[Kneel B4 Zod]

Charlie,

Good post. I do think that Pats supporters are acting a bit defensively, partially b/c of the overreactions to this story. it really does bother me to see Jerome Bettis to go on national TV and say he felt the Steelers could/should have won the games they played vs the Pats. The Eagles want rings? gimme a break. this really, really bothers the guys that worked and fought all year to win the Super Bowl.

what ironic here is that the Pats are the ultimate "us against them" team, famous for inventing disrespect and turning it into motivation. this incident probably has provided the team with a year long motivation to "show the league we can do it again". someone wrote in the Boston Globe this morning that the demolition of the Chargers was a figurative middle finger to the NFL, and they're going to keep trying to show it all year.

The Pats may no longer be America's darling team, but I don't care. Winning teams are seldom loved by everyone.