The only people rooting for the Pats in the Super Bowl are Pats fans. And, you guessed it, I’m one of them. As a lifelong die hard, there’s nothing i like more than seeing my boys make to the crown jewel of our sport on an almost annual basis. And that’s why I love the Patriots in Super Bowl LIII. Truth be told, there are many people who will be rooting for New England besides me. Especially members of Wannamakeabet.com who are trying to win their league with the final game of the season. That’s right. It’s the people who will be betting on the Patriots. And that happens to be a very large number given their history.
As the NFL’s resident Bad Guys, the Patriots may seem an unlikely choice for a neutral fan/outsider, especially given that the Rams are one of the league’s shiny, new, fun toys. But the best choice is often the hard one, and there’s several reasons why you should be pulling for New England when they take the field in Atlanta this weekend. For sports bettors, this is business, not personal.
My biggest reasons Why
The Rams shouldn’t even be here, ok? Were the Rams one of the best teams in football this year? Sure. Do they have a good enough team to win the Super Bowl? Yup. But did they get there largely because one of the worst blown calls in the history of football went in their favor? Check!
It’s impossible to say what would have happened had referees actually opened their eyes and called the blatant pass interference committed by Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman. But what we do know is that Robey-Coleman delivered an early hit — a helmet-to-helmet hit to boot — on Saints receiver Tommylee Lewis while the ball was still on its way and, had it been called a penalty, the Saints would have had a first down inside the 10-yard line.
Given the Saints had the fourth-best red zone scoring percentage in the NFL during the regular season, it seems fair to conclude they would have capitalized and gotten into the end zone, running some crucial additional time off the clock in the process. Instead, they had to settle for a field goal immediately after the blown call and give the ball back to the Rams just under two minutes to counter. I know, I know, the Saint’s didn’t stop them from driving down the field and kicking a game tying field goal. And unlike the Patriots in the AFC Championship game, they also couldn’t score when they won the toss. In fact, they turned it over.
The Intolerable “LA” People.
True New Englanders are polar opposites of people from LA. And, these teams and their fans fall right in line with that thinking. People from Los Angeles are hard to be around. Granted, let’s get the obvious out of the way also: Yes, people from Boston/New England are also insufferable. Maybe even more than LA fans. But it’s a different kind of insufferable, especially when it comes to sports.
People from Boston (and New York) are intolerable because they’re real, usually to a fault. They say what’s on their mind, regardless of how brash/obnoxious/inappropriate/incoherent/insanely dumb it is. You’ll never have to guess what a Bostonian is thinking because they’re always willing to let you know, even if they have to scream it directly into your ear.
Are they completely obnoxious and unbearable when it comes to the Patriots? (And all their other sports teams?) Absolutely, unequivocally yes. But why shouldn’t they be? Boston has been an absolute powerhouse market in sports over the last two decades, with the Patriots at the forefront nearly the entire time. Why should Pats fans hide behind false humility? That’s not who they are. It’s not in their blood.
Losing Fuels Winning
As it turns out, a loss in Super Bowl LII didn’t ruin Brady or Belichick’s legacy, nor did it bring the whole empire crumbling down. And here we are yet again a year later with the dynamic duo hungrier than ever.
You’re probably better off rooting for the Patriots to win if you don’t want them in the Super Bowl next year. Because you know that if they lose two straight Super Bowls, people will say the dynasty is over and that the Patriots aren’t who they once were. And then they’ll come back next year and take no prisoners. Belichick won’t sleep all summer. Brady will turn his magical clock back another decade. It’ll be over for everyone else before it even starts.
Tom Is Too Old
Tom Brady believes everyone thinks he’s too old and his team sucks. It’s caused him to ditch his humility try to play angry and disrespected. And what has it done for him? Well, he’s playing his best football of the year during the playoffs, including a scary good performance to close out the Chiefs. This entire team has thrived under the perceived mentality that nobody thinks they can get it done.
If the Patriots notice the betting line moving, which clearly they must have noticed by now and people giving them a legitimate shot to win this game, it makes it harder for them to head out of the tunnel and onto the field with a chip on their shoulder. Maybe it’s already too late to get rid of that chip, but hopefully it’s not.
Even if you don’t believe in the Pats or truly can’t stomach seeing them win another Lombardi Trophy, you should be outwardly singing their praises and rooting for them to win. Because as long as you’re good at pretending, saying as much could help take away the additional motivation the ‘dog role has given them.
Ah, forget it
This list could have 1000 reasons to root for the Patriots and there’s still no way your soul would allow you to do it. In fact, you probably read every single point that I made and thought to yourself… “yeah, but…” Have fun cheering for the Rams. Either way, those are the main reasons why I love the Patriots in Super Bowl LIII.