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Not feeling the Patriot spirit

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February 04, 2012|By Andrew Ryan

Jeff Cutler of Hingham, a lifelong Dolphins supporter, said Patriots fans… (JONATHAN WIGGS/GLOBE STAFF )

These two weeks before the Super Bowl may be nirvana for Patriots fanatics, who revel in hype and hyperbole more than most football fans. But consider the plight, even the pain, of New Englanders whose heart belongs to another team.

Meet Jeff Cutler, who as a boy growing up in Hingham developed an unexplained affinity for marine mammals, warm weather football, and clothes in the hue of orange and aqua. Cutler’s condition soon became clear: He was a Miami Dolphins fan living, inexplicably, 30 miles from Foxborough.

At age 46, Cutler has not abandoned Hingham for Hallandale Beach. But he still wears a Dan Marino jersey to family gatherings dominated by Patriot season ticket holders. And tomorrow, Cutler and scores of other un-Patriotic New Englanders will be cheering against what some call coach Bill Belichick’s Evil Empire. They will be yearning for a performance befitting the team’s old nickname, The Patsies.

“The Patriots and their fans seem to be going about their day-to-day living with an arrogance that I can only compare to the New York Yankee fans of old,’’ Cutler said. “They wander about and expect to win, and they feel like they’ve been wronged in some way when a play goes against them or they lose a game.’’

That sense of entitlement may be an unavoidable consequence of three championships in the last decade. It can be particularly difficult to stomach in the run up to the Super Bowl, when the worship of Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady soars.

During the lean years, the team forever lost some impressionable young fans. Others have been turned off by the brash winning ways of the Belichick era. There are, of course, transplants to New England who may leave San Diego but never forget their Chargers; boys and girls have been taken out of Green Bay, but cannot leave behind the Packers.

But say you still doubt that any of your neighbors would root against the home team or don’t believe that a New Englander would cheer if Tom Terrific is not so terrific. Then, next football season, spend a Sunday afternoon at The Baseball Tavern on Boylston Street, where hordes of New Orleans Saints fans gather. Bond with Cleveland Browns fans at the North Star on Friend Street. Flock with Jets fans to the Green Briar in Brighton. Hunker down with Steelers brethren at Roggie’s in Cleveland Circle. Or better yet, belly up to the bar at The Harp near TD Garden, where hundreds of Buffalo fans cheered when the Bills defeated the Patriots this year.