't the greatest (only a Division Title and a playoff win) but they were back the AFCC in 2006, then 2007 obviously:

Offensive coordinator Charlie Weis left to become coach at Notre Dame. Defensive coordinator Romeo Crennell left to become coach of the Cleveland Browns. For cap reasons, the Patriots released cornerback Ty Law, who would end up with 10 interceptions for the division-rival Jets in 2005. And in February, star linebacker Tedy Bruschi suffered a stroke and missed seven games in the 2005 season while recovering. The Patriots went 10-6 and repeated as AFC East champs. But after beating the Jaguars in the first round, they lost to the Broncos in the second, ending their shot at a three-peat.
 

djbayko

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Jul 18, 2005
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ESPN, continuing their trolling of the NFL universe, ranks the offseasons of all the salary-cap-era super bowl champs. There's not much rhyme or reason to how the rankings went, but the narratives are fun. Spoiler alert: they liked the current Pats' offseason.
How is 2007 not on the list. I get that it's already loaded with Pats offseasons. I'm not really complaining because it's just a fun ESPN. The draft wasn't great, but who cares? I just can't imagine how the year they added Welker and Moss and resigned most of their free agents, launching the team into the stratosphere talent-wise, doesn't make it.
 

BigSoxFan

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How is 2007 not on the list. I get that it's already loaded with Pats offseasons. I'm not really complaining because it's just a fun ESPN. The draft wasn't great, but who cares? I just can't imagine how the year they added Welker and Moss and resigned most of their free agents, launching the team into the stratosphere talent-wise, doesn't make it.
It's a ranking of offseasons of Super Bowl champs. You can thank Reche Caldwell for this omission.
 

Hoya81

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Feb 3, 2010
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2006 bugs me the most.
2010 for me. Maybe Brady's best non-2007 season, great balance on both sides of the ball. Not a sure thing by any means(one of the better Pit teams in the AFCCG), but Brady vs Rodgers in Dallas would have been a hell of a game.