ATLANTA — Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski knows what’s at stake every time he steps onto the football field. Make a game-winning field goal in the final seconds, and he’s a hero. Miss it, and he’s suddenly the most despised man in Foxborough.
“People either hate us or love us,” Gostkowski said Wednesday at the team’s hotel in Atlanta. “It’s one of those things. I don’t do social media. I’m not looking to get a death threat every time I miss a field goal. I’m just not going to put myself through that.
“There was a time where I was such a perfectionist even if I made the kick, but that’s no way to live.