“They hate us ’cause they ain’t us.”
It’s a common refrain among New England Patriots fans, who have embraced their football team’s role as the NFL’s chief villain since the turn of the century. And after a nearly two-year-long saga that turned into more of a witch hunt that ended in quarterback Tom Brady’s four-game suspension for Deflategate, Patriots fans have been as riled up as ever during the team’s four-game winning streak that’s coincided with Brady’s return.
As if they needed more fuel for the fire, NBC produced this epic promo ahead of a “Sunday Night Football” clash with the Seattle Seahawks, who travel to Gillette Stadium on Sunday for their first matchup with New England since Super Bowl XLIX.
That’s Nas’ “You Can Hate Me Now” playing in the background, and the chorus that plays over the video montage — “You can hate me now / But I won’t stop now / ‘Cause I can’t stop now” — is only fitting for the way Brady and the Pats have been playing.
Since his return in Week 5 against the Cleveland Browns, the Pats are 4-0 and are scoring 34 points per game. Brady has been unstoppable, too, completing 73.1 percent of his passes for 1,319 yards with 12 touchdowns and no interceptions during Part 2 of his revenge tour. For perspective, over a 16-game schedule those numbers would put Brady on pace for 5,276 yards and 48 touchdowns, which would rank as the third- and fourth-highest single-season marks ever, respectively.
Brady, of course, can only play 12 games this season, meaning he’s actually on pace for 3,957 yards and 36 touchdowns.
So, yeah, you can hate Brady and the Patriots, but you can be damn sure it’s not going to stop them.
Thumbnail photo via Kyle Terada/USA TODAY Sports Images
