A hero is only as great as their villain. Batman has the Joker, Luke Skywalker has Darth Vader, and George R.R. Martin has deadlines. Without a compelling villain, it’s hard to be emotionally invested in a hero. This isn’t just true for fiction, it’s also true for the NFL. The New England Patriots are the most hated team in the NFL today. With their questionable morals and consistent dominance, everyone hates the Patriots.
But they’re not the first team to play the role of the villain in the NFL. There’s an old expression that “bad guys wear black”, and it certainly applied to the Oakland and Los Angeles Raiders of the 70’s and 80’s. Thanks to the Tuck Rule, the Raider Nation hate the Patriots. But maybe they shouldn’t.
Comparing the 70s/80s Raiders to the New England Patriots
Dominance
The first thing that these two have in common is that they dominated. Between 1970 and 1985, the Raiders made the playoffs 12 times and won three Super Bowls. They only had a losing record once, and they had five ten win seasons during the 14 game era. Names like Ken Stabler, Marcus Allen, Cliff Branch, Howie Long, and Gene Upshaw still evoke fond memories of absolute dominance. When NFL.com created a tournament to determine the best team of all time, the 1976 Oakland Raiders won in a landslide.
Fast forward to 2017, and the Patriots have duplicated that success. Since 2001, when quarterback Tom Brady took over, the Patriots are 196-87. They’ve won five Super Bowls, and have appeared in 11 AFC Championship games, winning nine. The cast has changed remarkably over that span, but come hell or highwater, Tom Brady and Bill Belichick always team up to make the Patriots one of the NFL’s elite. Of course, this didn’t come without a price.
Gatesgate
When it comes to the New England Patriots, there are two mindsets. You either believe that Bill Belichick and Tom Brady are the greatest coach and quarterback team of all time, or you believe they’re the biggest cheaters of all time. And despite how good New England may be on the field, there’s no question that they’ve taken part in some shady stuff.
Back in 2007, the New England Patriots were caught recording the New York Jets’ play-call signals. Commissioner Roger Goodell deduced that the Patriots had been doing this since 2002, and the Patriots were fined and stripped of their first round pick in the 2007 NFL Draft. Considering that this took place at the beginning of the infamous 18-1 season, hatred for the Pats was at an all time high.
Fast forward to 2015 and the Patriots were at it again. This time, it was a little more ridiculous. The Indianapolis Colts accused Brady and the Patriots of using slightly deflated footballs. The Patriots were fined $1 million and their first round pick. Two years and several million dollars later, Tom Brady served a four game suspension.
Some argue that New England’s success has been tainted by their cheating. Others argue that every other team in the NFL does the same things, they just haven’t been caught. Regardless of what you believe, one thing is for certain, they weren’t the first team to benefit from bending the rules.
Raider Rules
During the “America’s Game” for the 1983 Super Bowl team, Matt Millen infamously broke down the “Raider Rules” that were hung up in every Raider locker. Raider Rule number one was that cheating was encouraged. Raider Rule number two? It was see Raider Rule number one.
The Raiders of the 70’s and 80’s were infamous for cheating. From Stickem to illegal pads to Al Davis allegedly bugging the visitor’s locker room, the Silver and Black were no boyscouts. Kenny Stabler used to grease his jersey so he was harder to tackle, and he admitted that he intentional fumbled the ball forward on the infamous “Holy Roller” play.
The funniest legend about the antics of the Raiders? They invented Spygate. Al Davis once pretended to be a reporter after a game, interviewing an opposing player, asking him about specific plays they used. The Patriots might be the biggest cheaters in today’s NFL, but it’s clear that Bill Belichick can’t touch Al Davis when it comes to bending the rules.
In Summation
Bill Belichick will do whatever it takes to win. He’ll break the rules if he thinks it gives the Patriots a better chance to win, and if you haven’t noticed, it’s been working. The Patriots are one of the winningest teams in NFL history, and the most recent example of a dynasty. Belichick and Brady will do whatever it takes to, as a great man once said, “Just Win, Baby”.
