Fans do not have to apologize for anything. If you as a fan feel the Patriots' accomplishments are tainted, that's your right, and nobody can take it away from you. The fact that you are in the majority of all sports fans on this issue means something.
If you are a Patriots fan, you have a right to root for your team and defend them if you choose.
Here's my opinion. Any fan whose team is caught breaking the rules and punished should NOT give their team a pass. They should be ticked off! They were betrayed by their team.
Fans spew hate at their team if they make a bad draft choice, sign the wron guy, don't sign the right guy, call a bad play, miss a key tackle, turn the ball over at the worst time, or miss a game-winning kick. Just listen to Boston sports radio after any game. They have every right to spew hate at their team if the team gets caught up in a controversy.
No fans deserve to go through this. Boston fans are as passionate as it gets.
Here's the right attitude for a fan in this situation:
1) I am embarrased "my" team cheated when their transgressions were clearly against the rules and they were warned. I feel betrayed and I am more mad at my team than the sports fans who criticize my team.
2) I am sick and tired of defending my team's behavior. I am a loyal fan, but my team put me in this spot and I just want it to be over. But you can never erase history. My team should not have gone anywhere near the line they crossed, so we wouldn't have to deal with this controversy now.
3) I honestly believe my team was good enough to win titles without cheating, so it really ticks me off that the team felt it was OK to cheat instead of winning honorably, even if other teams are also cheating. I'll always believe, but I'll never really know if they were good enough to win those titles honestly. We can't play the games over again. It will always be a black mark and I'll have to learn to live with it.
