Where is the love?

When Michael Jordan’s Bulls were dominating the NBA in the mid-90s, we were told we were witnessing the greatest basketball player in the history of the game. And we probably were.

When the New York Yankees won a record number of games in 1998 and went on to win 3 consecutive World Series Championships … OK, a few fans bases called them the Evil Empire, but for the most part, writers waxed poetic about the perfection on the field.

When Peyton Manning and his offense was blowing the doors off teams with scores like 49-14, 41-10, 41-9 and 51-24 in the 2004 season, it was literally called a “work of art.”

So why are this year’s Patriots a-holes?

I’m a Patriots fan so I can’t really analyze this objectively. I’m hoping one of our other contributors or faithful readers can. It feels like any other time in history you had a dominating team, they got applauded. But today, pundits seem angry with the Patriots, finding fault with their success. As a longtime Yankee hater, I understand that fans tend to hate a perennial winner, but even national sports writers and commentators are getting in on this.

Is it “camera-gate”? Is it Bill Belichick’s prickly personality? Is it the confusing feelings American men get when they look into Tom Brady’s dreamy blue eyes? I just don’t know.

What I do know, is that somehow the Patriots are “classless,” even when before each game they say glowing things about their opponents and talk about how hard they are preparing to face them, while their opponents (like the Redskins two weeks ago) say that they see chinks in the Patriots’ armor and are going to beat them. I know that when Peyton Manning puts up 41 points on a team it's historic; when Tom Brady does it it's "piling on." I know that a sport that prides itself on toughness is essentially asking the Patriots to go easy and show mercy to their opponents. I know some of the people who are calling the Patriots’ character into question are saying they expect some other opponent to take a “cheap shot” at Brady one of these days. Yeah, that’s real classy.

As a fan, camera-gate was embarrassing. But now, with the league watching the team like a hawk for any hint of impropriety; with other players salivating at the chance to bring the villains down, the Patriots are still blowing through games. And somehow this is a bad thing. I just don’t get it. Someone please explain it to me.

I got some figures and quotes from this column. But I was thinking all this before I read that, I swear!