Hating the Patriots: New England's role as villain helps fuel NFL's fire

Jarrett Bell | USA TODAY

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BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – They are the team that so often wins … and the team to hate.

Here we go again. The New England Patriots are back in the Super Bowl, for the eighth time with Bill Belichick as coach and Tom Brady at quarterback. It's the NFL version of Groundhog Day.

And much of America will be pulling for the Philadelphia Eagles to slay Goliath, if for no other reason than to see Belichick and Co. bite the bullet. This, too, is repeat stuff.

Call it Patriot Hate.

“I wouldn’t use the word ‘hatred,’ “ Patriots owner Robert Kraft countered to USA TODAY Sports this week. “Look, everyone wants to root for the underdog. So I understand it. I hope we help people feel that way for many more years.”

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Kraft is keenly aware of the sentiments, reflected in myriad ways. Before departing for Super Bowl LII, he attended the Grammy Awards at Madison Square Garden and was struck by the reaction, a “Bronx cheer" after he was recognized with a shout-out.

“They cheered,” Kraft said, “but there was some booing. In a way, it’s sort of a compliment.”

He has sensed envy, too, for years now, from peers in NFL circles. And Kraft saw a recent report about Twitter data collected for Betonline.ag, which concluded that outside of New England, only one state – North Dakota – is pulling for the so-called Evil Empire to win a sixth Super Bowl.

“I understand that, because as a kid growing up it was what the Yankees used to do in our area,” Kraft said. “They were so good all the time. So somehow to be in that category is pretty cool.”

A dominant team is hardly bad for the NFL’s business. Sure, the NFL is built on parity, but having a king on the mountain also has a certain appeal.

The most-watched game of the NFL season, when TV ratings were down about 10% overall, came in the AFC title game when the Patriots rallied to beat the Jaguars. Nearly 48 million viewers tuned in, curiosity and drama surely stoked as the Jaguars flirted with a monumental upset.

On Sunday, NBC is aiming to top the all-time record it set in 2015, when 114.4 million viewers watched the Patriots sting the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX.

“You either love them or you hate them, but you have to pay attention,” Al Michaels, the venerable broadcaster who will handle play-by-play duty for LII, said this week. “I don’t see someone waking up Sunday morning and saying, ‘It’s the Patriots again. I’m going to the movies.’ ”

No, the NFL and the networks probably don’t mind the hate … as long as people are watching.

Yet if Kraft believes that the bad blood is merely a byproduct of winning big, of building the NFL’s first dynasty of the salary-cap era, he’s fooling himself. There are some nuances in play, most of which have some rather extended roots.

Why do some people love to hate on the Patriots?

• Spygate and Deflategate. It’s a tough rep to live down when people see you as the NFL’s biggest cheaters because of those two scandals – nearly eight years apart.

• The Tuck Rule … and other assorted calls. New England gets its share of breaks. Ask the Jaguars, stung by a questionable pass interference call in the AFC title game while some egregious New England infractions were missed and a Myles Jack fumble recovery was immediately whistled dead. The conspiracy theories can be traced to the "Tuck Rule" that doomed the Raiders in the snow.

• Belichick’s demeanor. The gruff, haughty presence he often serves up in news conferences, including the “On to Cincinnati” demeanor, don’t do his image any justice. But, of course, cultivating a reputation is not his chief objective.

• TB12. Brady is arguably the greatest quarterback in NFL history, still balling out at 40 after his famous beginning as a sixth-round draft pick. Talk about exceeding expectations. Still, to some he might be too perfect, which includes a strict diet that strips away, well, the fun stuff.

• Donald Trump. When the man name-drops Kraft, Belichick and Brady, it probably impresses only some people. For others, not too cool. Polarizing president, polarizing team. Brady, by the way, stopped displaying the MAGA hat in his locker a while ago.

“When I went up there, I had some buddies who told me, ‘Now I have to root for the Patriots?’ ” Eagles defensive end Chris Long recalled on Wednesday. Long played for New England last season following eight years with the St. Louis Rams.

“It’s no secret there’s people all over the country who want to see them fail.”

For two consecutive years, the Patriots ranked as the most disliked team in the NFL in a survey by Public Policy Polling. The most recent results, released almost exactly one year ago, concluded that 21% of respondents cited the Patriots as their most hated team, while 42% declared negativity toward New England. Furthermore, Brady was both the most beloved and hated player in the league, per the results. And just one person was more disliked than Belichick – NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

What a tough problem to have. Kraft will take it. It’s much better than the alternative.

When he bought the Patriots in 1994 for a then-record, $175 million, Kraft remembers how some in the league viewed him with pity. The franchise was facing 23 pending lawsuits and the product on the field was horrific, as the team was a perennial loser.

“Everyone was so nice to me, those first few years,” he said. “Once we went to the Super Bowl in ’96, a lot of the people who were kind and gracious, changed. I think everyone loves a doormat in the league. I understand it. On the other hand, I think there’s a healthy respect.”

And healthy hatred, too.

Follow Jarrett Bell on Twitter @JarrettBell.

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