Over the past 25 years, the New England Patriots ruled over the NFL and quickly became the evil empire that the rest of the league had no chance of dethroning. The legendary head coach-quarterback tandem of Bill Belichick and Tom Brady was a pairing that dreams are made of, leading the franchise to six Super Bowl wins in nine appearances, breaking nearly every record imaginable in the process.
The winning became synonymous with the Patriots, and reaching the championship game was always the goal; fortunately, they consistently achieved it. As the years passed and the domination continued, it seemed there was no end in sight, despite Brady nearing the age when most quarterbacks retire, making the success even more desirable.
It almost became part of Boston's life, with fans proudly supporting the team and treating the players as part of their extended family. It was the culture, representing what Boston was all about: hard work and dedication. That made the wins mean so much more. Believing in the Patriots gave everyone something to look forward to, since winning was all but a guarantee.
Imagine being able to watch your favorite team just win and win and win to the point you don't even know what the word "losing" means anymore. It's that kind of unmatchable success that made it all the more exciting and, for many of us, almost taken for granted.
And although many knew the end was probably near, there wasn't a reason to believe it was coming any time soon. Until it actually happened.
When the dynasty stopped protecting us
When Brady decided on a random weekday in March of 2020 to announce he was leaving the franchise he spent his entire career with and brought the most success to in 20 years, it felt like an April Fool's joke, not only because the quarterback wasn't choosing to retire and instead was signing with another team, but also because Belichick had no real succession plan.
That inevitably meant things were going to take a turn for the worse, something many Patriots fans had never experienced in their lifetime. But now, that was the reality, and the next few years took a lot of adjusting to get used to being at the opposite end of the league we'd long dominated.
It's what makes their current rise back to the top so important to New Englanders, even if the team has given them a level of success far more than most other NFL organizations have delivered or could imagine accomplishing.
Rock bottom in Foxborough
The Patriots' fall from their pedestal atop the NFL to the bottom of the barrel was not easy for fans like me to accept. In fact, some still can't believe that was the reality of the situation, and over the years, many chose to give up on the team they once cheered for the most.
Their mediocrity and seemingly lack of urgency to turn things around made it difficult to have optimism about what the future could be. There was no reason to get excited about Sunday anymore, and no excuse good enough to tailgate in Gillette Stadium's parking lot in the freezing cold temperatures.
The situation was made even more devastating seeing Brady win his 7th Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, proving he was still capable of winning championships, and that could have happened in Foxborough.
Instead, things in New England went from bad to worse, going from quarterback to quarterback, starting with Cam Newton to Mac Jones, both of whom were doomed from the start, and even changing offensive coordinators every offseason. They became a joke of a franchise, dare I say similar to the New York Jets, whom Patriots fans (and even team owner, Robert Kraft) had long made fun of for their consistent residency at the bottom of the league.
It didn't take long for fans to even turn on Belichick, as many believe (and were essentially proven right) that he had a big say in why Brady left the team, and it ultimately led to Kraft firing the accomplished coach at the end of the 2023 season.
Then came Jerod Mayo, who was also not set up for success, and that made the feeling of being stuck far more prevalent amongst Patriots fans. Another failed season, ending with a 4-13 record, made the black cloud hovering over Gillette Stadium stand out like a sore thumb, that is, until the third-overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, UNC quarterback Drake Maye, was finally given a shot to prove what he could do. And that's when the clouds began to move away from Foxborough.
Why this hope feels different
Although there was a lot of excitement around Maye joining the team, analysts had mixed reviews about what kind of quarterback he could be in the NFL. Many suggested he needed to ride the bench for at least a season, but Patriots fans believed he could be much better than anyone imagined, and it didn't take long to prove that.
The second the UNC product got under center in his first start, it was like the magic we've all been waiting for, and there was finally a light at the end of the tunnel of despair in New England. They might not have won many games last year, but it was evident that Maye was the real deal, and he immediately brought back that feeling Patriots fans had been longing for over the past four years: optimism and belief.
Those feelings skyrocketed once Mike Vrabel was hired during the 2025 offseason, not just because he was a former Patriots linebacker but because he was a proven coach with success under his belt who could help lead this team back to greatness.
And at this point in the year, it would be fair to say he's already accomplished that and then some, as they're about to take on the Houston Texans in the divisional round of the AFC playoffs.
Maye has been on an MVP-caliber run in just his second season, with a lot of the credit due to the greatest offensive coordinator in the league, Josh McDaniels. The quarterback has already won over fans in New England and beyond, bringing back the magic we haven't felt in what seems like decades, no matter how outlandish that might sound.
It has Gillette Stadium fired up again, as we saw throughout the season, but even more so in their first playoff game against the Chargers last week, finally putting an end to the nearly empty stadium we had to become accustomed to over the past five years. That's not a problem anymore, and surely won't be on Sunday afternoon when the Texans come to town.
They have already achieved a level of success this year that no one could have predicted, and the fact that everything they accomplish now is just the cherry on top is a great feeling to have. The future finally looks bright again, no matter how this season ends.
Maybe it ends with a loss to the Texans, or maybe they fall short of the Super Bowl. But winning 14 regular-season games after back-to-back four-win seasons is something out of the ordinary and very fitting of Boston to do.
It's just another reason it's easy to be a Patriots fan and believe in this team again, and certainly an aspect we can all look forward to every Sunday, no matter how crazy life can get. And this time, we won't take it for granted.