Loss after up-and-down year stings Pats fans

By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff

First, a season for the ages ended in agony, a quest for perfection dashed by a rival quarterback's mad scramble and a little-known receiver's miracle catch. Then, minutes into a promising new season, superstar quarterback Tom Brady crumbled to the ground in anguish, and legions of Patriots fans did the same.

Somehow, the squad soldiered on, and loyalists embraced their new role as gritty underdogs. As the wins mounted, hope returned. Surely, fans told each other, fortune would smile on a team so determined.

But 2008 was not the Patriots' year: Despite winning an impressive 11 games, the Patriots were narrowly denied a playoff berth Sunday for the first time since 2002.

The disappointing end to a rollercoaster season left many fans struggling to find their equilibrium today, torn between anger and acceptance as they shopped, returned gifts, or went back to work downtown after a holiday break.

"When you put your fate in the hands in the football gods, it can go either way," said Bernie Wiley, a 62-year-old from Sharon proudly wearing a Patriots hat celebrating past championships. "You can get helped along, but you can also get smacked."

It was hard to be too disappointed after an unexpectedly good year, many said. Still, after all the team had endured, it seemed like the Patriots deserved better.

"It's a bummer, man," said Erek Wright, a 31-year-old from Billerica wearing a weathered "Pat Patriot" baseball cap in a show of solidarity yesterday. "I kind of think they were cheated out of it."

Especially galling, Wright and others noted in grim detail, is that several teams with records inferior to the Patriots get to play next weekend, including one team, the Arizona Cardinals, that recently lost to New England by 40 points.

Some fans, who frowned and furrowed their brow beneath Patriots caps at the slightest mention of their team's fate, said it was too soon for a postmortem. They needed a day of mourning, at the very least, before they could move on.

Most put on a brave face, stoically sizing up the season as a success, despite its untimely ending. Many said they were proud of the team for doing as well as it did.

"It was a great season," said Anthony Choquette, a 25-year-old from Salisbury whose hat and hoodie displayed his rooting allegiance. "[Matt] Cassel did a great job after Brady went down, and they made it exciting. You can't ask for more than that."

But others did ask for more, even if they knew, deep down, that it was a tad greedy under the circumstances. Disloyal, too, and downright un-Patriotic.
"Look at what they've done for us the past eight years," said Ryan Kelley, a 36-year-old Arlington resident stealing a smoke outside his office in the Financial District. That's not even counting championships by the Red Sox and Celtics, he added.

Mark Kenney, whose bulky Patriots parka repelled winter's cold as he browsed the outdoor shelves at a downtown bookstore, said he was at peace with the Patriots. But his voice gave him away.

"They gave us a good season," he said, delivering his final judgement after a few moments. "They were so gutty, fighting through all the injuries. I just wished they could have gotten in, somehow."

Kenney's voice trailed off to a whisper, as finality appeared to set in. But he quickly rebounded, pondering whether the team would be able to trade Cassel for some promising young players.

Patriots fans now face another quandary -- whom to root for in the post-season. Maybe not the Colts, the Patriots long-time rival. Obviously not the Giants, after last year's Super Bowl defeat. Maybe they could get behind a Southern team like Atlanta or Tennessee.

2009 will bring brighter days, many said -- as long as Brady gets his priorities straight, that is.

"I think he's too infatuated with that girl," said Christina Sinatra, unable to bring herself to speak the name of Brady's love interest and reported fiancee, Gisele Bündchen. "He's got commitments here."

• Comment
• Permalink
• Email