How many regular season games do the Patriots play this season?

So? How many, you troutmouth?

  • 0

    Votes: 79 29.3%
  • 1-4

    Votes: 47 17.4%
  • 5-8

    Votes: 47 17.4%
  • 9-12

    Votes: 42 15.6%
  • 13-15

    Votes: 6 2.2%
  • 16

    Votes: 49 18.1%

  • Total voters
    270

Harry Hooper

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jan 4, 2002
34,402
Dusting off my proposal from a previous thread:

You could play a 6-game regular season for teams to jell and set up playoff seeding. Three in-division games (1 vs. each team in your division) and three in-conference games (1 game vs. a team from each other division in the conference). Tiebreakers {including coin flips} used as needed to crown division winners and seeding 1-16. Every team is then seeded into the single-elimination playoff tournament for the team's conference {no byes}. Four weeks of playoff games, and then the Super Bowl with the two conference tournament champions. If necessary, Pro Bowl is eliminated and the Super Bowl held week after Conference Championships. A bit of theft from NCAA March Madness with 16 games the first weekend of the playoffs, with a huge spike in Red Zone subscriptions.
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

Found no thrill on Blueberry Hill
SoSH Member
Sep 9, 2008
42,297
AZ
Just a small FYI but the Cardinals just cancelled my season tickets. I can get a full refund or roll the credit to next year with no price increase. If fans are allowed in limited capacity they are saying that individual tickets will be sold based on yearly season ticket priority. The Cardinals have been, until now, one of the most adamant teams about playing in front of fans and so I would suspect that this is the baseline for the minimum of what every team will do. Maybe they are being proactive because of impending opt outs and complaints from season ticket holders about the uncertainty.

My guess, and the reason I am posting, is that I think it is more likely that we are going to see some sort of leaguewide announcement soon. I'm just reading tea leaves here, but after many years of experience as a season ticket holder of this incredibly shitty franchise, I believe there is no way they make a $100 million revenue decision earlier than they have to without kicking and screaming and trying to come up with a way to get as many fans in the building as they can. I have a feeling that the league has taken a hard look at the Marlins situation and has something in the works to try to salvage what they can instead of pigheadedly pushing forward with a plan that is obviously not sustainable. Maybe some kind of bubble concept (though as others have noted it would be tough) or something equally radical, but when it comes to self-preservation these fuckers are like cockroaches. Something is coming I think.
 

Papelbon's Poutine

Homeland Security
SoSH Member
Dec 4, 2005
19,615
Portsmouth, NH
Wow, I don't think I've ever heard someone refer to the Cardinals as a shitty franchise. Seems like they always get propped up as a model (outside the scouting scandal). That being said, it's kinda fucked up they are only now putting that on the table.
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

Found no thrill on Blueberry Hill
SoSH Member
Sep 9, 2008
42,297
AZ
Lol yes, I forgot what subforum I was in. You are most likely correct.
Right, right -- the Arizona flavor of Cardinals. I've been a season ticket holder for a long time, mostly because when I moved here the tickets were really not that expensive for what you got and now my seats are so good that I don't want to give them up. I share most of them but still go a couple of times a year and it's nice to be guaranteed a good seat when the Patriots come to town every six years or so.

The truth is the marketing and fan services departments have gotten better in the last couple of years, but they are still not a model franchise when it comes to customer service or even transparency. Maybe today's move was a league mandate or something but just given the history of the club I think it's very likely that something is afoot with the NFL's plans to get as much out of the season as they can.
 

Papelbon's Poutine

Homeland Security
SoSH Member
Dec 4, 2005
19,615
Portsmouth, NH
The truth is the marketing and fan services departments have gotten better in the last couple of years, but they are still not a model franchise when it comes to customer service or even transparency. Maybe today's move was a league mandate or something but just given the history of the club I think it's very likely that something is afoot with the NFL's plans to get as much out of the season as they can.
That or Bidwill (or etc.) dragged their feet to make interest off holding people's money, but I'm cynical as shit lately so, shrug ?

Anyway, sorry I confused the two.
 

Fisks Of Fury

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
1,544
Plaistow, NH
Got an official email to season ticket holders this morning.

Highlights:
- Formally announced no preseason games. We'll receive a refund or credit for those tickets.
- Still hoping to open the season with some fans at reduced/20% capacity, pending state and local approval to operate.
- If they DO run at that reduced capacity, ticket quantity and game availability will be extremely limited, due to the high percentage to season ticket holders.
- Currently projecting that we will have access to one or two games at most, and likely in completely different seats, as they will be spacing attending fans out throughout the stadium.
- Can still opt to defer on the season entirely, and have the entire season ticket balance refunded or put towards next year. "Deadline" on this is July 31st.
Further updates from a week or so ago;
- There will officially be NO fans in the stadium for the first two home games of the season (Miami 9/13 and Vegas 9/27)
- Still hoping that by working with the State they can host fans for games later in the season, but they're still allowing ticket holders to defer their rights for a year, with no chance to lose your seats for next year

Today my annual "Season Ticket Member Appreciation" package arrived, and they've definitely seem to have cut costs on those this year. Last year, I got a custom framed display with my name and the year II became a season ticket holder, as well as coins for 5, 10 and 15 years, with a spot for the 20 year coin next year. The year before that was a Brady "Wendell August Forge" etched/sculpted metal "ticket" recreations.

This year, it came in a custom printed FedEx box, and seemingly the "big" item is a "2020 Proud Member" lawn sign. It also came with the annual pins, as well as a pair of Pats facemasks. In addition, we got a Pats/Carmax branded towel, and a Pats/BofA branded touch-free tool... the little plastic things you use to press ATM keys/elevator buttons and pull door handles. Of course, the tape was cut on my box, so maybe there was some other cool surprise item in there, and the FedEx guy stole it.