The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

America Needs More Patriotism

Posted on | August 2, 2022 | Comments Off on America Needs More Patriotism

“Patriotism,” as in being a New England Patriots fan. My team — led by my quarterback, Mac Jones — opened training camp last week, and the stands were crowded with thousands of Patriots fans. Is there any other team in America that gets that kind of turnout for training camp?

After winning six Super Bowls in 20 years, New England fans are the most football-crazy people outside of Alabama, and so it feels like a natural fit for Mac Jones, who was accustomed to high expectations in Tuscaloosa, to be tasked with meeting the demands in Foxborough, where merely making the playoffs is not considered success:

Patriots quarterback Mac Jones is preaching patience through the process following another training camp practice in which the defense appeared to outplay the offense.
In the last few practices, Jones has had to scramble because plays have broken down. Jones emphasized that learning a new offense takes time.
“We have a lot of room to grow here,” Jones said following Tuesday’s practice. “…Our offensive line is doing a good job, we just have to get on the same page.”
As the Patriots work to discover their offensive identity, Jones has been visibly frustrated at points as the offense has struggled.
“I care a lot about football and…when we lose the day, to me that’s like a shot in the heart, it’s like we lost a game,” Jones said of his frustration.

Did I mention he went undefeated his senior season at Alabama? He’s got that championship mindset, where even “losing” in practice is “like a shot in the heart.” Going 10-7 last year and then losing to the Bills in wild card round might have been OK with some people, but not Mac Jones, who wants to win everything, all the time — like Patton said:

Now, I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country. Men, all this stuff you’ve heard about America not wanting to fight, wanting to stay out of the war, is a lot of horse dung. Americans, traditionally, love to fight. All real Americans love the sting of battle.
When you were kids, you all admired the champion marble shooter, the fastest runner, the big league ball players, the toughest boxers. Americans love a winner and will not tolerate a loser. Americans play to win all the time. Now, I wouldn’t give a hoot in hell for a man who lost and laughed. That’s why Americans have never lost and will never lose a war. Because the very thought of losing is hateful to Americans.

That is how Mac Jones approaches football. He’s got a great sense of humor and loves to joke around with his teammates, but when it comes to football — winning — he takes that very seriously. And that’s good, because Patriots fans take it seriously, too. They’re so football-crazy up there in New England, they demand a daily stream of Patriots news, even during training camp, so the headlines just keep stacking up:

Mac Jones sees ‘room to grow’
for Patriots’ new-style offense
— Pats Pulpit

Tyquan Thornton ‘clearly has the speed
to get open’ as Patriots’ second-round
pick continues to impress
— MassLive.com

Patriots training camp Day 6 observations:
Mack Wilson shines, Ty Montgomery
making case for roster spot
— CBS Sports

Day 6 blogservations: Agholor enjoys solid start
— Patriots.com

Christian Barmore, defense handcuff
offense again in Patriots’ second
padded practice at training camp
— WEEI-FM

Patriots training camp notebook:
Linebackers stand out on Day 6
— WBZ-FM

When 12,000 fans show up for training camp, there must be a huge audience of diehard Patriot fans out there, and the business of feeding them tidbits of news — which linebacker looked good in drills, which cornerback got an interception in practice — employs a small army of sports writers. There is nothing like it anywhere else in the NFL, and these football-crazy New England fans just love Mac Jones.

Is there another quarterback in the league who gets a standing ovation just for running out on the field before practice? We are now nine days away from the Patriots’ first pre-season game at home against the New York Giants, and a month after that, they open the regular season at Miami against their AFC East rival Dolphins. Probably you don’t care. Probably you’ve got some local NFL franchise where you live, but you don’t really care about them, do you? So why not join me in becoming a New England Patriots fan? America needs more patriotism.




 

Category: Football

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