Colin Cowherd believes the Patriots have a top-10 fan base in the NFL, but that might be by default.
It's been pretty easy to be a member of the Foxboro Faithful over the past two decades. New England reached nine Super Bowls in the Bill Belichick-Tom Brady era and took home the Lombardi Trophy on six of those occasions. The Patriots also have been an effective shoo-in for the AFC East title dating back to 2001.
As such, Cowherd can't give Patriots fans too much credit for their support. New England cracked Cowherd's power ranking of the top 10 NFL bases, but just barely with the No. 10 spot.
"The most-followed NFL team on Twitter and Instagram. Now, here's why they're only 10: it's really easy to be a fan of a 20-year dynasty when you're winning 98 percent of your home games," Cowherd said Wednesday on FOX Sports 1's "The Herd. "Now, they're great and they're loyal. Tom Brady merchandise sales continue to be great. But I've seen empty seats there, it was just 22 years ago. So I dock them for -- OK, they're great, but good god, it's easy when you're winning every home game."
Given the amount of turnover the Patriots experienced over the offseason, the franchise arguably would need the fans' support this season more than ever. Unfortunately for New England, fans won't be allowed at Gillette Stadium at least through September, and it remains to be seen if they'll be able to fill seats at any point over the course of the 2020 campaign.
