Why it pays to be a fan of the Pats
Coming from Andover, Stephen Stapinski has been a huge fan of Boston’s professional sports teams all his life. He has even written and released a series of blogs to introduce these teams to readers everywhere.
For today’s blog, Stephen Stapinski explains to those new to American football why it pays to be a fan of the New England Patriots. Below is a list of fun facts to help get fans up to speed and entice them to root for the Boston-based team.
1. The Patriots or Pats compete in the AFC East division and play their home games at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, which also serves as their headquarters.
2. The Pats were originally the Boston Patriots and were founded in 1959 as part of the American Football League (AFL). The team joined the NFL in the 1970 merger and changed its name the following year after it moved to Foxborough.
3. In 2000, head coach Bill Belichick and QB Tom Brady arrived. This marked the start of the golden age for the franchise as the Pats became one the most successful teams in NFL history. They won 16 AFC East titles with 18 straight winning seasons.
4. Among their records are most wins in a decade (126, in 2003–2012), an undefeated 16-game regular season in 2007, the longest winning streak (21 games from October 2003 to October 2004), and the most consecutive division titles won by a team in NFL history (11 straight division titles from 2009 to 2019). They have the most Super Bowl appearances (9) and wins (6).
So, if you want to cheer for a team with a deep history of winning, Stephen Stapinski highly recommends the Pats.
