Pats fans get to root for ‘bad guys’
In my youth, I used to go to the professional wrestling matches at Boston Garden with my dad. Back then, many in attendance were what we called “true believers.” I’d estimate about three-quarters of those who bought tickets thought they were witnessing a sporting event without a predetermined outcome.
We liked to root for the bad guys.
My dad had been a boxer, so he knew a real punch from a phony one. He knew there would be deaths in the ring almost every night if some of those wrestling moves were real. He taught me what was what, so I knew the bad guys weren’t really escaped storm troopers from World War II looking to win one for the Fatherland or barely-human troglodytes who had to be led to the ring wearing a leash.
These days, what with internet, cable TV, tell-all books, and other things that have clued in everyone, it’s not as much fun to root for wrestling’s bad guys. I’ve had to find other ways to get the same kick.
I root for the New England Patriots.
The Patriots are the bad guys — the heels, in pro wrestling terminology — to most football fans. In wrestling, the goosestepping Waldo von Erich and subhuman-appearing George “The Animal” Steele were willing to use underhanded tactics to gain an advantage. Patriothaters think Bill Belichick and Tom Brady do the same.
Please understand that my dad and I wouldn’t have rooted for somebody truly evil. The Killer Kowalskis of the profession were usually nice fellows away from the ring. Had we known someone was truly a murderous cutthroat bent on killing other humans — say, a Charlie Manson — we wouldn’t have been having fun if we rooted for him. We would have been evil ourselves.
Patriots fans know the Patriots aren’t truly evil. Most of the charges leveled at them are either exaggerations or — as spouted by the most venomous of haters — outright lies. Therefore, my advice to Patriots fans is to not bother trying to refute any accusations you hear. Like most true believers, the folks you try to hip to the reality of the situation will never be convinced. Instead, embrace the hate. Cheer for the Pats in the same way my dad and I cheered for Rowdy Roddy Piper to lay a beating on that goody-goody Hulk Hogan.
There is little so delicious or gratifying as rooting for makebelieve evil while so many around you are dumb enough to buy into it as being real. When my dad and I did it back in the old Garden, we knew without a shadow of a doubt we were among a minority of truly smart guys in the room. And nothing was more fun than seeing the bad guy win a championship belt while the true believers foamed at the mouth, spit out curses, and covered the ring in debris.
If Roger Goodell hands Tom Brady a trophy tonight, it will be as sweet as watching “Nature Boy” Ric Flair win the title with his feet draped over the top rope while the ref doesn’t see it.
Go Pats. Whoooooo!
There is little so delicious or gratifying as rooting for make-believe evil while so many around you are dumb enough to buy into it as being real.