The first New England Patriots regular season game is a treat that no overbearing commissioner can take away from a fan base that has seen its quarterback badgered and beaten up in a senseless fiasco. Roger Goodell, you can take our quarterback (for four games), but you can’t take our team.
Having one of the all-time greats for a decade and a half has created several forms of Patriots fandom. There are Patriots fans; there are Tom Brady fans. You can idolize Brady as much as you want, but at the end of the day, you are still a Patriots fan.