The Patriots are the greatest team in professional sports that keeps insisting they’re the plucky underdog despite winning over and over and over again. This kind of observation makes you a “hater,” according to owner Robert Kraft.
Robert Kraft wants you to know that ‘envy and jealousy are incurable diseases’
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James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
On Tuesday night, the Patriots owner appeared on HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel for a profile on the team’s historic fifth Super Bowl win. If you don’t like the Pats, he’s got a message for you.
“Envy and jealousy are incurable diseases. The haters still hate, and I understand it, and we’ll do our best to keep them in that position.”
Kraft discussed controversies in the team’s past like “SpyGate” and “Deflategate,” while standing up for quarterback Tom Brady.
“He’s just not the greatest quarterback in the history of the NFL, he’s an amazing human being [...] to see anyone attack him as an individual, or his integrity. And that just wasn’t fair.”
Here’s how Kraft characterized the Patriots’ comeback win in Super Bowl 51.
“I think a lot of people have their big dreams and get knocked down, and don’t have things go their way. And you never give up hope, and you really just hold onto it. Hard work and perseverance, and just keep getting up, and getting up, and getting up — and then you get that breakthrough. It’s sort of what happened in overtime.”
The Patriots are the greatest team in the modern era of the NFL. They routinely dominate even in years they don’t bring home the Lombardi Trophy. Unless you’re Robert Kraft, then you make the team sound like the Browns. Well, except the Browns never have a “breakthrough.”
