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Readers share their first memory of watching the Patriots
While the Patriots' recent performances seem like a nightmare for those who grew up watching Tom Brady, it's just a reminder of the past for longtime fans.
Sitting at the bottom of the AFC East at 2-8, the Patriots are currently experiencing one of their worst seasons in a long time.
With Bill Belichick on course for double-digit defeats for the first time since 2000, many Patriots fans have become frustrated.
However, this season is still far from the worst the Patriots have played. While an entire generation of fans became used to the Patriots’ domination of the NFL under Tom Brady, longtime supporters recall an era when the team was worse than they are today.
We asked readers to share their first memory of watching the Patriots play, including the first Super Bowl they remember the Patriots playing in, and whether or not the Patriots were a winning team during that era.
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Of the 137 readers who responded to our poll, the overwhelming majority of readers (89%) have been supporting the Patriots since Super Bowl XX in 1986.
Some readers who responded (9%) have been supporting the Patriots since Super Bowl XXXI in 1997.
Only two readers have been supporting the Patriots since Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002 or Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2004 or later.
Were the Patriots a winning team when you first started watching them?
Yes
13%
No
69%
They were mediocre
18%
What was the first Super Bowl you can remember watching the Patriots play in?
Super Bowl XX (1986)
89%
Super Bowl XXXI (1997)
9%
Super Bowl XXXVI (2002)
1%
Super Bowl XXXVIII (2004) or later
1%
Here are some of the first memories of watching the Patriots shared by readers. The responses are ordered by the first Super Bowl readers remember the Patriots playing in.
Some responses have been lightly edited for clarity.
“Definitely the lower rung on the Boston sports ladder”
“Growing up, the Patriots were definitely the lower rung on the Boston sports ladder. First off, when I started following them they never really had a home. They bounced from Fenway to Boston College to Harvard… which is where I saw my first Patriots game, a loss, naturally, to the Vikings.
As for ‘stars’, the Patriots didn’t have a wide selection. Jim Nance was obviously the main running back but quarterback was an ever changing position, with Mike Taliaferro and even a beyond-his-prime Joe Kapp handling the reins that season.
Suffering through that dreadful season (and many others that would precede and follow it) you couldn’t imagine that the team would become multiple Super Bowl winners and play in a real, professional, modern stadium.
Seemed unfathomable at the time that you’re sitting on cold stone seats watching them get drubbed by the Vikings.”
—Jim A., Lake Balboa, CA (formerly Peabody), first watched Super Bowl XX (1986)
“Back to irrelevant! Full circle.”
“Saw them play at BU then Fenway Park, onto Harvard, then Boston College, back to Harvard and a thrown in home game on TV in Birmingham, Alabama. Finally, Sullivan Stadium in Foxboro.
Initially, I was in awe of the ‘pros’ when I was young, then I went to ‘okay whatever’ in the 70s and 80s, then [Bill] Parcells showed up and a ‘new’ pro football team was born. Next was the [Tom] Brady era and now we are at our current state—back to irrelevant! Full circle.”
—Billy S., Dedham, first watched Super Bowl XX (1986)
“First touchdown pass in Patriots history”
“Boston Patriots vs. Denver. First touchdown pass in Patriots history, Butch Songin to Jim Colclough for 10 yards. Nickerson Field on Commonwealth Avenue. September, 1960.
I didn’t pay to get in, I just walked in without a ticket after the game had started. Anyway, that’s one Pats TD record that Tommy Brady didn’t get.”
—Luambo F., Framingham, first watched Super Bowl XX (1986)
“A good man with the football”
“My first experience was attending a game. They played the Houston Oilers in Fenway Park in the fall of 1967. The Patriots were my father’s team, so they became mine too. A man sitting behind us handed me his binoculars so I could see Larry [Eisenhauer] grimacing in pain on the bench after leaving the game.
I remember Jim Nance, and my father saying ‘a good man with the football’ after a good run. I still say that every time a Patriots player makes [a good run]. I think they ended up losing that game, but I didn’t care then, and I don’t care now. They have been my team since then.”
—Scott B., Augusta, Maine, first watched Super Bowl XX (1986)
“The current state of the Patriots is much like they were in 1981—awful.”
“I started watching in 1981 when they were awful. I have always been a loyal fan and will continue to be. Having 20 years of the dynasty was something I will always be grateful for, especially since I’m not sure it will ever happen again. The current state of the Patriots is much like they were in 1981—awful.”
—Linda B., Spring Lake, North Carolina, first watched Super Bowl XX (1986)
“I fell in love with the Bledsoe-Coates combo—and rye bread.”
“The first Patriots game I watched was the first round loss to Belichick’s Cleveland Browns in [1995]. I was nine years old. It was Robert Kraft’s first season.
My dad had a pot of hot pastrami in his bedroom. We ate pastrami sandwiches on rye, sitting on the edge of his bed watching the Pats lose on a 10-inch TV. I fell in love with the Bledsoe-Coates combo—and rye bread.”
—Dan S., Hyde Park, first watched Super Bowl XXXI (1997)
“[I]t’s sobering to be on the losing end.”
“Fan through thick and thin. The ugly wins, the heartbreaking losses (16-1), but it was eventually going to be a new era after Brady left. [Twenty] years of success are hard to forget, but it’s sobering to be on the losing end. It stings but nothing that keeps me up at night. Heck I’m even seeing them play in Germany, finally seeing ‘my team’ in the flesh.”
—Peter F., Amsterdam, the Netherlands, first watched Super Bowl XXXI (1997)
“Until Brady and Belichick it was revolving QB’s and loses. That sure changed!”
“The first game I saw was at Fenway Park. They lost, but cannot remember much else. Have been a fan ever since their first game. That hasn’t changed as I now live in Missouri. Follow them all the time. Until Brady and Belichick it was revolving QBs and loses. That sure changed!”
—A reader in Springfield, Missouri, first watched Super Bowl XXXVI (2002)
“I loved watching Tom Brady and they were always winning!”
“My first game was the 2003 Divisional Round against the Titans. My family has held season tickets since the early 80’s. I loved watching Tom Brady and they were always winning!”
—Sam P., Boston, first watched Super Bowl XXXVIII (2004) or later
Some responses have been edited for clarity.
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